Media Release

19th February 2003

William Randell’s PS Mary Ann Celebrated

An historic moment was shared on the banks of the Murray at Mannum on Wednesday. Documentary film producers Paul Williams and Ian Doyle were joined by local historian Rod Williams to raise a glass to memory of the father of the river trade William Randell. Wednesday February 19th was 150 years to the day that Randell trailed his steam paddleboat the Mary Ann on the Murray at Mannum.

William and his brother Thomas assembled the 55 ft Mary Ann on the north bank of Reedy Creek Station which is near the Mannum Dry Dock. The trial run went a short distance down the river to the ‘Wall’ on Mr Baker’s station, making it the first trip by a steamer on the Murray. After more work on the boat, the Randell’s, with a party of twelve guests, returned the Mary Ann to the water and took a pleasure trip on March 18th 1853.

“It was the beginning of one of the most important periods of development of inland Australia’s and we just wanted to mark the moment by being at the spot 150 years on,” Executive Producer Ian Doyle said.

“Both Paul and I were enthralled by the river and her magnificent river boats when we made Source to Sea in 2001 and wanted to remember this significant moment in the history of the river trade.

“We raised a glass of Robert O’Callaghan’s very fine Rockford red wine which, given his support of the PS Marion at Mannum, seemed the right thing to do,” Ian Doyle said.

Major celebration to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the start of the river trade are being planned along the river during 2003.

The Centenary of Federation's Source to Sea event in 2001 took more than three years to plan and three months to complete. It's one of the most memorable journey's ever undertaken down the Murray from it's source in the Kosciusko high country to the sea at the Murray mouth town of Goolwa.

"The documentary is about passion and love - passion for old paddlesteamers and love of a river," Ian Doyle said.

Australia has more original paddleboats than anywhere else in the world. Never before had such a flotilla been assembled on the Murray River. At times the fleet included more than 200 heritage and leisure craft, paddlesteamers and riverboats - some more than 100 years old.

Source to Sea - the Story of the Murray Riverboats includes memorable vision of many of the paddleboats that took part in this historic journey, including PS Oscar W, PS William Randell, PS Marion and PV Akuna Amphibious.

It also includes never before seen private family archival footage from the Robinson family at Chowilla Station and historic photographs from the Rod Williams collection at the Mannum Heritage Centre. It celebrates the unique story of the Murray riverboats.

Source to Sea - the Story of the Murray Riverboats brings to life the colourful history of a number of the old riverboats and shows dedication of an increasing number of 'passionately mad' wooden boat restorers.

The documentary includes the story of steam, the hard work, the humour and the romance of the river trade in the late 1800's when several hundred paddleboats and barges opened up much of inland Australia along the Murray, Darling and Murrumbidgee Rivers.

"Compared to the stories of drovers, shearers and squatters, very little is known about the important role these paddle steamers played in the history of Australia. Things would have been much different had poets and writers Lawson and Patterson written about the Murray and her paddle steamers as Mark Twain did about the Mississippi. It would have placed the Murray more in the centre of Australians consciousness. This documentary tells their story," said Ian Doyle.

Source to Sea - the Story of the Murray Riverboats was made with the assistance of Peter and Jan Teakle from Akuna Station and the South Australian Tourism Commission.

Proceeds from the sale of the director's cut of Source to Sea - the Story of the Murray Riverboats are in support of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

More information:

Ian Doyle
Executive Producer
0417 819 189