The first vessel, officially named the Rose Hill Packet (otherwise known as 'The Lump'), was a hoy crafted by convicts and powered by sails and oars.

[1] As time progressed, a series of rowboat ferrymen set up small operations to transport people from either side of Sydney Harbour.

In addition to the vessels acquired in the takeovers, it procured in its own name over the following years some 30 large passenger and vehicular ferries known as the K-class.

After the Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in March 1932, SFL patronage dropped almost overnight, decreasing from 44 to 20 million passengers per year.

The first direct link between Sydney and Manly was arranged by Henry Gilbert Smith in 1855 when he chartered a paddle steamer, Huntress, to service the subdivision of his land near The Corso.

Extra boats, including tugs, were also chartered for use on weekends and holidays due to the popularity of Manly's beaches and coves.

The company was reincorporated in 1881 as Port Jackson Steamship Co. Ltd., and further new vesels were acquired, the largest being the 1883 double-ended paddle steamer, Brighton.

At 67 metres (220 ft) in length, it was the largest ferry on Sydney Harbour, and with a high level of appointment, it was a passenger favourite.

In 1901, Reeks also designed the Kuring-gai, a steel, double-ended screw steamer that in its appearance, size and capacity, was the first of the familiar Manly ferries of the twentieth century.

To meet the expanding demand, the now reincorporated Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Company commissioned six similar double-ended screw steamers: Binngarra (1905), Burra Bra (1908), Bellubera (1910), Balgowlah (1912), Barrenjoey (1913), and Baragoola (1922).

[3] In 1965, a hydrofoil service was introduced roughly halving the travel time of the ferries but with significantly higher fares.

The assets were taken over by the Sydney Harbour Transport Board with operations and maintenance contracted to the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company.

On 3 April 2007 the New South Wales Government appointed Bret Walker, a Senior Counsel, to undertake a commission of inquiry into Sydney Ferries' operations.

[4] Submissions to Walker's inquiry were critical of many aspects of the operation of Sydney Ferries from fare levels and infrequent services to the design of gangways and the choice of potentially unsafe livery colours for some vessels.

[5] Walker's report,[6] delivered in November 2007,[7] was highly critical of the Ferries' management, industrial relations and government interference.

[30] Opal is also valid on metro, train, bus and light rail services but separate fares apply for these modes.

[33][34] In March 2007, a Sydney Ferries vessel crashed into a whale-watching ship before hitting Pyrmont Bridge in Darling Harbour.

The Office of Transport Safety Investigations found that the Merinda was not exhibiting the required navigation lights and had not maintained a proper look-out.