English: Oyster dredging boat, Ballina NSW (Northern Star (Lismore), 29 Sep 1926, p 13). This is a rare photograph of an oyster dredging boat, taken in 1926 at Ballina, NSW. The dredge is at the stern, to the right of the pile of oysters and the windlass is forward to the man's left. The oyster dredger would row to the dredging location, anchor his boat, and then let out the anchor line to allow the boat to drift with the tide, out to the length to be dredged. The dredge would then be thrown over the stern, and the windlass first used to haul in the anchor line, both pulling the boat back to its starting position and dragging the dredge along the bottom. The windlass was then used to raise the dredge, containing oysters, and empty its contents into the boat. Based on the text of the newspaper article at the original source. The dredge itself consisted of an iron frame with a rectangular opening that led into a net, made of interlocking iron rings, closed at the far end. The original caption at source reads, "G. Jarrett recovering matured oysters for market on H. Williams's lease, North Creek, Ballina. Note the oysters just emptied out of the oyster dredge on the rear portion of the punt."