Paddle Steamer Gem

In 1962 members of the Swan Hill community, supported by senior members of the State government decided to explore the possibility of setting up a Cultural Centre and living history museum in Swan Hill. It would be based around the paddle-steamer Gem, which had been languishing in Mildura as a guest house for some time and, in 1962 a group from Swan Hill visited, inspected and bought her.
The captain of the PS Oscar W, Paddy Hogg
agreed to tow the Gem from Mildura to Swan Hill, anticipating that the journey would take 10 days.
Unfortunately, low, river levels en route meant
that the trip took 10 months. Finally, on July
25th 1963, the PS Gem was hauled into her new home—a pool at Horseshoe Bend in Swan Hill. to provide the core of a new open air Folk Museum-the first in Australia