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They say you can’t reinvent the paddlewheel, but it seems someone forgot to tell the folks at Murray River Paddlesteamers. The team behind the newly unveiled PS Australian Star rolled into the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) in Brisbane this week with all the pomp and paddle you’d expect of a floating five-star hotel—and by gum, did they turn heads.

Standing proudly beside a life-size image of the soon-to-debut luxury vessel were Craig Burgess (Director), Natalie Freeman (Sales and Marketing supremo), and Cameron Sutton (Tourism Board CEO)—collectively spruiking the kind of river cruise experience Banjo Paterson could only dream about.

Murray River at ATE are Murray River Paddlesteamers (MRPS) Director Craig Burgess (left), MRPS Head of Sales, Marketing and Trade, Natalie Freeman, and Murray River Tourism Board CEO, Cameron Sutton (right).

Murray River at ATE features Murray River Paddlesteamers (MRPS) Director Craig Burgess (left), MRPS Head of Sales, Marketing, and Trade Natalie Freeman, and Murray River Tourism Board CEO Cameron Sutton (right).

Set to launch this spring from Echuca, Australian Star is a $7 million, 38-guest tribute to refined nostalgia. Not just a pretty paddlewheel—she’s Australia’s first five-star overnight riverboat, the largest paddlesteamer in the Southern Hemisphere, and the only wood-fired, five-star, accommodated paddlesteamer in the known world. That’s right, folks. Forget diesel fumes—this baby puffs along the Murray like it’s 1891, only with better linen and sparkling wine on tap.

“Luxury meets legacy,” says Freeman, who adds that guests can choose journeys lasting up to a week along one of Australia’s most iconic waterways. If the soft thrum of a wood-fired engine doesn’t soothe you to sleep, the heritage-inspired décor certainly will.

And the best news? She won’t be sailing solo for long. MRPS announced that Australian Star will soon have a twin, Australian Sky, scheduled to enter service by 2027.

ATE, the nation’s largest B2B tourism showcase, drew 700 key travel buyers from over 30 countries this year—many of whom paused wide-eyed at the paddlesteamer pitch, no doubt charmed by the blend of bush poetry and boutique elegance.

So here’s to the Murray—forever mighty, now marvellously majestic. And if this is the new golden age of Australian river cruising, we say: all aboard.

👉 Visit www.mrps.com.au to plan your journey.