The Enterprise has worked as a cargo boat, floating store, fishing vessel, houseboat and showboat.
The vessel was launched in 1878 after being built in Echuca from river red gum. These trees, once plentiful along the Murray River, provided a ready source of hardwood for building and powering paddle steamers. The tannin from a handful of eucalyptus leaves thrown into the boiler also prevented the interior walls from corroding.
The Enterprise is known as a ‘shallow drafter’, because there is very little of it sitting below the water line — a mere 75 centimetres. This made it suitable for dealing with the varying water levels of the river system. In 1879 it managed to steam on the waterways throughout the year, despite falling river levels.
