Freshwater-class ferry

The Freshwater class is a class of ferry operating the Manly ferry service between Circular Quay and Manly on Sydney Harbour. The ferries are owned by the Government of New South Wales and operated by the franchisee Transdev Sydney Ferries under the government's Sydney Ferries brand.

The need for new ferries on the Manly–Circular Quay service was identified during the mid-1970s, during which time the service was characterised by deteriorating quality and low patronage.

The ferries were also used to travel to Port Kembla /Wollongong, Broken Bay/Central Coast and Newcastle during the 90s considering they had features that would allow them to travel past the heads and into the ocean.

Prior to 1971, the ferry services on the Manly–Circular Quay route were operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company. In that year, the company posted a modest profit of $112,000. Patronage was approaching all-time lows, but the growth prospect for ferry services was considered strong. In November 1971, the company attracted a $1.5 million takeover bid from diversified transport company Brambles Industries. The initial bid was rejected, but a later offer of $2.1 million was accepted.

When Brambles took over, the Manly fleet consisted of four ferries: South Steyne, North Head, Bellubera and Baragoola, plus hydrofoils Manly, Fairlight and Dee Why. Almost immediately, the hydrofoils were sold to Waltons Finance and leased back. The four ferries were all ageing and expensive to maintain, and it soon became evident that Brambles intended to close the service or sell the ships to the State Government at the earliest opportunity. Fare increases and service suspensions followed. Bellubera was withdrawn from service on 14 December 1973; Baragoola was to follow early the next year. Public outrage and fears that the service would be suspended entirely led to the government resuming responsibility for the operation of the ferries in February 1974.

Concerns about the ongoing serviceability of the existing vessels led to a decision to modify the design of the Lady Wakehurst and Lady Northcott, then under construction for use on the inner harbour routes, so that they could be used as relief boats on the Manly run. On 27 August 1974 the public timetable was reduced to only require two ships. The decision to modify the two Lady-class vessels proved fortuitous; as both North Head and Baragoola had to be sent for major overhauls, and the smaller ferries acted as relief ships while these works were carried out.

During the naming ceremony for Lady Northcott on 11 February 1975, then-Liberal Minister for Transport Wal Fife announced that two new ferries would be introduced to the Manly service within three years.

A study by maritime consultants Burness Corlett Australia was released in July 1976. It investigated the requirements of new vessels to replace North Head and Baragoola by 1978. Various configurations were considered, including conventional monohull, catamaran, hovercraft and hydrofoil. Planing ferries of both single and twin-hull configuration were rejected, as such a configuration cannot be double-ended and therefore would have required berthing stern-first. Hydrofoils were also rejected from consideration due to excessive cost and limited passenger capacity. Two options were selected for detailed investigation: monohull and twin-hull, both double-ended and having 1,200 passenger capacity.