However, a double-ended screw configuration was particularly difficult for the fine bows that Manly ferries required for both speed and heavy seas.

The "Binngarra-class" ferries, Binngarra (1905), Burra-Bra (1908), Bellubera (1910), Balgowlah (1912), Barrenjoey (1913), and Baragoola (1922), were designed by Mort's Dock and Engineering, initially under the guidance of former chief draughtsman Andrew Christie.

Balgowlah was built by Mort's Dock at their Woolwich yard for the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company for a cost of £29,000.

It was capable of carrying 1,517 passengers in the summer and 982 in the winter (the highest capacity of this class)[5] and made over 110,000 return trips to Manly covering about 715,000 nautical miles.

Steel-hulled Balgowlah received minor damage, while timber-hulled Kanimbla had a large gash torn in one side and came close to sinking.

[3] The exorbitant cost and difficulty in replacing the large expensive steel-hulled Binngarra-type vessels saw the Balgowlah, along with the Bellubera, Barrenjoey, and Baragoola retained and significantly modified.

Balgowlah was instead used as the company's relief vessel in the postwar years until North Head returned to service following her conversion to diesel.

The hull was cut down and converted to a lighter, and used in the demolition of the old Iron Cove Bridge after which it was allegedly scuttled nearby.