| Swan River Ferry Co. | |
| Type: | Private |
| Founded: | 1897 |
| Founder: | Rowland Pennington Fred Bailey Herman Sutton John Olsen |
| Defunct: | 1949 |
| Fate: | Liquidated |
| Hq Location: | South Perth, Western Australia |
| Area Served: | Swan River, Western Australia |
| Key People: | Oscar Mouritz Olsen Nat Lappin |
| Services: | River ferry services |
The Swan River Ferry company (also traded as Swan River Ferries Ltd) was a major operator of ferry services on the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia from its establishment in 1897 to its end in 1949.
The company was founded in 1897 originally by Rowland Pennington and Fred Bailey as a public company named the River Ferry company, using the vessels Mary Queen and Gladys,[1] with services between Mends and Coode Street jetties, replacing an earlier irregular service managed by Tubbs, but the venture failed. In 1904 however, a boat hire and manufacturing business, Sutton & Olson founded by shipwrights Harry Sutton (born as Claes Herman on 22 April 1867[2]), and John Olsen, both of Scandinavian heritage, took over the company with a consistent service created with the inaugural vessel Valkyrie.[3] Services expanded to Applecross, Canning Bridge, and Como.[4]
John Olsen drowned in March 1907. His death was treated as suspicious as it coincided with Olsen's purchase of the Westralia ferry and his brother's arrival in Perth.[5] [6] After Olsen's death his son Oscar Mouritz Olsen became involved in the company, before taking it over when Harry Sutton died on 27 June 1922. That same year the company's yard burned down with several vessels lost including the 18feet skiff Mele Bilo. In 1935 the entire company and its assets were bought by Nat Lappin,[7] after Oscar Mouritz Olsen drowned that same year.[8] [9] Lappin continued the ferry services until 1949 when increasing competition from public transport[10] forced the business into liquidation, with the route now operated by Transperth.
During World War II two of the fleet's "Val-boat" ferries, including Valdura, were requisitioned for use as troopships in the Nile river, Egypt.
| Valkyrie | Sutton & Olsen | 1904 | 45 passengers | ||||
| Valhalla | Sutton & Olsen | 1905 | 78 passengers | Capacity increased to carry 84 passengers. | |||
| Valdhana | Sutton & Olsen | 1905 | 12.19 metres | ||||
| Valdemar | J. Asquith & S. Lawrence | 65 passengers | |||||
| Valdavia | J. Asquith & S. Lawrence | 76 passengers | |||||
| Valthora | Thomas Hill | 78 passengers | |||||
| Valthera | Sutton & Olsen | ||||||
| Valhalb | Sutton & Olsen | ||||||
| Valfrida | Thomas Hill | c. 1910 | 100 passengers | ||||
| Valdura | Thomas Hill | 1912 | 13 metres | 76 passengers | Donated by the Swan River Trust to the Western Australian Maritime Museum in 1993. | ||
| Valmeda | Frederick & Eric Carnaby, Nedlands | 1915 | 84 passengers | ||||
| Valdana | Albert E. Lawrence (W. & S. Lawrence) | 1919 | 20.42 metres | 254 passengers | Double-decker ferry. First vessel to be built entirely of jarrah. | ||
| Valkyrie II | Albert E. Lawrence (W. & S. Lawrence) | 24 September 1928 | 18.59 metres | 228 passengers | Designed by Thomas Hill. Double-decker ferry. |