The owners of a new $11 million, five-star paddle steamer are hoping it will reframe the Murray River as a luxury cruising destination, in the spirit of Europe’s great rivers.
Instead of ancient castles, however, sights include towering gum trees, kookaburras, kangaroos – and silence.
Big dreams: Twins Rohan, left, and Craig Burgess on the banks of the Murray River with their new paddle steamer, Australian Star, whose first paying passengers will board on February 23.Credit: Simon Schluter
Twins Craig and Rohan Burgess, who have invested more than $8 million to build the Australian Star, say the 38-passenger boat, based in Echuca, will offer slow travel.
Craig says it’s been “heavily booked” for 2026 and departures for 2027 are “filling quickly”.
And work will soon start on their identical paddle steamer, the Australian Sky, to be based in Mildura.
Craig said major travel industry player APT, which sells luxury cruise packages around the world, has given its “ringing endorsement” by agreeing to sell half of Australian Star’s departures.
Heavy metal: Rohan Burgess with the wood-fired steam engine that will propel the Australian Star paddle steamer.Credit: Simon Schluter
The steam-powered Australian Star, which is being finished before its inaugural cruise departs on February 23, received a $2.25 million Victorian government grant under the Regional Tourism Investment Fund.
The three-level boat will “reimagine the Murray as a place where you can cruise”, Craig said.
“People love cruising. A lot of people don’t want to do long-haul flights any more,” he said.
“They want to know what’s available to do in their own backyard, but they want to do it comfortably.”
An artist’s impression of the Australian Star.Credit: Murray River Paddlesteamers
The Australian Star will boast a restaurant, lounge and bar, a lift and 19 cabins with en suites, air-conditioning, and Wi-Fi, and will offer three-, four- or seven-night cruises.
Cruise tickets cost between $890 and $1250 per night, per passenger, not including drinks outside dinner.
The route will wind 80 kilometres along the Murray River between Echuca and Torrumbarry Weir, with sights including the historic Perricoota Station homestead.
Included are bus trips around Echuca historical sights and to Murray Gums Estate winery, the Great Aussie Beer Shed, silo art at Rochester and lunch at the Colbinabbin pub.
An artist’s impression of one of the cabins on the Australian Star.Credit: Murray River Paddlesteamers
But Rohan says guests on the brothers’ older, eight-cabin paddle steamer, Emmylou, often say they most loved having a barbecue on a river bank under the stars – an activity the Australian Star will also offer.
“I speak to a lot of guests, and the thing they say they like the most is this quiet and this slowing down, paddling along the river, the beauty of the landscape, and feeling like they’re away from the cities,” Rohan said.
At the heart of the Australian Star is its 119-year-old, 13-tonne steam engine in the hull, that will be powered by red gum.
Echuca skipper Neil Hutchinson, a director (along with the twins) of Australian Star’s parent company, Murray River Paddlesteamers, spotted the engine on Facebook and bought it from a collector in Truro, South Australia.
Made in England in 1907, the engine has powered saw mills and farm machinery in Victoria.
Most of the construction of the Australian Star in Mildura took 32 months, then in November it was sailed down the Murray to Echuca in 19 days – minus its top level so it could fit under bridges.
Rohan’s love of paddle steamers started 47 years ago, at age 12, when his father, Paul, worked for the Victorian government on regional development, including helping the then-City of Echuca buy and operate the PS Pevensey, which dates from 1910.
Over several years, Paul and Rohan, and sometimes Craig, volunteered with a group that helped restore the Pevensey.
Rohan Burgess, left, as a boy, among volunteers including Andrew Cook, right, helping restore the paddle steamer Pevensey.
“I found it exciting,” says Rohan, who still has his boyhood hoodie and T-shirt dubbing him “PS Pevensey Crew”.
In 1983, Rohan watched proudly as the Pevensey starred, under the name Philadelphia, in the hit romance mini-series All the Rivers Run, starring Sigrid Thornton and John Waters.
The Emmylou_,_ under the name Providence, also appeared in the drama, which was set in the 1890s’ heyday of paddle steamers trading on the Murray.
Rohan Burgess with the T-shirt he wore as a boy volunteer when he helped restore the PS Pevensey.Credit: Simon Schluter
As adults, Rohan and Craig Burgess both became bankers.
But in 2013, seeking a change, Rohan took up a job in Echuca as commercial manager for the Shire of Campaspe, which included managing the PS Pevensey.
Vern Beasley, the then-owner of Murray River Paddlesteamers, which owned three paddle steamers including the Emmylou suggested Rohan buy the company.
In 2015, Rohan, Craig and Neil Hutchinson bought the company.
In 2018, they renovated the Emmylou, removing its bunks and shared facilities and installing eight cabins with en suites which, Craig says, has since kept her almost booked out.
But Emmylou is too small to accommodate a coach-load of tourists, and so the Australian Star project was born.
Chair of advocacy group Committee for Echuca Moama Tim Ford said the launch of the Australian Star was “an exciting milestone for Echuca Moama and the wider Murray region”.
“With extended cruises and five-star facilities, it has the potential to attract high-value tourism, boost local businesses, and create new opportunities for jobs and investment,” Ford said.
Now that Australian Star is nearing its launch, Rohan says: “It’s exciting. It’s a bit of a ‘pinch yourself’ thing at the moment. It was a bit of a dream.”
The paddle steamer Australian Star passing under a bridge at Swan Hill on its 19-day voyage from Mildura to its current mooring near Echuca.Credit: Murray River Paddlesteamers
Craig wants to see the Murray viewed as an international tourist drawcard alongside the Phillip Island penguins or the Twelve Apostles, and a local alternative to sleep-on-board luxury cruising in Europe.
“What we’re trying to do is to reimagine the Murray as to what you can do,” he said. “It’s been a river that you don’t necessarily think about for a long river cruise.
“It’s a great way to experience Australia,” he said. “If you want to see the heart of Australia, see it from the river.”
Victorian Tourism Minister Steve Dimopoulos said the Australian Star “will deliver an incredibly unique tourism experience – offering visitors the chance to enjoy luxury accommodation on the iconic Murray River while driving economic growth for Echuca and the wider region”.
“Every passenger who steps aboard the Australian Star will represent additional spending in local shops, restaurants and accommodation – backing local operators and creating a ripple effect across the community,” Dimopoulos said.
