Kalang
Kalang, as showboat, passes old Spit Bridge | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kalang, later Sydney Queen |
| Namesake | Australian Aboriginal word meaning 'beautiful' |
| Operator | Sydney Ferries Limited |
| Builder | J. Crichton & Company, (Saltney, England) |
| Completed | 1926 |
| Fate | wrecked 1972 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 350 tons |
| Length | 57.0 m |
| Capacity | 50 vehicles, 250 passengers. Later 2,153 passengers as showboat |
Kalang, later Sydney Queen, was a vehicular ferry and later show boat on Sydney Harbour. A steel-hulled, steam screw ferry, she and sister Kara Kara were the largest vehicular ferries to operate in Sydney and the largest ferries operated by Sydney Ferries Limited.
She was built in 1926 to help meet the increasing demand for vehicular traffic to cross the Harbour before the 1932 opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Redundant following the opening of the bridge, she was converted to a showboat in the late 1930s. Rebuilt as an army repair ship during World War 2 she operated in Rabaul and Torokina.
Following the war, she was converted back to a showboat and became a popular Sydney icon. Following financial decline, she was laid up in the 1960s. She was wrecked on the New South Wales Mid North Coast while being towed to the Philippines.