NSW Crown Lands put the lease out to tender on April 20 last year, after the previous contract held by Robert Simmons expired.
The pair officially took over the contract on Friday, February 5 and are already getting down to work on the 100-year-old structure.
“There’s a whole lot of things that have never happened before,” Mr Auditori said.
“I’ve been working here for 30 years; it’s really been a museum the whole time and now we’ve just got to get it up to scratch.
“All the bearers are basically rotten, the slings, cables, chains and V shackles all need to be tested and tagged.”
Murray River Marine Services Pty Ltd is independent and doesn't own any vessels. Mr Auditori has been a shipwright since he was 17 while Ms Mead previously worked on paddlesteamers in South Australia and is a descendant of William Randell – who put the first paddlesteamer on the Murray River.
“I don’t think anyone would actually know the whole structure and how to fix it as well as Adam,” Ms Mead said.
“He’s the best person for the job to oversee it all and make sure we have a safe facility.”
Their top priority now is to make the facility safe for all vessels, with only the PS Emmy Lou, PV Amphibious and PS Etona making their way up the slipway in the last year.
“The slip is in a fairly sad state and the last two slippings of the PS Pevensey it’s derailed,” Mr Auditori said.
“Our ambition is, in the next six weeks, we’ll have a whole lot of maintenance work done and the slip will be ready to go for the Pevensey.
“There’s a whole line of people waiting to get access to the slipway at the moment.”
Former uses of the slipway will also be reinstated by the pair after receiving permission to use the land for a marina and for hard standing and building vessels on site.
“In the past, all the vessels were moored on this (Moama) side of the river and the wharf was for pick-up and drop-off, so we’re really happy about that,” Mr Auditori said.
Other works planned for the site will include signage recognising its historical significance and erecting an industrial security fence around the slipway itself.
Mr Auditori said taking over the slipway had been in their game plan for a long time.
“We have up to five contractors that work with us and they travel, so now we’ve got security that if we’re going to commence a job on March 1, we know it’s going to happen,” he said.
“For us it’s the passion. It’s the first time since the 1920s the slip’s been back in the hands of a boat builder shipwright.”
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