65 years since “the Pot” sailed in!

When the new Bass Strait ferry Princess of Tasmania came into service on September 23, 1959, it was the first roll-on, roll-off passenger ship in the southern hemisphere.

Known affectionately as “the Pot,” the Princess of Tasmania plied between Melbourne and Devonport for 13 years and was promoted as a “searoad” that made it easy for motorists to drive between the mainland and Tasmania.

The Princess of Tasmania was built specifically for the Bass Strait service by the federal government-owned Australian National Line at the New South Wales State Dockyards in Newcastle.

It could carry 334 passengers and 142 cars and there was cabin accommodation as well as 140 lounge chairs where passengers could spend the 14-hour voyage. It made three return trips across Bass Strait a week.

With its stern-opening vehicle ramp allowing cars and trucks to drive into its hold, the Princess of Tasmania was part of a revolution in ship loading.

Passengers on its maiden voyage comprised mostly VIPs and politicians, including Premier Eric Reece and his wife Alice, as well as media representatives.

The Examiner sent reporter (and later editor) Michael Courtney and in his report he noted that on a cold night there were only about 100 people to see the ferry off in Melbourne.

However, when the Princess of Tasmania arrived in Devonport more than 8000 people lined the banks of the Mersey River to watch the ship arrive at its newly constructed roll-on, roll-off berth.

The Examiner described the ferry's arrival in Devonport as "majestic".

"When the Princess of Tasmania berthed at her terminal yesterday she completed a voyage which has evoked public interest and enthusiasm such as has not been seen before in Australian coastal shipping services."

"Her appearance and appointments have impressed all who have seen her."

The chairman of the Australian Coastal Shipping Commission, Captain J. P. Williams, told The Examiner that Tasmania was getting a shipping service as modern as any in the world.

The Princess of Tasmania made nearly 2000 crossings of Bass Strait before being taken off the run in June 1972. It was replaced by another ANL-build roll-on, roll-off passenger ferry, the Empress of Australia, which had been built in 1964 for the Sydney to Devonport service.

Like its predecessor, the Empress of Australia operated on the Melbourne-Devonport run for 13 years before ownership of the service passed to the Tasmanian government and a new ship, the 10-year-old German-built Abel Tasman, was bought.

The Abel Tasman was in turn replaced by another European-built ferry, the first Spirit of Tasmania, in 1994. The two current Spirit of Tasmania ferries, also built in Europe, commenced service in 2002.

Tasmania’s Bass Strait passenger ferries have been getting progressively bigger and more expensive since the Princess of Tasmania which was 113 metres long and cost weighed £2.5 million.

The two new Spirit of Tasmania ships, being built in Finland and due here soon, are nearly twice the size at 212 metres, are considerably faster and will cost close to $1 billion.

Images -- TOP: The Princess of Tasmania in the Mersey River. ANL publicity photo, photographer unknown. MIDDLE: The innovative stern vehicle loading system on the Spirit of Tasmania. Photographer unknown, public domain image. BOTTOM: The Princess of Tasmania at sea. Photographer unknown, public domain image.

Written for the Launceston Historical Society and published in The Sunday Examiner, 29 September 2024.