John Oxley odyssey

A 50-year restoration

John Oxley is a rare survivor from the time the Clyde region of Scotland was a world leader in shipbuilding. Launched in Paisley in 1927, for 40 years John Oxley relieved two other pilot vessels in Moreton Bay, Queensland.

In 1943, at the height of World War II, it was commissioned by the Royal Australian Navy as an examination vessel, while continuing to maintain navigational aids in Moreton Bay and at other Queensland ports. With the advent of small, fast pilot launches, it became redundant in 1968. Since 1970 its preservation and return to operational condition have been a project of the Sydney Heritage Fleet. The aim is to have John Oxley steaming on Sydney Harbour in 2027, the 100th anniversary of its building.

HOW THIS RELIC of Australian maritime history came to Sydney is told in the following extract from John Oxley Odyssey: The Life and Times of a 1927 Steamer. Written by Ian Ferrier, this book was the winner of the 2023 Australian Community Maritime History Prize.

Delivery voyage

How the Sydney-based Lady Hopetoun and Port Jackson Marine Steam Museum acquired John Oxley was explained by the individual largely responsible, Warwick Turner. Upon seeing the invitation to tender for the pilot steamer in a newspaper, Turner recalled in the 1985 Spring edition of Australian Sea Heritage:

I immediately wrote away and obtained a general arrangement of the vessel. On receiving the plans we realised the importance of the ship. The Museum was financially moribund and it was difficult to imagine how we could compete with the scrap merchants. Inquiries soon revealed that she had been laid up approximately eighteen months, but that the machinery had been turned over regularly and as a general comment the 1927 hull was in reasonable order.

Warwick Turner with fellow steam enthusiast, Ted Hall, flew to Brisbane to make an inspection. Turner’s immediate reaction upon seeing the steamer in dry dock was wholeheartedly positive:

I will never forget the first sight of this vessel sitting in the dry dock looking very much like a coastal steamer in the bows and a steam yacht in the stern. She was a real little ship and she provided everything that a museum could ever want in terms of a sea-going vessel. Ted and I had absolutely no doubt at all that she should be acquired, somehow or other.

Turner thought $3,000 might secure the steamer for the museum. The tender lodged with Queensland Marine Board included a lengthy statement on the intentions of the museum regarding her preservation. Turner suspected there were those in the Marine Department in Brisbane who were keen to save her. However, he first learnt the steamer had been donated to the museum through the Sydney Morning Herald How to get the steamer to Sydney was next.

At first it was assumed the steamer would be towed to Sydney, but after discussions Turner had with Aub Binnie, who had been for many years Chief Engineer on the pilot steamer, Binnie supported Turner’s idea of steaming to Sydney. In preparation for the 500 nautical mile voyage Turner took a number of volunteers to Brisbane 10 days prior to the proposed departure.

Most of the preparation required for the delivery voyage, according to Turner, was in the engine and the boiler room. He wrote:

Every detail was checked, cleaned and adjusted under the watchful eye of Aub Binny [sic] who had hundreds of interesting stories to tell about the John Oxley

The supply of a full tank of fuel oil from the Shell company without charge, and obtaining a ship’s radio from AWA at half price, were not the only windfalls prior to departure. Warwick Turner recalled:

Dr Rod McLeod, a specialist surgeon in Brisbane, whose spare time life revolved around historical ships, came aboard during the preparation period. It wasn’t long before we invited him and his wife to come to Sydney with us. We were short of a ship’s doctor anyway and Mrs McLeod was a trained nurse … The preparation had paid off and the ship ran like clockwork. We had even been able to get the ships’ boats which were not going to be given to us.

Regarding the voyage to Sydney, Turner remarked:

Everybody having their specific tasks to carry out and the professionals aboard were perfectly suited to us. While they kept an eye on the activity they never intruded.

Captain Bruce Whiteman, of the Queensland Harbours and Marine Department, was Master for the delivery voyage. The two other ‘professionals’ Warwick Turner referred to and who ‘kept an eye on the activity but never intruded’ were Aub Binnie and George Kerr, the steamer’s Master in the 1950s and 60s. Both Binnie and Kerr were in their 80s when John Oxley departed Brisbane on 13 August 1970 with a complement of 45 souls. With two exceptions as mentioned above, the crew comprised members, some with wives and children, of the Lady Hopetoun and Port Jackson Marine Steam Museum, now trading as the Sydney Heritage Fleet.

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Boat deck still with World War II accommodation on board. Image T Binns/Image Sydney Heritage Fleet Collection

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John Oxley in the dry dock at Garden Island Naval Base, Sydney, 2022. Image T Binns/ Image Sydney Heritage Fleet Collection

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‘we made a triumphant entrance into Sydney Harbour having been met by Submarine John Oxley which miraculously “just appeared” out of the mist’

Arrival in Sydney

John Oxley arrived for the first time in Sydney Harbour on a sunny August morning. Warwick Turner’s elation in bringing John Oxley safely to Sydney was clearly evident: We steamed so successfully, averaging just under 12 knots, that we arrived off Pittwater nearly a day early. We therefore steamed into the Hawkesbury and anchored near Cottage Point where we spent the night. The next day we made a triumphant entrance into Sydney Harbour having been met by Submarine John Oxley which miraculously ‘just appeared’ out of the mist. Our own Steam Tug Waratah and lots of friends were also there to greet us. Our patron, the Honourable Milton Morris, was taken aboard for the last few miles down the harbour.

The steam tug Waratah came out to welcome the pilot steamer, as did the 1942 steam tug Himma and numerous motor launches. Warwick Turner commented on one welcoming vessel in particular: ‘Submarine John Oxley [sic] which miraculously “‘just appeared” out of the mist’. But was this happening a coincidence? The Oberon Class submarine launched by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Co Ltd, Greenock, Scotland, in 1968 was under the command of ID Roberts. In his report of September 1970 to the Flag Officer, RAN, Ian Roberts stated:

At 0900 on Sunday 16th August Oxley slipped and proceeded to meet the MV John Oxley off Sydney Heads. John Oxley, the old Moreton Bay Pilot Vessel, was on passage to join the Lady Hopetoun and Port Jackson Maritime Steam Museum, and arrived at 1015. After escorting the John Oxley to Sydney Cove, the submarine berthed at Platypus at 1115.

Even though Ian Roberts mistakenly referred to the ex-pilot steamer as ‘MV John Oxley ’, Roberts must have had an interest beyond the similarity of the name of the submarine under his command and the former pilot steamer. The fact that Ian Roberts was born in Brisbane and that his grandfather was a senior Brisbane pilot must have added greater personal significance to the meeting of the two vessels named after the explorer, John Oxley. Last words on the delivery voyage go to the instigator of the venture, Warwick Turner:

We berthed at Circular Quay for a ceremony accepting the vessel for Sydney. We were all sad that the voyage was over and I believe the crew, even in those few short days, had grown quite close together, the common bond being the John Oxley, a most glorious example of man’s marine engineering endeavours. The 17th August* 1970 was the happiest day for me. [*Turner probably meant 16th August.]

John Oxley on show

The arrival of John Oxley in Sydney made the ATN7 National News on 16 August 1970. Six weeks later the pilot steamer was put on public display at Garden Island Naval Base, Sydney. After listing the various naval vessels on display for Navy Week, the Sydney Morning Herald whet the appetite of the maritime heritage and steam fanatics, stating:

Two historic vessels will be on show, Lady Hopetoun, former VIP launch of the Maritime Services Board, and the John Oxley, the old Brisbane pilot ship which was briefly commissioned during World War II.

Ian Ferrier was born and lives in Sydney, Australia. As an architect working in the public realm, he was involved in numerous building projects that included the preservation of heritage. Upon retirement in 2005, he became a volunteer at the Sydney Heritage Fleet and much of his time has gone into the restoration of the pilot steamer John Oxley. He has also written four novels under the pen name Tom Ferry. More recently, with his interest in the explorer John Oxley, Ian Ferrier has written On Board with Oxley: Discovering the Brisbane River in 1823. That title, and John Oxley Odyssey, can be purchased at the Sydney Heritage Fleet Shop: www.sydneyheritagefleetshop.com.

Since the refloat in 2022 (see Signals 139), restoration work on John Oxley has continued. This project runs primarily with volunteer teams and a couple of staff tradespeople.

Funding and workforce for this restoration are critical at this time, and fundraising and recruitment of volunteers are essential and ongoing tasks. For more information, or to donate or volunteer, please contact Sydney Heritage Fleet: shf.org.au

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