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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-06-19 Daily Xml
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PS MARION

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (15:51): We often talk about the future because we can change it, while we make myths about the past. We talk about the future of the tourist industry, how it should be twice as big as it is today. And we talk about the past as if there is no tomorrow. Last weekend South Australia celebrated a voyage that began not last century but the century before that.

The paddle-steamer Marion began its life in a Milang shipyard in 1896. It was built as a river barge, and in 1900 she was fitted with a superstructure so she could become a floating shop visiting river communities. Imagine an all-in-one hardware shop, drapery, grocery and department store pulling up right at your berth—that is what it was like. A steam engine built by Marshall & Sons of Gainsborough in England was installed, and the paddle steamer Marion is still powered by her original engine.

Up and down the Murray and the Darling, the Marion became part of history. She is the third-oldest Australian vessel on Lloyd's Register. Prime minister Andrew Fisher and attorney-general Billy Hughes cruised the river on the Marion. The ceremony that marked the initiation of the locking of the river was held aboard the Marion and that was history, too. It was one of the first times the newly-federated colonies acted as the states of Australia.

So, the Marion paddled into prosperity. As we grew, so did the river trade. In 1908, the Marion was sold to Ben Chaffey of Renmark, who rebuilt her to carry eight passengers as well as cargo, and ultimately she became a passenger-only vessel, with accommodation spread over three decks, plying the river between Renmark and Goolwa on regular summer cruises.

In fact, the Marion was one of the first paddle-steamers to run cruises on the Murray, and today she is one of the very few heritage steam-driven, wood-fired, side-paddle steamers with overnight passenger accommodation operating anywhere in the world. I know: I have been a passenger. Last weekend, I joined a very special celebration.

Fifty years ago, the Marion limped into Mannum from Berri to spend the rest of her life as a static display in a dry dock. Her glory days appeared over. But the River Murray makes its own history, and a group of dedicated volunteers would not leave her marooned in dry dock. They scraped, sanded, painted and primed and they delved into her boiler and cooked up a restorative storm in her kitchen.

They raised money because it was not cheap. Donations came from everywhere to help get her back to glory. The dedication culminated in a re-enactment voyage—a 50th anniversary cruise from Berri to Mannum. Passengers paid top dollar, and even at this price it was good value. They came from Adelaide and interstate. They ate well and they drank well, but they also loaded wood for the boilers and helped push her off sandbanks. It was an adventure as well as a holiday.

Together with the Governor, His Excellency Kevin Scarce, and Mrs Liz Scarce, surviving crew members and passengers who made the Berri to Mannum voyage in 1963, my parliamentary colleagues Ivan Venning and Adrian Pederick and I joined the Marion at Bowhill for her historic downriver trip to Mannum.

What we have in the River Murray and the Marion is a world-class tourist experience. Poets may describe better than I the tall red cliffs; painters could do more justice to the gums, the pelicans and the reflections than any adjectives. Photographers, philosophers, ornithologists or just plain politicians—we can all learn lessons from the river and its life. Behind the Marion last Saturday a flotilla of historic river craft escorted us into Mannum, where an enthusiastic crowd, a sprinkling of dignitaries and a brass band welcomed us to the dock. There is a website which I highly recommend to the public and all members in this chamber. Its URL is www.davidridgway.com and it has an excellent series of professional photos of the event.

I want to thank the captain, the crew and all the volunteers who worked for so many years to make the Marion shipshape again and all the people at the Mannum dock, the police and the Marion band and the hundreds of people who joined us on the river and on land. The future is not yet written. We can make the Marion and the River Murray an internationally recognised tourist destination. We can do it because it is unique. We can do it because we have the skills in South Australia to capitalise on our natural wonders and our pioneering history. We can do it because we have the will and the way, and if we do it we will have honoured the past and gone into the future with confidence.

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