I have several postcards of Broadland boats within the archive which I’m not quite sure how to incorporate into the main website. Many were produced by the hire fleets and sold to customers over the years as a souvenir of their holiday, or as adverts for the yards. I also have quite a few from the first quarter of the 20th century which show some of the many passenger steamers which once operated on the Broads – below is one such vessel, “The Waterfly”.
The Waterfly at Whitlingham c1910
Pictured at Whitlingham, c1910, the postcard shows The Waterfly on one of her regular daytrips from Great Yarmouth to Norwich, with every available seat on board taken. She was apparently licensed to carry up to 274 passengers and five crew at a time ….. something which today’s stringent health & safety regulations would never allow! Owned and operated by John Long, The Waterfly ran trips on the Broads between 1894 and 1914 – the outbreak of the First World War led to a severe drop in passenger numbers and Waterfly was retired from service. She was converted for use as a lighter after the war but, sadly, ended her days lying on the mud flats of Breydon Water. You can find out more about her history, and the story of her owner John Long, on the Waterfly website.
