For close to 130 years, it united rural communities on either side of the Clarence River.
It provided a safe, time-saving, and cost-effective connection for countless residents, tourists, local businesses, employees, and industries, emergency services, and primary producers, who are now forced to travel almost 80km every time they need to cross the wide, open waterway.
Shortly after 10:30pm on June 10, as the moon sank beneath the western skyline, so did the hearts of several Clarence Valley residents as they boarded the Ulmarra to Southgate ferry ahead of its final passage between the riverside villages.
It was a four-minute journey which brought more than a century of proud local history to an end.
Following the release of a formal statement on May 10 by Transport for NSW which announced the impending decommissioning of the current 74-year-old vessel that had reached the end of its serviceable life while citing declining patronage, operational costs, unreliability due to environmental impacts, and the options of alternative travel routes for motorists made available by the opening of the Balun Bindarray Bridge in Grafton in 2019, and despite Member for Clarence Richie Williamson tabling a petition launched by Ulmarra resident Sue Kearney with more than 6000 signatures in favour of retaining the service in Parliament last month, the NSW Labor Government went ahead with plans to axe the Ulmarra to Southgate Ferry earlier this week.
There was outrage and frustration experienced by many who campaigned for the local infrastructure to be retained.
And there was growing anger after it was revealed the NSW Labor Government will take over management of the Hawkesbury based Lower Portland Ferry, which has not operated since January and previously had a patronage lower than that of the Ulmarra to Southgate ferry, from October this year.
Describing the revelation as “outrageous” and likening the circumstances as “robbing Peter to pay Paul”, Mr Williamson confirmed he would raise the issue with the NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Jenny Aitchison, and the NSW Labor Government.
“We’re ‘Peter,” he explained, during a recent interview with Loving Life FM 103.1.
“We’ve been robbed (of our ferry).”
As the Ulmarra to Southgate ferry commenced its last day of service, motorists queued along both sides of the Clarence River in a united show of support.
Among them was Liam Grant, who utilised the ferry up to four times a day to travel between his residence in Ulmarra and his place of employment, a dairy farm in Southgate.
“It’s shocking,” he said of the decision to withdraw the service, adding he is now looking at the very real probability of seeking another job or lose “a couple of hundred dollars” of his wage each week to pay for diesel.
“I just want the ferry to stay.
“Without it, there are going to be a lot of hardships for a lot of people.”
While the Ulmarra to Southgate ferry experienced a busy final 24 hours, locals including Ms Kearney and Clarence Valley Councillor, Steve Pickering, who lives in and manages a business in Ulmarra, gathered together along the eastern side of the Clarence River and held a candlelight vigil as the sun set and darkness fell.
Marc McIntyre read a poem written by Glen Edwards entitled ‘The Last Crossing’, as a tribute to the ferry, while reflecting on the significant loss of the invaluable service.
As the vessel made its final journey over the water, Clarence Valley residents stood firm and vowed to fight for a replacement ferry.
This article appeared in the Clarence Valley Independent, 12 June 2024.
Related stories: Final crossing – as future for Ulmarra to Southgate ferry service sinks, Community send ferry clear message
