Mornington Steamships – Historical Facts – Mornington Peninsula – Victoria, Australia

In the 1800s in Mornington, a small seaside town on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, the main event of the day was the arrival of one of the steamboats at Mornington Pier. Local hotels and guest houses sent wagons and porters to the dock to escort guests to their establishments. As the steamboats departed to continue their journey to Sorrento, a procession of porters, carts, and passengers headed down the main street.

Steamboats were a form of luxury transportation in Port Philip Bay in the late 19th century. They were used to transport tourists from Melbourne to Mornington, Dromana and Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula, and Queenscliff on the Bellarine Peninsula.

The Port Philip Steamship and Hotel Company owned the Golden Crown and Lonsdale steamships. They made daily excursions from Melbourne to Mornington, Dromana, Sorrento and Queenscliff.

Golden Crown was built in Auckland, New Zealand, by Duthie and Ross in 1870. The plates, frames, engines and boilers were made in England and exported for assembly in Auckland; however, the ship carrying the plates and frames was shipwrecked on its way to New Zealand, so the design was modified to be made of wood. She was 200 feet long and weighed 330 gross tons. After being used in the North Island on the River Thames, she was sold in 1874 to the Port Philip Steamship and Hotel Co., where she became a regular on the Mornington, Sorrento, Queenscliff route. Golden Crown was dissolved in Melbourne in 1892.

Lonsdale was built in 1882 in Greenock, Scotland. It was 228 feet long, made of iron, and weighed 228 tons. During a storm in June 1889, she broke her moorings in Port Philip Bay and was stranded on Port Melbourne Beach. It was not until January 1891 that she was refloated, but it was determined that the repair costs were so high that she would be dismantled.

George Coppin, theater impresario and owner of the Continent Hotel, the swimming baths, and a tramway that shuttled visitors from the bayside beach to the wild open beach in Sorrento, founded the Bay Excursion Steamer Company Ltd. and commissioned the construction of the first steamboat in Port Phillip Bay in 1886.

At the turn of the century, there were 3 paddle steamers in operation in Port Phillip Bay, the Ozone, the Hygeia and the Weeroona.

The Ozone, built in Glasgow, was 260 feet long (80 meters), constructed of steel, and weighed 572 tons. Her two paddlewheels each measured almost 22 feet in diameter (approximately 7 meters) and could travel at up to 20 knots. At the time, she was considered the best paddle steamer she had ever built.

Ozone had three decks, a lavish dining room, bars, and a hair salon for ladies. She had a dark green helmet, white upper sections, and two orange funnels. She could carry up to 1600 passengers. That’s how updated the Ozone was, its lighting was by electricity which had been invented by Thomas Edison only 7 years before.

Leaving Glasgow on August 25, 1886, Ozone traveled through the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, and down to Thursday Island, where she was quarantined. Ozone finally reached Port Philip Bay on November 26, 1886.

Her maiden voyage into Port Philip Bay was on December 18, 1886. The first stop was Mornington, then Sorrento and Queenscliff, where she collided with the pier. She was also involved in other incidents during her life. In 1889 she collided with a schooner named Elfin. Neither ship was seriously damaged. 1890 saw a near miss with the coastal trader Coogee, but in 1894 Ozone ran over the fishing vessel May causing considerable damage to May.

Due to declining patronage, the Ozone was withdrawn from service in 1918. She was sold to George Hill & Company, a Melbourne shipbreaker who dismantled all fittings and scuttled the hull at Indented Head, near Queenscliff.

The next steamship to enter service was the Hygeia. Built by Napier, Shanks and Bell of Glasgow in 1890 for Hubbart Parker and Company, Hygeia was designed to compete directly with Ozone.

Hygeia was 300 feet long (92 meters), built of steel, and weighed 986 tons. She was capable of 22 knots at full steam and was considered the most lavishly designed paddle steamer ever built for Australian service.

Licensed to carry over 1,600 passengers, Hygeia operated for 40 years serving Port Philip Bay. It had a promenade deck, licensed lounges, lavishly decorated dining rooms, and a barbershop.

Hygeia was decommissioned in 1930. During her time she was involved in a few incidents. In 1894 she was involved in a collision with the tugboat Sprightly. On December 8, 1911, she collided with an unnamed cutter in Port Philip Bay and a few days later, on December 22, she was stranded in Sorrento.

Hygeia was buried after being stripped of all her trappings at Barwon Heads, just outside the western end of Port Philip Bay, in June 1932.

Weeroona was the last of the Port Philip Bay paddle steamers to be built. She was built by AS Inglis of Glasgow in 1910 for Hubbart Parker and Company.

Weeroona took 70 days to complete her maiden voyage from Glasgow to Melbourne via the Suez Canal, Jakarta, Thursday Island, Brisbane and Sydney.

Larger than the other two steamships, Weeroona was 310 feet long (95 meters), constructed of steel, weighed 1,412 tons, and was licensed to carry 1,900 passengers. Once again, she was extremely luxurious with spacious promenade decks and impressive salons and dining rooms.

Weeroona served the resorts of Port Philip Bay until 1942, when the US Navy purchased her and intended to refit her as a convalescent and lodging ship. Leaving Melbourne in 1943, Weeroona traveled under her own power to Sydney and was then towed to the Philippines via Brisbane and New Guinea.

The Australian government purchased the Weeroona from the US Navy in 1945 and sold it for scrap in 1951 when it was broken up and sunk off Berry Bay in New South Wales.

The era of luxurious steamboats in Port Philip Bay is long gone, however, you can still enjoy the wonderful resort towns of Mornington and Sorrento and relive history.

For more fascinating historical facts, photos, tourist tips and much more information about the magnificent Mornington Peninsula, visit us.