The paddle steamer Adonis was built in 1883 in Brisbane for Messrs Dath, Henderson & Bartholomew, to serve their timber trade. Dath & Henderson & Co. owned a sawmill on the Noosa River at Tewantin. Timber was loaded onto the paddle steamers at the Tewantin wharf for transport to Brisbane. The Adonis took over the Brisbane-Tewantin run in 1884 from another vessel owned by the company, the 'Countess of Belmore'.
She regularly plied the Queensland coast between Brisbane and Mackay and in 1918, her passengers and crew endured a 'Night of Anxiety' on a difficult voyage as she encountered heavy weather on a trip from Brisbane to Maryborough. The journey was covered in article titled 'Thrilling Tale of the Sea' Read more here
For further reading on the launch of Adonis, see here
