SS Kate (tug)

SS Kate was a wooden carvel screw steamer built in 1883 at Balmain that was twice struck and sunk by Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company ferries.

Kate was a wooden framed, wooden carvel planked vessel, and was built at Long Nose Point, Balmain In 1883. The vessel was built at the Allen & Ward shipyard and launched on 6 December 1883 and registered in Sydney to Richard Manning on 15 February 1884.

The vessel was a wooden single deck and the bridge ship with 2 masts fitted as a fore and aft Schooner and an elliptical stern it dimensions were:

The vessel had a 35.87 gross register tons (GRT) and a 24.39 net register tons (NRT) when first manufactured and was fitted with a Robertson of London surface condensing compound steam engine, with cylinder diameters of 9 in (22.9 cm) and 17 in (43.2 cm)and had a stroke length of 14 in (35.6 cm) producing 20 hp (14.9 kW)

The early years of the Kate was mainly spent as a tug bringing in vessels such as the South Sea's Island trader Avoca, the barque Freetrader, the 3 masts ship Dunfillan, the schooner Pioneer and the American barque Nona Lutum into Sydney Harbour and to their anchorage.

In May 1884 just 3 months after its registration the Kate was put forward to the Colonial Treasurer in a tender for the "supplying and maintaining an efficient steam tug for use at the Cape Hawke River". Mr. F. Buckle submitted the tender describing the Kate as a steam tug of 25 hp and asked for a subsidy of £600 per annum a £250 per annum greater than the steam tug Forster which also entered the tender and hence the Kate stayed in Sydney Harbour

Over the summer months the vessel was also used for Harbour cruises in February 1885 following the Kirby-Moore Trophy sculling race whilst in October 1886

Capt. Mat. Byrne's Sunday excursions to Watsons Bay and Middle Harbour are now in full swing, the favourite steamer Kate being employed on the service.