Series 02: Alan Gibson Stewart papers, 1987-1989 - Page 515
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purpose as it will be geared to encourage people to 'take a ferry instead'. Increased patronage alone will be the main justification for the expenditure in the long run."
The minister agreed that the public relations program was a good idea, but his officers did not stir themselves. The months went past and nothing was done.
We were left to manufacture our own ferry campaign, using whatever information we could squeeze out of the department, and publishing it ourselves. We went up to the Newcastle State Dockyard several times, and obtained photos of the vessel being built for the Daily. With some effort, I obtained a rudimentary plan of the ferry which was displayed on my office wall.
Crucial to the whole campaign was the delivery of the "Freshwater" before the impending election. The State Dockyard had a bad reputation for industrial disputes, and had been given the ferry contracts as a sop to the unions, rather than for commercial reasons. The retention of jobs in Newcastle was an important political issue there. Unfortunately for us, neither the unions nor the management seemed in any hurry to finish the ferries -- probably because they had no other big projects to follow.
In May 1981, the Manly Daily reported that delivery of the "Freshwater" would be delayed until