Kaikai (ferry)

''Kaikai'' was a " K-class" ferry on Sydney Harbour. Commissioned in 1907, the timber- hulled steamer was built for Sydney Ferries Limited during the boom in cross-harbour ferry travel prior to the 1932 opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. At the time of launch, ''Kaikai'' was one of Sydney's largest wooden ferries, being the longest and second largest by tonnage. She was a typical example of the "K-class"; a group of double-deck, double-ended, steam-powered screw ferries.

''Kaikai'' was built for the short but busy cross-harbour route between Circular Quay and Milsons Point. She survived the 1932 opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (17 other Sydney Ferries Limited vessels were sold at the time). She was taken over by the Royal Australian Navy in 1942 and sold for breaking up in 1947.

''Kaikai'' followed Sydney Ferries Limited's tradition of naming their vessels after Australian Indigenous words starting with "K". "Kaikai" is thought to be an indigenous word for 'food' or 'jewfish'.

Background

''Kaikai'' was built for Sydney Ferries Limited during the early twentieth century boom in cross-Harbour travel prior to the 1932 opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. She was typical of a broader type of timber double-ended screw ferry known as the K-class. The company built 25 of these vessels between the 1890s and early 1920s to meet the booming demand. The K-class were all propelled by triple expansion steam engines and were predominantly timber-hulled (four later K-class had steel hulls).

Design and construction

''Kaikai's'' design was an evolution of Sydney Ferries Limited's K-class design. The hull and deck fittings were designed by J Barber, foreman joiner of Sydney Ferries Limited, under the supervision of, and to a specification by T. Brown, works manager. She followed '' Kareela'' (1905) in being the second such ferry to have rounded roofline returns into her wheelhouses, thus fully enclosing the ends of the upper decks. While upper decks had been enclosed since the 1902's ''Koree'', she and previous K-class steamers ('' Kurraba'' (1899), ''Kirribilli'' (1900), '' Kummulla'' (1903), and ''Kulgoa'' (1905)) all had open ended upper decks.

She was built by David Drake Ltd, Balmain for £13,575. Her keel and keelson were made of ironbark, and at the time of her launch, it was noted to be specially strengthened throughout, with 14 x 14 inch hardwood belting running around the vessel. The floors and frames were of hardwood with the bottom planking also of hardwood throughout, and copper-fastened up to the waterline. She had four wooden bulkheads and one iron bulkhead. The hull was flared out with no overhanging sponsons, with a 4 inch x 1 inch iron sponson band.

Her 59 hp triple expansion steam engine and boilers were supplied by Mort's Dock and Engineering to a specification provided by Sydney Ferries Limited works manager, Mr. T Brown. Of direct action, surface condensing type, her engines had cylinders of 13-inch, 21-inch, and 34-inch diameters respectively, with a stroke length of 21 inches.National Archives of Australia
/ref> Her two through multi-tubular cylindrical type boilers were both 2.18 m in diameter, 4.6 m in length, and carried a working pressure of 180 1b, with a total heating space of 93 m2. The boilers were fitted with Deightons patent suspension furnace and automatic pumps as well as a fuel heater. She was fitted with a combined steam and hand steering gear from Alley and McClelland's. Electric lights, still a relative recent innovation for ferries, were supplied by Aller and McLellan of Glasgow and fitted Scott Henderson and Co.

File:Sydney_Ferry_KAI_KAI_leaving_Circular_Quay_ca._1910.jpg, ''Kaikai'' as built and in her original white trim, 1910
File:Sydney_ferry_KAI_KAI_early_20th_century.jpg, A full ''Kaikai'' possibly on an excursion/spectator trip
File:Sydney ferry KAIKAI entering Sydney Cove.jpg, ''Kaikai'' as built

When new, she was the longest of the Sydney Ferries Ltd fleet (and second largest by tonnage). A new pontoon was built at Circular Quay to accommodate her. Her 46.3 m length was significantly longer than the next largest ferry, ''Kulgoa's'', (42.7 m) and her beam was 10.1 m compared to ''Kulgoa's'' 9.6 m. While her tonnage was smaller than ''Kulgoa's'' (303 tons vs 338 tons), her rated passenger capacity of 1,250 was similar to ''Kulgoa's'' 1,255.

''Kaikai'' was launched on 7 November 1906, and christened by Miss Nina Massic, eldest daughter of H H Massie and granddaughter of J A Dibbs. She was the eighth Sydney Ferries Limited vessel to use Indigenous names starting with 'K'. '' Kookooburra'' also under construction at the time of ''Kaikai's'' launch would be the ninth such vessel. She reached 11.5 knots on her trials on 13 March 1907 which made her the fastest boat in the Sydney Ferries fleet.

Service history

''Kaikai'' began service on Saturday 23 March 1907 on the Milsons Point run.

Following the opening of the Bridge, Sydney Ferries Limited patronage fell from a 1927 peak of 47 million annually to 15 million in 1933. The Milsons Point service, which crossed the harbour at the location of the new bridge, was quickly redundant. 17 vessels from the fleet were retired from service, including K-class ferries of similar age ''Koree'', '' Kummulla'', ''Kurraba'' and ''Kirribilli''. ''Kaikai'', however, remained in service. With the Milsons Point and Lavender Bay routes discontinued following the bridge opening, she was used on other routes and for charter and concert events. She was modified with a flying bridge to provide her master with greater visibility in order to follow yacht races.

She was taken over by the Navy in 1942 for use as accommodation ship as part of the War effort. She was purchased by the Navy in 1943 and register closed on 10 March of that year.National Archives of Australia
/ref> Following the War, she was sold for breaking up 1947.

File:Sydney ferry KULGOA and possibily KAI KAI in Lavender Bay 1930.jpg, ''Kaikai'' (near) at Lavender Bay showing her added flying bridge
File:Kaikai_Kulgoa_Koompartoo.jpg, ''Kaikai'' (left) following the sailing races with ''Kulgoa'' (middle) and '' Koompartoo'' (right), late 1930s
File:Sydney ferry KAI KAI at Circular Quay 1930s.jpg, At Circular Quay in her post Bridge colours including cream funnel.

Incidents

* 19 August 1909 – ''Kulgoa'' and ''Kaikai'', the two largest inner harbour ferries at the time, collided in Sydney Cove on a foggy morning. The full ''Kaikai'' rode higher than the almost empty ''Kulgoa'', ripping out the bulwarks of the latter. No injuries were reported.
* 25 October 1911 – On a Wednesday evening, ''Kaikai'' collided with the ' sixty-miler' collier ''Derwent'' which severely smashed the ladies saloon panelling and windows. ''Kaikai'' had left Milsons Point for Circular Quay at 7:45 pm with about 300 passengers on board when the ''Derwent'' struck the ferry's port side. The crew began preparations for possible sinking and evacuation, however, it was found that damaged was limited to above the waterline. ''Kaikai'' suffered a nine-foot long rent in her side and the ''Derwent's'' bow had penetrated about four feet into the ferry's hull. Her passengers were transferred to ''Kulgoa'' and No injuries were reported. A November 1911 Marine Court of Enquiry found that the master of the ''Derwent'' to be at fault and suspended his certificate for four months.
* 28 January 1915 – A man fell overboard and was rescued by the crew of the Sydney Ferries Ltd launch, ''Nautilus''.
* Late June 1915 – ''Kaikai'' collided with fellow Sydney Ferry Limited ferry ''Koree'' at Circular Quay. ''Kaikai'' lost a section of her bulwarks and ''Koree'' lost her lifeboat. There were no injuries to passengers or crew.
* 1 August 1923 – ''Kaikai'' collided with a punt ripping out over 10 feet of bulwarks. No injuries were reported.
* In 1926, '' Koompartoo'' collided with ''Kaikai'' in thick fog severely damaging the latter. Passengers on ''Kaikai's'' lower deck scrambled clear just in time. ''Kaikai's'' bow was stove in, and her bulwarks and sponson were crumbled. The forward upper and lower decks were also stoved in with the ladies cabin and steering gear damaged. Damage to ''Kaikai'' was estimated at £300 to £400. ''Koompartoo'', being built of steel, was not significantly damaged. While there was great excitement on both ferries, there was no panic or injuries.
* 13 August 1930 – ''Kaikai'' collided with ''Kulgoa'' then a moment later with '' Kirrule'' off Milsons Point. No-one was injured, but about 10 metres of bulwark was stripped off ''Kulgoa''.
* 27 February 1932 – ''Kaikai'' struck the tug ''Leveret'' when avoiding liner '' Aorangi''. in the mix up, ferry '' Kamiri'' then bumped into ''Kaikai''. ''Leveret'' and ''Kamiri'' were not significantly damaged, while ''Kaikai'' suffered splintered timbers.
* 26 May 1933 – ''Kaikai'' was struck by Manly ferry '' Bellubera'' near Circular Quay on a trip to Cremorne. Slight damage was done to the sponson and bulwarks of ''Kaikai'' and steel ''Bellubera'' was slightly dented. There were no injuries.

File:Sydney ferry KAIKAI after collision with collier DERWENT.jpg, Damage to ''Kaikai's'' bow after collision with collier ''Derwent'', 1911
File:Sydney ferry KAIKAI damaged in collision with KOOMPARTOO.jpg, Damage after collision with '' Koompartoo'', 1926
File:Sydney ferries KAIKAI and KAMIRI after collision with tug LEVERET.jpg, ''Kaikai'' (middle) after colliding with tug ''Leveret'' (left) and then being struck by fellow ferry '' Kamiri'', 1932

See also

* List of Sydney Harbour ferries
* Timeline of Sydney Harbour ferries
* Sydney K-class ferries

Notes

References

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External links

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{{Sydneyferries, state=collapsed

Sydney K-class ferries
1906 ships
Ships built in New South Wales