Port of Echuca
Coloured photograph, October 1978
... colville, bob & betty...The P.S Betsy was built in the back yard of Bob and Betty... The P.S Betsy was built in the back yard of Bob and Betty Colville ...
The P.S Betsy was built in the back yard of Bob and Betty Colville in Shepparton in 1966.. The Colville Family owned the Betsy from 1966 - 1993. It had a fibreglass sheathed steel hull and was powered by a 19 hp David Brown tractor engine. Barry Sheahan from Picola was the next owner. . He moored the P.S Betsy at the Barmah Lakes. Ref. ( Parsons, R; "Ships of the Inland Rivers." P. 54.)The P.S Betsy is significant because it was built in a backyard setting, possibly by people who had never built a paddle steamer before. They also chose to fit the boat with a tractor engine . This is a coloured photograph of P.S Betsy moored to the bank upstream of Echuca Wharf ( Victorian side). The P.S Pevensey can be seen in the background underway in front of the wharf. A man and a woman can be seen standing on top of the paddle steamer. The top of the boat is decorated with flags.On back of photo are written the words Print made by Kodak Oct 78 M . On the boat the words Betsy can be seen.colville, bob & betty, p. s betsy, shepparton, barmah lakes, sheahan, barry