Join us for a History lesson and learn something new!
Hear Arthur Pearce from the Maritime Museum speak about the history and development of riverboats on the Murray-Darling River system.
After they first crossed the Blue Mountains in 1813, it took many years for the English settlers to work out the final destinations of the inland river systems. There were theories of an inland sea, or of vast areas of inland marshland, but it wasn’t until 1829 that Charles Sturt finally navigated the river system from the Murrumbidgee to the mouth of the Murray that the problem was solved.
Soon the potential of the river system to offer a means of supplying the settlers of the inland, as well as delivering their produce to the coastal ports. The Murray Darling system was seen as the potential “Mississippi of the Inland”.
The riverboats were able to bring supplies to miners and inland settlers, as well as deliver their produce to the major ports around the coast. At the height of the river trade, there were up to 500 riverboats of all shapes and sizes plying the inland waterways.
Through this illustrated presentation you will meet some of the early pioneers of the river trade, as well as the colonial politics that affected their enterprise. You will be introduced to many of the riverboats and their crews as well as to the day-to-day hazards that they faced.
Liverpool City Library
Thursday 4 May
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm
No bookings are needed, tea and cuppa are provided.
This event is delivered in partnership with Liverpool U3A.
