Death of the River Queen – Mogareeka

The moment I saw this image of the River Queen, I felt ripped. So sad! The death of the River Queen.

Pulled under the flood waters by it's short mooring chain, the River Queen lies on the bottom of the Bega River at Mogareeka.

It’s a photo by Lesley, taken a couple of days ago in the early morning light.

The River Queen is Bill Abram’s boat. It has been moored at Mogareeka on the Bega River for many years. It was a part of the landscape thirty odd years ago when we first came to the district and captured the interest of countless locals and visitors over the years.

It would be fifteen or twenty years ago that Bill took me for a ride up the river to photograph the River Queen, in black and white.

Bill was starting to feel his years so had recently fitted a starter motor to the inboard engine.

Several kilometres up the river, the waterway widens out and there is deep water along one side. Bill let me steer the River Queen for a bit. That was an honor!

As he navigated the river, Bill told me great stories of the River Queen.

The river Queen is the only boat with a mooring in the Bega River. The others are all gone and no new licenses are being issued.

In the ‘71 flood, as a much younger man, Bill had taken the River Queen way up Black Ada Lagoon to safety on the golf course and tied her to a tree. When the flood abated he had to get a truck to return the River Queen to her mooring on the river.

I doubt that the River Queen has had a run for several years. Bill would be well into his eighties now and I sometimes see him getting around on a stick, not too far from home.

So I guess that in the recent flood, the short mooring chain pulled the River Queen down.

How sad! Death of the River Queen. Speaks to me of it’s owner.