Originally published August 30, 1976
THE paddle boat Avoca slammed into the Mildura Bridge travelling at a steady pace.
Onlookers watched in shock as only seconds before the collision that people realised it was going to hit the bridge.
The incident, which happened at 4.45pm, immediately drew hundreds of people out to see what had happened.
Those people parked in cars on the bridge immediately raced to the bridge proper for a better look.
The paddle boat remained jammed under the bridge for 45 minutes before it was eventually freed.
Tourists and interested local people flocked to both sides of the river to see what had happened.
Although the paddle boat was jammed under the bridge, traffic was able to continue across the bridge after a short period.
It was probably the greatest tourist attraction in Mildura for the whole weekend — and one didn’t even have to pay.
The Avoca, a $100,000 investment for a syndicate of Mildura businessmen, was built in 1877 at Milang, South Australia.
One of the businessmen, Leon Wagner, was at the wheel at the time of the incident.
About 20 feet of the roof was ripped from the paddle boat and the left hand decking was raised about eight inches from the hull.
Several thousand dollars damage was caused to the superstructure of the upper deck.
All owners of the Avoca had been up-river for about four hours for a test-run.
When freed, the Avoca was towed by a small barge to the Buronga slipway.
It is expected to be out of action for a month.
The paddle boat missed its maiden voyage last week when an alternator failure in her auxiliary power plant developed.
On New Year’s Eve 2013, an electrical fault cut power to the four electric pumps that run, night and day, to keep the keep the Avoca afloat on Hugh King Drive, opposite Jaycee Park.
After 105 days submerged in the watery grave, the paddle boat finally resurfaced.
Celebrity cook Stefano de Pieri confirmed he had sold the 137-year-old vessel.
The Mildura businessman said it had been an “emotional” decision to part with the historic boat.
The new owners are understood to be based in Mildura.
