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Lady Forrest (pilot boat)

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Not to be confused with Margaret Forrest.
Lady Forrest
Lady Forrest outside Fremantle heads, c. 1924
History
Australia
NameLady Forrest
NamesakeMargaret Forrest
OperatorFremantle Harbour Trust
Port of registryFremantle
BuilderSamuel White & Co.
Laid down1902
CommissionedAugust 1903
Decommissioned1967
IdentificationVessel No. HV000617
FatePreserved
General characteristics
TypePilot boat
Tonnage31.49 GRT
Length17.23 m (56.5 ft)
Beam4.6 m (15 ft)
Height1.93 m (6 ft)
Draught3.8 ft (1 m)
PropulsionGeneral Motors Gray Marine diesel engine (formerly steam-powered)

Lady Forrest is a preserved pilot boat used in Fremantle Harbour from 1903 to 1967. It is currently displayed in the Western Australian Maritime Museum, Fremantle.

History

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Lady Forrest was ordered by the Harbour and Light Department[1][2] for use by the newly created Fremantle Harbour Trust, replacing the Rottnest-Fremantle pilot Atlantic, which became a fishing boat,[3] and an insufficient earlier pilot, Pelican, built in 1900.[4] Atlantic and other pilots were replaced upon a state inquiry into pilot and coastal services after two major tragedies involving the wrecking of Carlisle Castle and City of York in 1899[5][1] with a combined death toll of 17 people.

Lady Forrest in Fremantle Harbour, c. 1910

The new pilot boat was laid down in 1902 with designs by W. Tregarthen Douglass inspired by notable lifeboat designer James Peake. Its hull was designed to be the exact distance between the crests of two waves.[1][5] Lady Forrest was named after Margaret Forrest, wife of Western Australian premier John Forrest, and built by Samuel White & Co. of East Cowes, Isle of Wight in England[1] with a steam engine built by White-Foster. It was delivered on board SS Fifeshire,[5] and entered service in August 1903.[6] One of its earliest captains was Macfarlane during which it was berthed at Victoria Quay,[7] it was overhauled almost every third month at North Wharf.[8]

Immigrants arriving in Western Australia were greeted by the State Labour Bureau headed by A. O. Neville aboard the Lady Forrest.[9]

In August 1942 it had the brass conning tower installed from the Dutch submarine HNLMS K VIII which had been decommissioned and was later scuttled in Cockburn Sound.[10][5] When the HMAS Dalgoma broke free of its anchors and collided with the coal hulk Samuel Plimsoll resulting in its sinking in 1945[11] the Lady Forrest took depth soundings to find deeper water.[12] In 1947 the White-Foster steam engine was replaced by a Gray Marine diesel engine from General Motors; it underwent another thorough overhaul in 1953.[5]

Lady Forrest displayed in the WA Maritime Museum, Elizabeth Quay in January 2021

Following the commissioning of a new pilot boat, MV Lady Gairdner, in 1959, Lady Forrest was transferred to handle customs and immigration officers;[5][1][13] in 1960 all Fremantle pilots received VHF international maritime radio telephones.[14] Lady Forrest was decommissioned in 1967[5][1] having completed 64 years of service. On 16 December 1970[15] it was donated to the Western Australian Maritime Museum (part of the Museum of Western Australia),[1][16] being restored various times, most recently in 2001; it went on display in the current museum building in 2013.[5]

Forrest Landing where Captain Fremantle is said to have first landed is named after the pilot boat, Lady Forrest.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Lady Forrest, Pilot Lifeboat". Western Australian Museum. 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Series S1016 - STEAM LIFEBOAT - "LADY FORREST"". State Records Office of Western Australia. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  3. ^ Miller, Jack (c. 1902). "Fishing boat Atlantic, one-time pilot boat at Rottnest". State Library of Western Australia. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  4. ^ Gillard, Garry (8 February 2015). "Pilots". Freotopia. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Basic Detail Report, Lady Forrest". Australian Register of Historic Vessels. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  6. ^ a b "REGISTER OF HERITAGE PLACES, Assessment Documentation". Heritage Council of Western Australia. June 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  7. ^ Thompson, James (23 June 1906). "Fremantle Lifeboat and Pilot Service. Steam launch Lady Forrest". Western Mail. p. 33. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  8. ^ "The Pilot Boat. Work of the Lady Forrest". The West Australian. 4 August 1932. p. 15. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  9. ^ Peters, Nonja (2006). "VICTORIA QUAY: ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES 1906–1980" (PDF). ResearchGate. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  10. ^ Jeffery, Vic (December 1998). "The Dutchman who stayed" (PDF). Australian Association of Maritime History. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  11. ^ "SAMUEL PLIMSOLL (1873-1948)". shipwreckswa.com. Hyperion Studios. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  12. ^ Williams, Laurie (December 1996). "The Samuel Plimsoll: A Post-Script, Maritime Heritage Annual Australia" (PDF). World Ship Society, Fremantle Branch. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  13. ^ "New Fremantle Pilot Vessel" (PDF). Australia Station Intelligence Summary. 8 June 1957. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  14. ^ "FREMANTLE HARBOUR TRUST. Notice to Mariners. No. 1 of 1960" (PDF). Western Australian Government Gazette. 28 October 1960. p. 5. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  15. ^ "BINNACLE OF "LADY FORREST"". Western Australian Museum. 27 August 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  16. ^ Beilby, Mike (March 1991). "Lady Forrest: A Working Model" (PDF). Maritime Heritage Association.
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