Care to guess how long the four freshwater class ferries' predecessors had been in service for?
Oh, bugger it, here's the basics:
Bellubera: 1910 - 1973
South Steyne: 1938 - 1975
Baragoola: 1922 - 1982
North Head: 1913 - 1985
(Others had shorter lives, and the Lady class ferries did play a role on the Manly route from around the time of the unceremonious decommissioning of the South Steyne until the arrival of the Queenscliff and the Narrabeen, but AFAIK the above were the mainstays of the regular speed service in the private operators' years (Port Jackson & Manly til 1972; then Brambles til 1974) and the early UTA/STA years)
cf the current ferries
Freshwater: 1982 -
Queenscliff: 1983 -
Narrabeen: 1984 -
Collaroy: 1988 -
I'd say the Freshwater class has a loooooong way to go yet.
Oh, bugger it, here's the basics:
Bellubera: 1910 - 1973
South Steyne: 1938 - 1975
Baragoola: 1922 - 1982
North Head: 1913 - 1985
(Others had shorter lives, and the Lady class ferries did play a role on the Manly route from around the time of the unceremonious decommissioning of the South Steyne until the arrival of the Queenscliff and the Narrabeen, but AFAIK the above were the mainstays of the regular speed service in the private operators' years (Port Jackson & Manly til 1972; then Brambles til 1974) and the early UTA/STA years)
cf the current ferries
Freshwater: 1982 -
Queenscliff: 1983 -
Narrabeen: 1984 -
Collaroy: 1988 -
I'd say the Freshwater class has a loooooong way to go yet.