The photograph shows men unloading goods, including a sack, from a ketch moored at Marlo. Marlo was once a very busy port. Goods needed by the early settlers were carted by sea-going vessels to Marlo. At the Marlo wharf goods were unloaded from the large vessels onto barges and towed by paddle steamers to Orbost. (information - In Times Gone By - Deborah Hall)This is a pictorial record of shipping at Marlo.A black / white photograph of men unloading goods from a ketch into small boats. on back - "ketches being loaded at Marlo"marlo-transport marlo-jetty shipping

This photo shows the Storm Bird at the end of the jetty and the Wangrabelle in the foreground. Both ships were well known traders. the Wangrabelle became beached and wrecked in 1916 and the Storm Bird became obsolete when the railway from Bairnsdale to Orbost arrived in 1916. (ref. Story of Gippsland Shipping - J.C. Bull) At the start of the river trade goods were shipped from Marlo to Melbourne but when the railway reached Bairnsdale this became unprofitable and the ships plied only between Marlo and Cunninghame. Eventually river transport became economically unviable. The Wongrabelle is still buried in the sands of the entrance of the Snowy River (albeit where the entrance used to be). It took from April 11th 1912 to August 12th 1912 for the loss of the Wongrabelle to be complete, the final entry in the Orbost Shipping Co. records reads:- "The Wongrabelle is completely covered in sand." (ref River, Road, Railway Newsletter O.D.H.S.) This is a pictorial record of a time when the water highways were the only feasible transport mode in sending goods from Orbost and Marlo to Melbourne.A black / white photograph of a ship, sails down, anchored at the Marlo jetty.on back - "M. Gilbert, Wangrabelle at Marlo"storm-bird wangrabelle shipping transport- marlo