Rosman Ferries operates ferry services on
Sydney Harbour.
History
Rosman Ferries was founded by Charles Rosman in 1916, when he launched a ferry service between
Balmain,
North Sydney and
Garden Island carrying dockyard workers to the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
base. This service ran until 1981.
Rosman Ferris also provided transportation for workers from Balmain to the
Harbour Bridge during its construction in the late 1920s and early 1930s as well as spectator ferries for the
Sydney Flying Squadron
Sydney Flying Squadron Yacht club was founded in 1891 by Mark Foy in the birthplace of the famous Sydney Harbour sailing skiff classes. It was founded to allow people to enjoy skiff sailing regardless of financial background. The Sydney Flyin ...
18-foot skiff races. The spectator ferries were periodically raided by the Gaming Squad on suspicion of harbouring illegal gambling activities.
[Rosman Ferries]
''Club Marine'' volume 25 issue 1
In February 1938, the Rosman ferry
''Rodney'' capsized and sank with the loss of 19 lives whilst on a charter to farewell the ''
USS Louisville'' from Sydney Harbour. An inquest found that there had been over 100 passengers on the top deck and Charles Rosman, owner and skipper on the day, was found to be negligent.
[ ''Rodney'' was refloated, repaired, renamed, and relaunched as ''Regalia'' and she remained running routes on the harbour right into the 1980s.
Following ]Sydney Ferries Limited
Sydney Ferries Limited operated ferry services on Sydney Harbour from 1900 until June 1951.
The company grew out of the North Shore Steam Ferry Company and took over smaller ferry operators to become the largest ferry operator in Sydney's his ...
withdrawing from the run in 1950, Rosman Ferries commenced operating a peak-hour service on the Lane Cove River
The Lane Cove River, a northern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary west of Sydney Harbour, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river is a tributary of the Parramatta River, winding thro ...
in November 1950.[
In 1987, Rosman retired and sold the business to Steve and Frank Matthews and Ross and Neva Williams. In 1997, the Matthews' bought out the Williams' shareholding and in 2008 sold the business to Sean Langman’s Noakes Group in 2008 who relocated it after 70 years from Mosman Bay to ]Berrys Bay
Berrys Bay is a bay located to the east of the Waverton Peninsula and the west of McMahons Point, on the north of Sydney Harbour.
A number of ship building firms operate from the bay.
History
In 2008 the Government of New South Wales called f ...
.[
Today the fleet comprises four ferries:
*''MV Proclaim'' (1939)
*''MV Radar'' (1947)
*''MV Royale'' (1974)
*''MV Regal II'' (1981)Regal II]
Rosman Ferries
See also
*List of Sydney Harbour ferries
Sydney Harbour's first ferries were sail and/or oar powered, but by the mid-19th century, paddle steamers were well established. Double-ended ferries became common as they did not require turning at terminating wharves in Sydney's busy but na ...
References
{{Sydneyferries
Ferry companies of New South Wales
Ferry transport in Sydney
Australian companies established in 1916