The Eureka Centre is excited to introduce Bruce Gooley to speak for the first time at the Eureka Centre on an essential goldfield’s maritime service. Many diggers, accompanied by their picks and shovels, pans, horses and tents, used the Geelong Steam ferry service as the first leg of their trek from Melbourne to the Goldfields. This illustrated talk will discuss the main steam ferries used on this service and their owners from 1841 until 1938.

Bruce Gooley is a graduate of Melbourne University and a researcher, presenter and author with a special interest in maritime history. He is a regular presenter at the Hawthorn University of the Third Age (U3A) and other Probus and historical societies and has documented these talks in book format. He has delivered several papers as a member of the Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network. Bruce was a member of the Mornington Yacht Club for more than 50 years and owned and raced yachts in Port Phillip Bay and Bass Strait and crewed on yachts racing to Vanuatu and around Hawaii.

Image: ST Gill, J Tingle (engraver), ‘Approach to Geelong, from the bay’ 1857 [detail], Sand & Kenny, Melbourne. In Victoria illustrated 1857 Collection, State Library of Victoria.