Kleinschmidt’s Depot at Grey Street – Part 2

Raising the “Maid of Sker”. (photo courtesy Frank Willoughby)

Further to my previous post of 28.04.2018  ‘Kleinschmidt’s Depot at Grey Street’, Frank Willoughby had also given me the above photo.

  The Kleinschmidt’s vessels had long been transporting sand from Stradbroke Island for the Brisbane Glassworks at South Brisbane/West End. Eventually some of their boats such as the “Maid of Sker” and the “S’port” were converted to gravel barges working the Brisbane River. In the above photo, the “Maid of Sker” had sunk where the Merivale Street rail bridge is now situated.  The vessels from left are: “Regina”, “26”, “Maid of Sker” (underwater), and a barge “Glen Iris”.  In the background (from left) are Carmichael’s sawmill, Foggitt Jones (meatworks), and QGM Glassworks.

Frank Willoughby had also supplied the following photo of the “S’Port” (a shortened form of Southport, where the Kleinschmidt’s depot was situated in the south of Moreton Bay.)

“S’port” at Depot under Grey Street Bridge (photo courtesy Frank Willoughby)

and of the “Maid of Sker” in more happy circumstances above the surface of the water:

“Maid of Sker” loading sand at Canaipa (photo courtesy Frank Willoughby)

Kleinschmidt’s Depot at Grey Street

Kleinschmidt’s depot at Grey Street (photo courtesy Graham Day)

Robin Kleinschmidt writes:

The wharf, office and a house were on the upstream site of where the William Jolly Bridge is now. This photo is of the bins and storage areas of Moreton Sand and Gravel approximately where the Kurilpa Bridge enters the parkland today. It was the secondary part of their operations, but when the shipping on the bay began to lose out to the road and rail transport, this became their mainstay. They acquired it from a consortium of hardware retailers whose building company customers wanted a one stop shop which including the sand and gravel for their concreting. It was run poorly and without enthusiasm until Uncle Ted and his son Ray bought it. They had long been transporting sand from Stradbroke Island for the Brisbane Glassworks at South Brisbane/West End, and eventually some of their boats such as The Maid of Sker and the S’port were converted to gravel barges working the Brisbane River.