Before highways and railroads were the primary methods to transport goods, the Macleay river was dominated by hundreds of ships carrying out the vital role.
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The final ship to traverse these long-forgotten waterways was called the Uki, and recently model builder Ian Goulding, in conjunction with the South West Rocks Maritime Museum, has built a model of the iconic ship to be put on display at the museum.
"The Macleay river was at least 40ft deep in those days; three dredges were running pretty much non stop, nowadays it would be lucky to reach even half of that, even in the deepest parts," Historian and second in charge of the South West Rocks Maritime Museum, Ron Pengelly said.
Trade officially ceased on the Macleay River in 1959 when the Uki sailed for Sydney from Nestle's wharf at Smithtown. With companies moving towards more economical modes of transport such as rail transport, transport boats were no longer needed.
"The Uki was changed many times over its lifetime, during the war it was a minesweeper and outfitted with a 12 pounder gun, Vickers machine gun and four depth charges. After the war it became a transport ship and then it was towed to Sydney to become a sand carrier," Mr Pengelly said.
"It was eventually scuttled off Tangalooma, Moreton Island in 1976 to help form part of a breakwater."
The model forever commemorating the ship is described as a labour of love by its creator Ian Goulding and joins the other impressive displays at the South West Rocks Maritime Museum.
"I asked Ron what model he wanted and he was very eager to have the Uki, the last ship to sail the rivers, I was happy to do it, it's good to support your local museum," he said.
"It took about six months to build and was made from scratch, using recycled materials."
"It was partially inspired by a book called the North Coast Run, written by a good friend of mine Mike Richards. A lot went into the build; it took a lot of research, and help from good people like Ron and the committee."
The Uki is the latest in a long line of models created by Ian, his interest in building models started when he was young and has seen his works displayed in many different places.
"When I was a kid, I used to visit museums and just marvel at the things humans had created, that piqued my interest, I didn't start building models until I was about 15 though, and I haven't looked back since," he said.
The model of the Uki is on display now at the South West Rocks Maritime Museum, everybody is welcome to go and see this piece of history for themselves.
"There are 7000 items on display in the cottages here, we would have to get 1500 people a month through here, and the museum is one of the best of its kind," Mr Pengelly said.
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