In common with most Sydney Harbour ferries at the time, Lady Denman and her four sisters were wooden double-ended screw steamers.
The five ferries had only a single propeller at one end that pushed the vessels in one direction and pulled them in the other.
This feature was introduced by the ferry's designer, Walter Reeks, on a previous Balmain company ferry, Lady Rawson of 1906.
The configuration contrasted with the double-ended vessels of Sydney Ferries Limited (the K-class ferries) which had a continuous propeller shaft and a screw at each end.
A single propeller and one shaft simplified the internal arrangements and put less stress on the timber hulls compared to shafts running a propeller at either end.
Apart from some unusual handling characteristics, the single-propeller configuration was a success and Reeks unsuccessfully tried to patent it.

The hulls of Lady Denman, and one other of the five sisters, Lady Scott (1914), were built by Joseph Dent Limited on the banks of Currambene Creek at Huskisson from local timber milled at the Dent sawmill.
Her keel was cut from 96 foot spotted gum, carted by two bullock teams.
The hull was launched on 5 December 1911, then floated to Sydney carrying a load of timber doubling as ballast and a commercial product.
Machinery installation and upperworks were completed in Sydney possibly by Morrison and Sinclair.

Lady Denman is 33.6m long, 7.6m wide (110.4 x 25.0 x 9.0 feet), displacing 96 gross tons.
She has two passenger decks with two wheelhouses on her promenade deck, and the engine room in hull.
She was fitted with lavatories & wooden batten seats.
The main deck originally featured a woman's saloon.
Spotted gum used extensively in its construction.
With construction of a Sydney Harbour Bridge seeming likely, she and her four sisters were designed for a maximum of fifteen years of life.
Instead, she would go on operating on the harbour until 1979.
Because she was only to have a limited life-span, she was lightly built and almost austere in her fittings, such as her roof of galvanised iron.
They were relatively small and had a veed shape and shallow draft to navigate the muddy and silted upper reaches of their upstream runs.
Lady Chelmsford (1910) was built by Brisbane Waters shipbuilder Rock Davis, Lady Edeline (1913) by G A Washington of Annandale and Lady Ferguson (1914) was built by David Drake Limited of Balmain.

Her original engines were 38 hp (nominal) compound steam engines were by Chapman and Co Ltd which pushed her to 10 knots.
In common with most Sydney Harbour ferries at the time, Lady Denman and her four sisters were wooden double-ended screw steamers. The five ferries had only a single propeller at one end that pushed the vessels in one direction and pulled them in the other. This feature was introduced by the ferry's designer, Walter Reeks, on a previous Balmain company ferry, Lady Rawson of 1906. The configuration contrasted with the double-ended vessels of Sydney Ferries Limited (the K-class ferries) which had a continuous propeller shaft and a screw at each end. A single propeller and one shaft simplified the internal arrangements and put less stress on the timber hulls compared to shafts running a propeller at either end. Apart from some unusual handling characteristics, the single-propeller configuration was a success and Reeks unsuccessfully tried to patent it.
The hulls of Lady Denman, and one other of the five sisters, Lady Scott (1914), were built by Joseph Dent Limited on the banks of Currambene Creek at Huskisson from local timber milled at the Dent sawmill. Her keel was cut from 96 foot spotted gum, carted by two bullock teams. The hull was launched on 5 December 1911, then floated to Sydney carrying a load of timber doubling as ballast and a commercial product. Machinery installation and upperworks were completed in Sydney possibly by Morrison and Sinclair.
Lady Denman is 33.6m long, 7.6m wide (110.4 x 25.0 x 9.0 feet), displacing 96 gross tons. She has two passenger decks with two wheelhouses on her promenade deck, and the engine room in hull. She was fitted with lavatories & wooden batten seats. The main deck originally featured a woman's saloon. Spotted gum used extensively in its construction. With construction of a Sydney Harbour Bridge seeming likely, she and her four sisters were designed for a maximum of fifteen years of life. Instead, she would go on operating on the harbour until 1979. Because she was only to have a limited life-span, she was lightly built and almost austere in her fittings, such as her roof of galvanised iron. They were relatively small and had a veed shape and shallow draft to navigate the muddy and silted upper reaches of their upstream runs. Lady Chelmsford (1910) was built by Brisbane Waters shipbuilder Rock Davis, Lady Edeline (1913) by G A Washington of Annandale and Lady Ferguson (1914) was built by David Drake Limited of Balmain.
Her original engines were 38 hp (nominal) compound steam engines were by Chapman and Co Ltd which pushed her to 10 knots.
MV Lady Denman