The Etona has returned to the Murray River after almost four years on the slipway. Photo: Supplied.
The PS Etona made its grand return to the Murray on Christmas Eve after almost four years on the slipway.
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Since it first left the water in 2021, the Etona has undergone a major makeover, both below the deck and above.
Works included replacing 95 per cent of the planks, re-caulking the hull and rebuilding the front and side cabins, the paddle blocks and the dining saloon.
The paddle steamer also received a new paint job, leaving it looking brand new.
Re-installing the wheel-house after the lower superstructure had been rebuilt. Photo: supplied
Owner Rob Symons said he was looking forward to entertaining guests on the Etona now that it was back on the river.
“I look forward to many happy picnics on the river,” he said.
“One of the best things to do, now that I’m very much adult, is I ring up six or seven people and invite them out for a picnic because it’s going to be a full moon.
“We have a big wood fire barbecue and we sit around with our Eskys full of ice and champagne and we generally plan to be back at home port [before midnight] but every time we go out, everyone has such a good time that we return at 1am or 2am.”
Rob Symons is the owner of the PS Etona.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
The Etona has come a long way since it was purchased by Mr Symons’ father, Phil Symons in 1961.
Before it came into the possession of the Symons family 64 years ago, the paddle steamer already had a rich history.
It was built by the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide as a mission boat and was launched in 1898.
The name Etona was derived from the prestigious Eton College in England, of which the Bishop of Adelaide was an alumnus.
To build the Etona, the bishop wrote to his school friends for financial support and as a thank you, the boat was named after the college.
The church used the paddle steamer to journey through the lower Murray to host church services, christenings, weddings and funerals for rural communities along the river.
Young Rob Symons helping on the Etona back in 1964 when it was relaunched with a new hull. Photo: Supplied.
Some years after he purchased the Etona, Mr Symon's father received a gift from a man who had been baptised aboard the boat in 1906 — a christening gown and an original christening certificate specifically made for the Etona.
In the 1970s, a minister in South Australia gathered all the information he could find on the Etona and published a booklet.
Eight-year-old Rob Symons tying the rope at the stem post on the PS Etona in 1961. Photo: Supplied.
Mr Symons said the minister visited him years after the booklet was published and passed down all his findings.
“As time went on, this minister knew about me and my interest in the boat and so he called in one day,” he said.
“He said, ‘I don’t know what to do with this’, and it was all his cuttings, letters and photographs that he had collected about the Etona over 25 years.
“It was all the material he had used to write the booklet, and so he gave it all to me.”
The Symons family have long been involved with paddlesteamers in Echuca.
Unbeknownst to many, the original co-owners of the Etona Philip Symons, Ian Stewart and Helen Coulson were behind the formation of the Port of Echuca.
Their first project was purchasing the PS Adelaide in 1960 which became the only working paddlesteamer in Echuca at the time.
Following this major milestone, Philip became master of the PS Pevensey, Ian became the chairman of the original Port of Echuca Authority and Helen became manager.
Thus, the Etona holds an important association with the beginnings of the Port of Echuca.
The Etona is now 126 years old and has received many upgrades courtesy of the Symons family.
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