RESTORATION works on the historic ps Canally could be completed within 12 months – if the volunteer restoration group receives certain grant funding.
Members and volunteers of the ps Canally Restoration Committee have been working continuously for two years to bring the old side-wheel paddle steamer up to standard, in an effort to establish the historic boat as a tourist attraction in Morgan.
After sinking in the 1950s, restoration began on the 112-year-old paddle steamer once it was raised from the depths of Boundary Bend, Victoria, in 1998.
When it was acquired by the Mid Murray Council in 2010, the ship was in need of full restoration.
Restoration committee member Kevin Myers said progress on the ps Canally depends on a yearly allocation of funds from the Mid Murray Council (MMC).
“This year, we have enough money to finish the infrastructure and lay the main deck,” he said.
“We are currently waiting to hear if we will receive $4000 in funding from the Murray-Darling Basin Economic Development grant program, which will bring forward the final restoration works.
“If all goes to plan, the ps Canally will be the first heritage boat in South Australia that will have disabled facilities.
“We also hope to complete the electrical, plumbing and firefighting requirements.”
Mr Myers said volunteers took advantage of the challenge and decided to build the boat to facilitate disabled passengers.
“Because we’re starting from scratch, we’re going to be putting in disabled toilets and showers and all that,” he said.
“Whereas, if you want to use the toilet on most other boats – like the ps Marion down at Mannum – you actually have to go on the next deck up.
“So if you have (a passenger) in a wheelchair, then it’s not accessible.”
With the SA border closed and coronavirus social distancing restrictions currently in place, Mr Myers said the Echuca-based shipwright the group relies on for Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) works has been unable to travel to Morgan.
“Obviously, we’ve had to put a halt on all the works until further notice,” he said.
“Our AMSA shipwright has been unable to travel, and while we do rely on different people around Morgan – if they’re an expert in a field like carpentry or a plumbing – we have to make sure we’re going through the right streams and getting approval as we go.”
The ps Canally Restoration Committee expects to hear about the grant funding in May.