On 29 November 1948, the Murrumbidgee caught fire upstream of Echuca after departing on "her usual four-day cruise to [the] Barmah Lakes",[15] and was burned beyond repair some three miles north of the junction of the Murray and Goulburn rivers.

[15] On 3 March 1949, MVC general manager H J Lawrence announced the plans for a Murrumbidgee II to be built at Evans Bros' slipway in Echuca, through the conversion of the J L Roberts barge.

The unnamed vessel was launched to a small crowd on September 15, 1949, and was expected to be towed by the PS Edwards to the Echuca Wharf the following Monday for installation of the paddlewheels and diesel engines.

[2] The PV Coonawarra was officially commissioned, in Echuca, on 9 October 1950 by F M Osborne (representing the Minister for Shipping), with Captain Hilary Hogg taking the vessel to the Campaspe junction and back in preparation for the paddle boat's maiden voyage to Barmah the following Thursday.

[3] The name "Coonawarra", an Aboriginal term meaning "black swan",[18] was chosen following a nation-wide competition attracting some 10,000 entries.

[22] By the 1960s, the Coonawarra was operating out of Murray Bridge, conducting trips to Blanchetown,[23] and later 5-day return cruises to Morgan,[24] which continued into the 1970s.