Mystery surrounds Brisbane River sinking of iconic party paddleboat Kookaburra Queen at Hemmant
Brisbane’s iconic party boat Kookaburra Queen I has been found sinking at a jetty east of Brisbane and now faces an uncertain future. The former owner says it is a mystery why the boat was taken from the dock.
After selling for more than half a million dollars less than five months ago, footage emerged on Monday of the beloved paddle boat partially submerged while anchored in Hemmant.
Jim Kelly, former owner and captain of Brisbane Cruises, said he was shocked that the boat could be sinking despite its age and condition.
“He’s got a damn good hull, a triple diagonal hull that’s tough and waterproof and I was there a month ago, there were keepers living there regularly and everything was fine,” he told Nine News.
“So now it’s a bit of a mystery; all of a sudden it’s picked up off the bed and sits at the bottom.”
Built in 1986 and a key feature of Expo ’88, the building was used for weddings and parties many years later. The boat featured two dance floors with PA systems, seating for 320 people, a commercial-grade kitchen and eight bathrooms. The 30.5-meter boat had fallen into disrepair in recent years.
She escaped damage in the 2011 Queensland floods but ceased operating as a commercial ship after sustaining further damage in the 2022 floods.
According to Nine News, Queensland Maritime Safety said the boat was unlikely to pose any threat to other vessels traveling on the river.
Although it is unlikely to sink further, it is not yet known at this stage what kind of rescue mission or future the boat is likely to undertake.
This boat was built just before her sister boat, Kookaburra Queen II, which featured a large, classic paddle wheel more similar to 19th-century Murray River and Mississippi steamboats.
In 2019, the Kookaburra Queen II was involved in a low-speed crash, leaving multiple people injured when a woman fell from the top floor and landed on top of another passenger.
Kookaburra Queen I was offered for sale through Grays auction house last September and sold for $550,000 to a mystery buyer.
with William Davis
