Mosquito Fleet

The term Mosquito Fleet has had a variety of uses around the world.

United States

In U.S. naval and maritime history, the term has had nine main meanings:

Mosquito Fleet (Johnstone River, Queensland)

'Sugar Lighters in the Johnstone River, Queensland' In the early days of settlement at Geraldton [now Innisfail], the Johnstone River had a sand bar at the mouth and several shallow stretches in the river. This caused difficulties for shipping. Large ships had to either anchor at the mouth of the river and wait for a suitable high tide so that the bar could be crossed or anchor in Mourilyan Harbour to the south. The problem of large ships being unable to enter the river made it difficult for bags of sugar from the district sugar mills to be transported to southern refineries. To overcome this problem, shallow draft steam ships and lighters [often called sugar lighters] were used to carry the bags of sugar down the Johnstone and out to meet larger ships standing off the coast. or in nearby ports, mainly Cairns. These larger ships then transported the cargo to its destination. These small ships became known as "The Mosquito Fleet".

Ships of the Mosquito Fleet

Mosquito Fleet (South Australia)

The Mosquito Fleet was the fleet of small ketches and schooners operating in the shallow coastal and gulf waters of South Australia, from the colony's establishment in 1836 until 1982.

From the State's main port of Port Adelaide they supplied goods to many isolated regional settlements, returning with cargoes of agricultural products (particularly wheat and wool) and minerals. They also played a role in lightering grain to load larger vessels offshore in deeper waters, the most famous example being to windjammers off Port Victoria, Spencer Gulf, which until 1949 marked the start of the Great Grain Race.

Among the last surviving ketches are the 1883 Nelcebee (owned by the South Australian Maritime Museum) and the 1919-built Falie.

References