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Kaikai (ferry)
Ferry on Sydney Harbour / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kaikai was a "K-class" ferry on Sydney Harbour. Commissioned in 1907, the timber-hulled steamer was built for Sydney Ferries Limited during the boom in cross-harbour ferry travel prior to the 1932 opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. At the time of launch, Kaikai was one of Sydney's largest wooden ferries, being the longest and second largest by tonnage. She was a typical example of the "K-class"; a group of double-deck, double-ended, steam-powered screw ferries.
![]() Kaikai entering Sydney Cove | |
History | |
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Name | Kaikai |
Namesake | Australian Indigenous word for 'jewfish' or 'food' |
Operator | Sydney Ferries Limited |
Builder | David Drake Ltd, W M Ford Jnr, Balmain |
Cost | £13,575.[1] |
Launched | 1906 |
Completed | 1907 |
Out of service | 1942? |
Identification | O/N: 121165[2][3] |
Fate | To Navy 1942, broken up 1947 |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | 303 tons |
Length | 46.3 m |
Beam | 10.1 m |
Installed power | 59 hp triple expansion steam[4] |
Propulsion | double-ended screw |
Speed | 11.5 knots[4] |
Capacity | 1,245 |
Kaikai was built for the short but busy cross-harbour route between Circular Quay and Milsons Point. She survived the 1932 opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (17 other Sydney Ferries Limited vessels were sold at the time). She was taken over by the Royal Australian Navy in 1942 and sold for breaking up in 1947.
Kaikai followed Sydney Ferries Limited's tradition of naming their vessels after Australian Indigenous words starting with "K".[5] "Kaikai" is thought to be an indigenous word for 'food' or 'jewfish'.