Ahhhh...the good old days......when we did not like some one and they lived on the mainland....and we thought we'd better ask them for a drink. (get it over and done with). We'd always ask them on a Sunday afternoon, at about 3pm....Then we'd tell them that the last ferry leaves at 5.30 pm.....
Celebrating 100 years of ferry access to the Island Photo : David Hamilton		A couple of men from the Island decided to go across to the Back Lake  (I think people call it Bunga Arm these days) to fish for flounder......on the way back the weather got up and the boat capsized.  (it must have dark)...both men clung to the hull of the boat for what seemed to be hours .....one fellow was out to it.... he was losing strength fast......he told the other chap to try and make shore on his own ... and tell his wife not to be too sad and he was very sorry.....it was a poignant moment.........The other chap, knowing he'd have to try to get to safety or they'll both drown ,reluctantly left his mate to go for help. Finally, the chap left behind, having made  peace with the world, let go and his feet touched the bottom
You know, it's not that long ago , well into Rod Wharton's time , that we would have our New Years Eve party on our Ferry..... and the Ferry would run continuously... It would not be allowed these days..... sad !!   Do you have a story ? Email us !		I remember this Mainlander , he would collect the empties to raise money for the RSL. We'd all line up our empties on the front lawns...In neat rows . What a sight... and sure enough he'd be there in his battered old ute and pick them up....He'd get to the ferry and it would be the only car the ferry driver took........" too heavy for anything else

a bit more history... this one is hard to believe

About 50 years ago a family called Richardson lived at Ocean Grange (on the Ninety Mile Beach ).. They had three children... Here it comes ( for those of you who know where Ocean Grange is, it is beyond belief.).. Those three children used to swim/walk from their home to Paynesville and back on a regular basis

We would love to hear from one of those children...Please get in touch with us. We believe one of the three has since passed away .

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This used to happen a lot.....people missed the last ferry...they would "borrow a boat moored on the Mainland and row home......" I can't  ever remember someone really minding........... .........as long as the " borrowed " item would be returned the next morning....and that always happened.

A past ferry driver  ...used to run ,what some Islanders called ,     " The Drunks' Ferry "....It was the last Ferry on a Friday night ...the driver would go to the pub to join the Islanders for a quick drink .......They in turn would shout him drinks .That was a sure way to keep him from leaving at 6.45..... Sometimes the Ferry would not leave until 7.30.....People who wanted to get across, more often than not, had to wait until he was good and ready or join him in the pub. The reason it was called the " Drunks' Ferry " was after drinking in the pub, all and sundry ( inc. this particular driver ) would be standing at the back of the ferry finishing their stubbies as it made its way back home

We think this photo was taken in 1967. The same year she sank. Passengers used to have to work the chains to pull the ferry across. After a ferry driver was appointed there was still no ferry charge except on Sundays.

Does any one know any of the people on board.

Please email

A story from David Hamilton. When he was a very little boy. David thinks it might be as much as 55 years ago or even more, his father asked him to go across in the ferry boat to buy something from the corner store on the mainland. On the jetty David  dropped  his mother’s purse and it slipped through a gap into the water. It floated, but out of his reach. He remembers this as clearly as if it happened yesterday, as the purse floated away the RAAF crash boat ( did you know they had a crash boat on the Lakes ? ) saw it, picked it up out of the water and returned it to David and gave him a ride over to the mainland.

An other story from David Hamilton. It's about his Grandmother and the original Ferry ( as David says: " The one before the last one " ) His Grandmother had done some shopping at Fleischer's Corner Store. She hurried towards the ferry , but Budgie Williams, the driver , didn't see her and he took off and Grandma, without stopping in her stride , thinking the ferry was still there, stepped straight into the Lake.

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