It is the second-oldest continuously-operating paddle steamer in the world but few Canberrans may even know the PS Enterprise exists.
The quaint paddle steamer is a working exhibit at the National Museum of Australia, which wants to train up more volunteers so the boat becomes a more common sight on Lake Burley Griffin.
The vessel was launched in 1878 after being built in Echuca from river red gum.
It has been part of the museum collection since 1984, restored in Echuca before being moved to its new home on the lake in 1988. That means its been around longer than the current museum, which opened in 2001, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
On Wednesday morning, the wood-fired paddle steamer churned across a fog-shrouded Lake Burley Griffin, sending up smoke against a grey sky as the elderly but energetic volunteer crew got to work.
The master sailing the vessel was 75-year-old David Miles while the engineer stoking the fire was 87-year-old George Jennings.
Mr Miles, a retired soldier, has been a volunteer on the paddle steamer for 30 years after coming across it by accident after dropping a friend off to meet another crew member.
"I smelt the wood smoke and the hot oil and it was like a drug," he said.
Mr Jennings, a volunteer for 27 years, said it was a challenge to keep the fire just right to maintain the pressure to power the vessel's churning wheel.
"She's a lovely old girl and of all the paddle steamers, she's the best handling. I've been on the wheel of six or seven paddle steamers," he said.
Trevor Imhoff, 74, a former cartographer, has been a volunteer on the Enterprise for 14 years.
"I got involved because of my passion for how the country was opened up by paddle steamers," he said.
Eric Hines, 70, a retired CSIRO facilities manager, has been volunteering for five years.
"I love steam engines and I love boats and the main reason I got involved was to keep in contact with young people. It keeps you young if you talk to young people," he said.
Like the other volunteers, Mr Hines gets to crew the paddle steamer once every couple of weeks.
"They're a living thing and every one is totally different and each one has its own character," he said.
"This one is a little bit cantankerous but it's more than 140 years old, so you'd expect that."
Another volunteer, Sam Yousofi, used to help run the ABC, as an assistant manager at Gore Hill in Sydney in the 1980s. During a stint in Tasmania, he was also skipper of the Preana steamboat in Hobart. He is a strong advocate of seeing more heritage vessels on the lake "to make it more alive".
The museum's head of collection care and management, Linda Byrne, said the volunteers were the lifeblood for keeping the old girl going.
The museum wanted to acknowledge their dedication during National Volunteers Week, which is this week.
"Without them, we can't operate the vessel," she said.
Ms Byrne said the museum wanted the paddlesteamer to run more often on the lake, which meant committing to training up more volunteers.
Passengers weren't allowed on the paddle steamer due to its size and safety concerns, but when it docked and allowed people through, it could get up to 1000 visitors in a day.
By spring, the vessel would hopefully be a common sight on the lake.
"Between COVID and other issues, we've probably had a hiatus of 18 months," she said.
"We've just got back into the season, we've had a very short season. But next year we're planning to go great guns, running from September to next May.
"If we had more volunteers, we'd be taking the vessel out far more often than once every couple of weeks.
"The other thing is the engine and the boiler actually benefit from being operated regularly."
Senior large technology conservator Nathan Pharaoh said the PS Enterprise was constantly being maintained to keep it working.
"It's like the Harbour Bridge. As soon as you finish one end, you start at the other," he said.
Other paddle steamers in Australia were older but had not been working continuously, including one that was made an exhibit in a park.
For more than a century the Enterprise was a cargo vessel along the Murry and Darling Rivers moving wool bales, a general store, a fishing boat and a houseboat.
With a unique design including as a shallow hull, the paddle steamer was one of the best boats on the river because it could operate year-round when the water levels were low.
"Although she did get struck twice in Bourke when the river ran dry," Mr Jennings said.
The museum is looking for volunteers who are "physically able to help operate a vessel, have some free time and a little passion goes a long way".
"There are no prerequisites as we provide the necessary training, but those with maritime or steam power experience would be great," Ms Byrne said.
"We are looking for people to train as masters (in charge of operation of the vessel and pilots the boat), engineers (operating the boiler and engine), deckhands (support the operations of the vessel, particularly for birthing and departures) and galley hands (operate the galley to prepare meals for the crew)."
To learn more about volunteering at the National Museum and to register your interest in becoming a volunteer visit www.nma.gov.au/about/employment/volunteers
