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NELL under restoration
Nell
NELL under restoration
NELL under restoration
Sydney Heritage Fleet Collection

Nell

Vessel numberHV000378
Date1922
DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 4.27 m x 1.52 m x 0.49 m (14 ft x 5 ft x 1.6 ft)
DescriptionNELL is 4.27 metres long and lapstrake planked in Queensland maple. Billy Fisher, one of Sydney's finest small craft builders, worked at La Perouse in Botany Bay. NELL was presented to Inspector 1st Class James Milne by his Police Force colleagues when he retired in 1922. The name was chosen in honour of the inspector's daughter.

NELL was kept at the family boatshed on the George's River at Blakehurst, and passed to subsequent generations. In 1988 the family donated NELL to the Sydney Heritage Fleet and the skiff was restored at Cockatoo Island Dockyard. The keel, stem and other parts of the structure were replaced, it was completely refastened and then returned to a painted interior and clear finished exterior.

The original 1922 presentation plaque remains in place on the interior toward the stem, and a new plaque from the Shipwright Apprentices at Cockatoo Dockyard has been mounted on the inside of the transom.
SignificanceNELL is a wooden rowing skiff built in 1922 by renowned boat builder Billy Fisher. It was built as a retirement gift for police officer James Milne. It remained in the family until the late 1980s. It is a typical skiff from the post World War I period, once common on Sydney region waterways and appears quite similar to the skiffs once used by water police on Sydney Harbour.
NELL GWYN has a classic sheerline typical of a John Alden design.
John G Alden
1947
MALUKA believed to be on the upper reaches of the Hawkesbury River in the 1930s.
CAM Fisher and Sons
1932
BERRIMA  in 2009 at Wharf 7 Darling Harbour NSW.
CAM Fisher and Sons
1955
CHERUB sailing in 2009 with its restored gaff rig
CAM Fisher and Sons
1948
RANGER sailing up Sydney Harbour near the heads and showing the very efficient sail plan.
CAM Fisher and Sons
1933
Fitzroy
Cockatoo Island Dockyard
1928
PV RICHMOND crossing the bar at Ballina
W Holmes Boat Builder
1932
On display at WAMM
West Australian Department of Harbour & Lights
1958
HMAS WHYALLA is now landlocked and on display in its original configuration at Whyalla Maritime…
BHP Whyalla
1941
Motor Whaler 2717 being moved aboard HMAS DIAMANTINA in 2010 at the Queensland Maritime Museum
Royal Australian Navy
1964
HOI PHOON in 2007. The rounded cabin front is visible just aft of the mast, with a  high foreha…
CAM Fisher and Sons
1940
GOONDA in 2007, showing a simple but well proportioned hull and cabin profile.
Maritime Services Board of New South Wales
1950