The P.S. Corowa survived snags, sandbanks and a changing river trade before finally sinking at Morgan.
The P.S. Corowa was one of the fastest and most manoeuvrable boats in its class when she took to the waters of the Murray River in 1868.
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The paddle steamer spent almost six decades hauling cargo up and down one of the largest river systems in the world before meeting an end as tragic as her beginning.
She now forms part of the South Australian River Boat Trail as a partially exposed hull, north of Morgan, at a section of the Murray River known as the Great Elbow, where the river bends and flows south into the Southern Ocean.
Built on the iron hull of the ‘Lady Darling’, which burned at her moorings at the Port of Echuca in 1867, the river boat was renamed ‘Corowa’ for good luck and returned to service the following year under the command of Captain George Pearce.
The PS Corowa immediately turned heads with her speed, gliding through the water with ease despite her size.
At a length of 95 feet and a beam of 20 feet, she was considered one of the largest boats on the river.
“The trial trip of the steamer Corowa today was most successful. She was found to be extremely fast, and is splendidly fitted up, surpassing in that respect any of the other river steamers.” – The Argus, July 2, 1868.
The PS Corowa in the early days before additions were made to her superstructure.
Her maiden voyage saw her steam upstream to her namesake town of Corowa, and then on to Howlong, to collect 60 tonnes of wheat.
The return trip to Echuca, however, brought more of the river boat’s previous bad luck.
She struck a snag about nine miles downstream from the Wahgunyah Port and immediately sank to the bottom of the river.
Captain Pearce was able to plug the leak by the time help arrived from Wahgunyah, determined to refloat his steamer, and returned her to Echuca for repairs.
“Considering that the Corowa is one of the largest vessels on the river, and was taken on with machinery, sternwheel and all, and that the nature of her injuries were far from slight, this must be considered very good work.” – The Argus, July 28, 1868.
The Corowa again returned to service whereupon she forged her reputation as one of the fastest steamers on the river without further sinking.
The Upper Murray, though, is notoriously shallow, and the Albury Banner reported in November 1870 that the PS Corowa had become grounded while trying to navigate “the appearance of a channel” in floodwater.
It was the original PS Cumberoona that came to her rescue and tried for more than a day to haul her off the sandbank before she eventually had to be dug out.
The PS Corowa docked at Murray Bridge, SA, in the early 1900s.
While the Corowa’s early days were marred with misfortune, her later service passed without any major mishap.
She was sold to Mr William Richard Randell in the 1870s and after several years hauling cargo up and down the Upper Murray, her route changed to encompass the Lower Murray in South Australia and the Darling River.
Her trips back to Corowa after this were rare, although in 1897 the Yarrawonga Mercury reported the PS Corowa was nearby Collendina Station when the barge ‘Jessie’ hit a snag and sank, losing most of its cargo.
The Corowa continued hauling cargo on the Murray-Darling after being sold to Gem Navigation Company in 1909 and remained in serviced until 1926 when she was permanently moored at Morgan, South Australia.
Sightings as late as 1944 report her still moored at Morgan, partially dismantled and derelict.
According to the South Australian River Boat Trail, the PS Corowa suffered her final fate when she sank at her moorings in 1946, about 200 yards upstream from Morgan Wharf.
Parts of her boiler and steam piping remain at the wreck site, with those and the stern-wheel rudder poles protruding through the surface; a skeleton of one of the fastest and most resilient cargo haulers of the Murray-Darling.
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