Images(2)

Riverina

Vessel numberHV000285

Vessel Registration NumberCK31

Builder Henry Day

Date1935

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 7.01 m x 2.44 m x 0.91 m (23 ft x 8 ft x 3 ft)

DescriptionThe craft also bears the SS RIVERINA's name and a considerable amount of material was salvaged from the wreck, sitting upright on the sandy beach, before it was reclaimed by the sea. This included Indian teak, some of which was eventually used to build RIVERINA. It is understood to have been built around 1935 by Henry Day at Paynesville.

The initial layout of the carvel planked hull was designed for professional fishing. It was operated as an open motor launch with a simple canvas cabin or shelter over the forward end of the cockpit. In the 1950s a plywood cabin was fitted but this was removed in 2001 and a new canvas shelter fitted. A mast and lug-style gaff rig were also added. RIVERINA shares features common to other fishing and net boats seen on the Gippsland Lakes; a plumb stem, low freeboard and generously curved sheer line. The original petrol engine (of unknown make) has been replaced by a Yanmar diesel.

Used as a professional fishing boat for 20 years it was bought by Arthur Vardy (great grandfather of the current owner) in the mid 1950s. RIVERINA has remained in use as a recreational craft with the Vardy family and their relatives.
SignificanceRIVERINA is a 7 metre (23 feet) long, gaff-rigged day boat that has been used as a fishing and recreational vessel on the Gippsland Lakes for more than 70 years. It was built in the mid-1930s from timbers salvaged from the shipwrecked SS RIVERINA which came ashore at Mallacoota, Victoria in 1927.