CUTTY SARK model
Date1920
Object number00050475
NameModel
MediumTimber, fabric, metal, plastic
DimensionsOverall: 600 x 750 mm
ClassificationsModels
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from the Alfred Leslie Innis Vaughan family in memory of Robert Gordon Wilmot. Restoration courtesy of Mr and Mrs R G Wilmot
DescriptionThis 1:64 scale model accurately and beautifully depicts the renowned extreme clipper ship CUTTY SARK. The CUTTY SARK was one of the last and fastest vessels to be used in the British tea and wool trade. The fame of the CUTTY SARK has made it a continuing subject for model makers well into the 21st century.HistoryOne of the most popular subjects for ship model makers were the extreme clippers, like the CUTTY SARK, that graced the oceans between China and Europe in the latter half of the 19th century.
The era of the clipper ships was dominated by a sense of romance, competition, national pride and innovative technology. These sleek and graceful ships were symbols of British and American modernity and were fundamental to the expanding global economy. Their design concentrated on speed instead of cargo capacity and was a great benefit to shipping companies eager to transport goods quickly.
CUTTY SARK is the last surviving and most famous of the British tea clippers. It was launched in 1869 at Dumbarton on the River Clyde, Scotland and received its name from a Robert Burns poem, Tam O'Shanter. In the poem Tam meets Nannie, a young and beautiful witch who is only wearing a 'cutty sark' (short chemise). The ship's figurehead is carved as a likeness of Nannie.
CUTTY SARK's sleek lines and enormous sails made it the fastest sailing ship in the tea trade with China. Unfortunately the Suez Canal (which sailing ships could not navigate) was opened the same year that the CUTTY SARK was launched. The ship's last tea cargo was carried in 1877. Between 1885 and 1895 it was used in the Australian wool trade, taking the new season wool from Sydney to London and setting top speed records each year. The CUTTY SARK, which is located in a dry dock at Greenwich, England, was extensively damaged by a fire in 2008 and is currently being restored.
This model of the CUTTY SARK was brought to Australia around 1920 by Captain Peter Murray Noble, a former Harbour Pilot of the Port of Leith, Scotland, when he migrated to Sydney, Australia. Upon the death of Captain Noble in the early 1960s the model was purchased at the estate sale by the donor's father.
SignificanceThis plank on frame model is a dynamic and accurate representation of the extreme British clipper ship CUTTY SARK and a fine example of late 19th or early 20th century ship model making.
