 As a steamer on the Lane Cove River, 1920s
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | Lady Ferguson |
| Operator | Balmain New Ferry Company Sydney Ferries Limited Sydney Harbour Transport Board |
| Builder | David Drake Limited, Balmain |
| Launched | 1914 |
| Out of service | 1974 |
| Fate | Sold to Hobart 1975, broken up 1977 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 95 tons, 97 tons from 1954 |
| Length | 33.5 m |
| Propulsion | Steam (1914-1937), Diesel (from 1937) |
| Speed | 11 knots as built, 9 knots as diesel |
| Capacity | 560 |
Lady Ferguson was a Sydney Harbour ferry built in 1914 for the Balmain New Ferry Company. She and four similar ferries, Lady Chelmsford (1910), Lady Denman (1912), Lady Edeline (1913), and Lady Scott (1914), were a new series of "Lady-class" ferries designed by renowned naval architect Walter Reeks.[peacock prose]
Lady Ferguson and her four sisters survived the 1932 opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and were converted to diesel power that decade. They also survived the 1951 NSW State Government takeover of the ailing ferry fleet. Lady Ferguson was sold out of Sydney ferry service in 1975 to be used as a relief vessel in Hobart following the collapse of the Tasman Bridge. On arrival, she was found to be in such poor condition that she was not used, and was subsequently broken up in 1977.
Continuing a Balmain Ferry Co convention of naming their ferries after the wives of Governors-General of Australia and Governors of NSW, Lady Ferguson was named after Helen Hermione, wife of Ronald Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar the sixth Governor-General of Australia. This naming nomenclature was again used by the State Government harbour ferry operator with the introduction of 6 new "Lady-class ferries" in the 1960s and 1970s.