Arbuthnot PS

The powerful paddle steamer, Arbuthnot, belonging to steamer proprietors Messrs A. Arbuthnot and Sons, left Echuca on Saturday night, October 25^th 1913 bound for Balranald. She arrived at the new bridge across the Wakool River at midnight on Monday, October 27^th and about an hour later smoke was found to be coming from the cargo. Arbuthnot was loaded with 40 tons of general cargo comprising chiefly of goods for Boynton's store but in addition was carrying hundreds of tins of petrol, which soon caught alight and burnt fiercely. So rapid was the progress of the fire that several members of the crew had to escape the flames by jumping into the water. To save as much of the hull of the Arbuthnot and her cargo as possible, Captain Johnson and his men risked their own safety to get her barge away then scuttled the steamer. She sank slowly beneath the water amid the spurting flames of exploding petrol cases; the funnel of the steamer remaining just visible above the water. Captain Johnson was severely burned about the face and head, and the engineer, J. Butterfield, had his hands badly scorched. After the vessel sank petrol rose to the surface of the water and blazed furiously for a considerable time and there were concerns that the new bridge may catch alight. The glare from the burning steamer and the sheet of flame on the water brilliantly lit up the surroundings. The goods were not insured and damage was estimated at £2500. Left derelict, Arbuthnot was refloated and in 1917, rebuilt at Mannum then renamed the J G Arnold.