7 Miles from Sydney and 1000 miles from care

 

7 Miles from Sydney and 1000 miles from care was the slogan used by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company in 1940 and it still holds true.

 

7 Miles from Sydney and 1000 miles from care .. Maureen Clifford ©  The #ScribblyBarkPoet

 

Seven miles from Sydney and a thousand miles from care

was a phrase that one heard often way back when

the ferries did the city run from Manly wharf to Sydney –

the largest ferry on the harbour she was then.

 

SS South Steyne they named her she was fast, and she was sleek

And she sailed from Leith in Scotland to our shore

A trek of fourteen thousand miles, a sixty-four-day trip –

not uneventful in the worlds lead up to war.

 

She faced up to French warships, then Italy took a look,

and in the Suez a submarine took a squiz.

A passing tankers bow wave washed her off course into mud.

A line fouled bow propellor caused a tizz.

 

But South Steyne was undaunted, she sailed on through heavy seas

that the Red Sea threw at her to test her pluck.

Undeterred she ploughed on through, for now this girl was Sydney bound –

And quite unfazed by Neptune’s rage that ran amuck.

 

Along with other ferries they painted her white bits green –

It was war time – now she’d not be seen at night

by Jap midget submarines that broached coastal defences.

Creating mayhem and causing a deal of fright.

 

 One hundred thousand trips she made doing the Manly run

between nineteen thirty-eight and seventy-four

with a little argy bargy – and a collision or two

HMAS Melbourne rammed into whilst still moored.

 

To be fair she couldn’t help that, evasion was required…

sailing boats tacked in her space. That was a worry.

Luckily no one was injured though embarrassment was rife –

an event that no one forgot in a hurry.

 

Years have passed she sails no more- she is berthed at Berry’s Bay – 

she’s been homeless now for eight years which is sad.

She was recommissioned for our Queen in 1988,

once converted to a restaurant.  Now there’s no room to be had.

 

There is no room in the harbour for this old Queen of the Sea

She’s a testament to boat builders who built ships sound and strong

Come 2038 she'll reach her century –

SS South Steyne is heritage listed – it’s in Sydney she belongs.

 

Now she’s mothballed in Sydney – where there are thousands who care,

and are searching to find her a permanent berth.

People dedicated to the task of keeping her alive –

She’s our heritage, our history – we must value her worth.

 

16.6.2024

 

***As of 2026, the historic SS South Steyne still remains inactive