southsteyne

Is this picture dated 1940? The Manly ferries had white trim on their hulls both before and after WWII. Their hulls were painted all the one colour (some say grey, others green) as a wartime measure from 1942 to 1946/47. In this picture, below the bollard with lines (ropes) to the wharf, there is no white band running along the hull, so I would say the picture is within the period 1942 to 1946.

Thanks GrenadierGuardsDmr, we're not sure about this one. In the collection are several photos marked Pix (the popular magazine), dated 1940. We're are working on the Pix archive of negatives at the moment. It is huge but once finished we might be able to check this date.

This would have to be Circular Quay I presume ?

Either Circular Quay or Manly, and it look more like the very start of the war rather than later ?

It's Circular Quay, of that I am certain. The jetty deck at Manly was (and still is) much wider than Circular Quay and therefore the passenger shelter was much further back from the jetty edge on both sides of the jetty. Also the bell from ex Manly ferry P.S. Brighton (top left corner of the photo) was fixed to the end of the jetty at Circular Quay, rung when departure was due. As for the date, I'm now not sure. The Manly ferries had "pinstripes", painted line highlights right around the hull just above the sponson (the timber buffer). Before the war these pinstripes were yellow (they are shown as yellow on the coloured pre-war tram posters of Curl Curl, and the later edition showing South Steyne), during the war they seem to have been either still yellow or painted over in the drab green colour applied to the entire hull. After the war they were bright white. Unfortunately this golden yellow is a very hard colour to pick in black and white photos, particularly when on applied metal strips standing proud of the hull and catching the light, and so this photo may show the yellow or drab colour on the pinstripe. The photo may be 1940. However, I viewed this print a couple of years ago at the Mitchell Library and it had a date note on the back "16/11/48". Was that a reference to acquisition? Rgds.

NEW FERRY BOAT (1938, September 10). The Maitland Daily Mercury (NSW : 1894 - 1939), p. 5. Retrieved August 13, 2025, from nla.gov.au/nla.news-article125727148

NEW FERRY FOR MANLY SERVICE (1938, September 10). Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), p. 12. Retrieved August 13, 2025, from nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133145898

SOUTH STEYNE AT SYDNEY (1938, September 10). Daily Commercial News and Shipping List (Sydney, NSW : 1891 - 1954), p. 4. Retrieved August 13, 2025, from nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162061138

South Steyne's first ocean cruise to Broken Bay was by a charter company in November 1953. The company would often cancel at short notice if there was the slightest chance of bad weather so the Port Jackson & Manly Steam Ship Company did the ocean cruises themselves after the first season. This series of Womens Weekly pictures was published in an article in the 2 December 1953 edition and is one of the first, if not the first, ocean cruises. I realise it may be the WW reporter's notes, but below the Master, Manly ferries had an Engineer, not a Chief Officer.