The last remaining tugboat that was used on the Clarence River for the sugar industry, the MV Beardmore is being considered for heritage listing, and the community have an opportunity to have their say.

Built by JG Pashley and Sons in 1914 at the Harwood Mill, the 18.8 metre long and 3.4 metre wide MV Beardmore was made from local hardwood.

“As a tugboat designed for river use, it has a shallow draft, which allows river tugboats to access inland waterways that are off-limits to larger vessels,” the NSW Department of Environment and Heritage description states.

“Beardmore was designed to both tow and push punts or barges loaded with harvested sugar cane.

“It was originally fitted with a Beardmore semi-diesel engine with a pre-heat oil starter.

“In the early 1950s the engine was replaced with an L5 Gardner diesel which remains intact and onboard.

“MV Beardmore was restored for Harwood Mill’s 150th anniversary in 2024, and it is painted white with the name BEARDMORE painted in black letters.

“The tug is currently stored in a secure metal shed on the Harwood Mill grounds alongside the Clarence River.

“It is on a cradle built to elevate it above the earth floor.”

The NSW Department of Environment and Heritage Statement of Significance about the MV Beardmore outlines the reasons it is being considered for heritage listing.

“MV Beardmore may be of State historical significance for its role in the sugar industry in NSW in the 20th century,” the statement says.

“The vessel is associated with cane cutting and river transport practices in the northern rivers region, which has contributed to the NSW sugar industry for more than 150 years.

“This State significance may extend to its historical connections with the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR) and the Harwood Sugar Mill, the longest continuously operating sugar mill in Australia.

“MV Beardmore may also have historical value at a State level for its role in the 1970s development of community-led Aboriginal organisations which strove to develop economic and social opportunities for Aboriginal communities.

“The historic ownership and successful commercial use of the tugboat by the Nungera Aboriginal Cooperative is reflective of increasing Aboriginal community autonomy and capacity building in the 1970s and 80s.

“MV Beardmore may be of State heritage significance for its rarity.

“MV Beardmore is the only intact surviving example of a working timber river tugboat from the 20th century in NSW and one of the oldest examples remaining in any condition.”

Members of the community can comment on the potential heritage listing until Sunday, April 12.

Feedback will then be reviewed, and the NSW Heritage Council will make a decision about the heritage listing.

For more information, to complete the survey, or to comment on the heritage listing visit the QR code.

This article appeared in the Clarence Valley Independent, 20 February 2026.