'Abandoned Cane Barge.'
This is my entry for this week's Abandoned Shit Weekly Contest organised by @customnature - №.22 - Theme: 'Water.'
This old barge is situated at Maclean in New South Wales, Australia. These images more than likely feature, the last surviving example of the barges used on the Clarence River in northern New South Wales. Her job was to deliver cane to the Harwood mill.
It was built in 1946, and has a steel-plated hull which is riveted together with a double-ended hull shape. Apparently, Cane Punt No.6 punt came from either Newcastle in NSW or from a builder in Queensland.
Barges like this were a common sight on the northern rivers of New South Wales for almost a century, where they were known colloquially as punts.
The sugar cane industry in northern New South Wales was established in the mid-19th century along the banks of the Clarence River. The Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR) began operating a mill in 1870 near the coast to process cane grown largely on private plantations along the river. This company provided barges plus a steamer to transport the cane to the mill near Harwood.
Originally, barges were made of wood and were built locally capable of carrying approximately 30 tonnes of cane. Steel barges were introduced in the early 1900s with a 70 tonne capacity. The barges were towed by CSR company vessels including HEBE and BEARDMORE.
Transporting cane by river ceased in 1976 and was replaced by road transport. Most of the redundant barges became landfill and were used to reinforce the river banks. Cane Punt No.6 was abandoned however it somehow managed to survive reasonably intact. In 1981, with assistance from the Maclean Rotary Club, the barge was placed on display (with the Ashby Ferry) at Ashby, beside the Pacific Highway.
Fortunately, Ferry Park in Maclean is locatted on the Pacific Highway and I was able to stop and get these photos on my last road trip to Coffs Harbour earlier in the year. It is a convenient place to pause and stretch your legs to break the monotony of driving or sitting in the car for long periods at a time.
The image below, is a close up of the hull revealing the wonderful textures of age an decay. I dedicate this pic to @customnature who has kindly brought back our much loved @aswcontest
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THANK YOU FOR VIEWING. HAVE A GREAT DAY.
