The Old Ashby Ferry Ramp, opposite the Maclean Court House 
, was the main thoroughfare from Maclean to Ashby for nearly 100 years, built in 1890.
The Old Ashby Ferry Ramp started with a hand-winched ferry, replacing a rowboat to bring horses and carriages across the Clarence River. The hand-winched ferry operated for around 30 years before a powered ferry replaced it in 1920.
The Maclean-Ashby ferry service ceased operation in 1981 when the Ashby to Chatsworth bridge was built.
The Old Ashby Ferry Ramp is now a boat ramp with a small pontoon beside it. On the right is a platform where you can get views of the river or use for fishing.
The last ferry to be used for the Maclean-Ashby ferry can be found at Ferry Park on the corner of the (old) Pacific Hwy and Cameron St, the southern end of Maclean.
The ferry spent its last years as the relief ferry when replaced with a larger one. Today, the dilapidated ferry sits in the open, showing signs of suffering from the weather after it has been out of operation for nearly 40 years.
Maclean Talking Trail
Old Ashby Ferry Ramp was part of the Maclean talking trail, the brown sign is there as part of the talking trail. Headphones were borrowed and audio played as you walked the trail. Below is what was included in the talking trail audio.
History
Completed in 1890, the Maclean–Ashby Ferry was originally conceived as part of an intended rail route from Maclean to Coraki, a small town on the Richmond River.
The first ferry was a hand-operated affair requiring the operator to winch the craft across the river on a steel cable. This no doubt entailed a great deal of effort, particularly on an ebb tide.
Of much frustration was the submerged reef in the middle of the river which constantly snagged the cables.
In 1920, a seven horse‐power motor was fitted to the ferry. Because the machinery was installed all on one side, counterweights had to be installed on the other side to bring the ferry to an even keel. This caused the craft to sit low in the water, prompting the local people to refer to it as “the coffin ship”.
The ferry ceased operation in 1981 when two road bridges were constructed connecting Ashby with Chatsworth Island. The last Ashby Ferry to operate can be seen on a flood‐free mound at Ferry Park near the southern end of Maclean.
Story
Well, after 9 o’clock he was supposed to charge 50 cents but, Dad being the kind old man he was, he wouldn’t because then everybody wouldn’t go over at that time. But when he stopped charging people 50 cents , well they were just going all night, and all night.
It was a hard life really, as a ferryman, it was. A hard life.
Cec Power, Maclean Talking Trail
Cec and his son Warren were the last ferrymen to operate the Ashby-Maclean ferry
To get there
From the Pacific Hwy, take the Yamba Rd exit for Maclean. Turn left (west along the Clarence River) and from the brown sign for Tourist Drive 22, follow Yamba Rd for 5km. Passing the pedestrian crossing at Woolitji House on the left, continue through the main shopping street in Maclean for another 300m to a roundabout. Continue straight ahead through the roundabout, then the first right into Macnaughton Pl. The Old Ashby Ferry Ramp is straight ahead.
