MV North Head

MV North Head (formerly SS Barrenjoey) was a ferry operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company and its successors on the Manly service from 1913 until 1985.

The vessel was launched as Barrenjoey, a steamer and one of the six Binngarra-type Manly ferries which were built between 1905 and 1922. In 1951, she was converted to diesel-electric power, completely rebuilt and renamed North Head. She was removed from service in 1985 following the introduction of the Freshwater-class ferries. She spent time in Hobart as a floating restaurant and, in 2000, she was taken to Cairns where she remains grounded and in deteriorating condition.

The name "Barrenjoey" was taken from the headland at the northern tip of Pittwater. "North Head" is the northern headland at the entrance to Sydney Harbour.

The Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company's fleet transitioned comparatively late to screw propelled vessels and the fleet comprised mostly paddle steamers until the early years of the twentieth century. The difficulty of turning in the narrow bays of Sydney Harbour—particularly in the busy Circular Quay terminus in Sydney Cove—required the use of double-ended vessels. However, a double-ended screw configuration was particularly difficult for the fine bows that Manly ferries required for both speed and heavy seas. Further, a propeller at the leading forward end of a vessel reduced speed considerably. In the prosperous early twentieth century, this speed drawback was overcome by increasing engine size and power.

The first screw ferries on the Manly run were two innovative Walter Reeks-designed vessels; the SS Manly (1896) and SS Kuring-gai (1901), which were to become the fore-runners of the Binngarra-class ferries. They both had high forecastles at either to help her run through the deep-sea conditions across the Sydney Heads. The steel-hulled Kuring-gai was larger and she further refined the basic design to be similar to the subsequent and larger Binngarra-class vessels. Manly and Kuring-gai had both, however, followed paddle steamer design with their bridges around the midships funnels. Whereas the Binngarra-class vessels would have their wheelhouses at either end of their promenade decks.

The Binngarra-class ferries, Binngarra (1905), Burra-Bra (1908), Bellubera (1910), Balgowlah (1912), Barrenjoey (1913) and Baragoola (1922), were designed by Mort's Dock and Engineering, initially under the guidance of former chief draughtsman Andrew Christie. The first five were built at Mort's Woolwich yard and Baragoola was built at the Balmain yard. They were among the largest ships built in Australian yards at the time and, on the admission of Mort's executives, were built by the dock more for prestige than profit. Build costs were higher in Australia than in the United Kingdom, but this was offset by the cost of sailing them out to Australia.

Following Bellubera's success (she was bigger and faster than the preceding Binngarra and Burra-Bra), in 1911 the Company placed an order for two new vessels, Balgowlah and Barrenjoey, which were largely the same design. The three would represent the largest, fastest and most refined of the six Binngarra-class vessels. Like the previous four of the class, Barrenjoey was built by Mort's Dock at their Woolwich yard.

The three vessels all had riveted steel hulls with single screws at either end, and steam steering equipment. Barrenjoey was 500 tons, 64.0 metres (210 ft 0 in) in length and had a passenger capacity of 1,512. Her 112-horsepower triple expansion steam engines were also built by Mort's Dock could push her at up to 15 knots. The vessels had "navy-type" boilers with corrugated furnaces in both.