Rugged Riverboat To Ride Again
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday October 10, 1998
The "Dreadnought of the Darling", the 1890s paddle- steamer Jandra, will ply the Darling River again as tourism flourishes at Australia's oldest inland port.
Outback orchardist Russell Mansell is building a $100,000 replica of the historic vessel as his contribution to a multi- million dollar Back O' Bourke museum depicting 500 years of Darling River history, due to open on a 40-hectare site on the outskirts of the town by May 2000.
Mr Mansell, aged 60 and "in my prime", is the driving force behind a 260-hectare riverfront horticulture development at Bourke.
Originally from Mildura, he is part of a family of paddleboat enthusiasts. His brother Ian built the steam vessel Impulse, now part of the Murray River tourism fleet.
The 23-metre Jandra was built in the 1890s and acquired in 1916 by the Brown family, who converted it to a barge to shuttle wool-scouring equipment between Darling River sheep stations.
As a barge, Jandra was generally towed by the paddle steamer Nile, the original steel paddle components of which Mr Mansell unearthed at Bourke's Paddlewheel Van Park, where it served as a nondescript public exhibit.
Remnants of Nile's paddle will be incorporated in Mr Mansell's replica of Jandra.
The noted historian C. E. W. Bean based his book Dreadnought of the Darling on his trip on Jandra.
Materials for the Jandra project are being assembled, with construction due to start next August.
How long will it take?
"As long as is necessary to do a good job," Mr Mansell said.
© 1998 Sydney Morning Herald
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