Fob chain with propeller
Date1834-1914
Object number00045526
NameChain
MediumMetal, shell, turtle shell
DimensionsOverall: 255 x 45 mm
ClassificationsClothing and personal items
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionFob chain with turtle shell propeller believed to have been worn by Captain William Collin.HistoryCaptain William Collin (1834-1914) was born in England, went to sea, and was shipwrecked off north Queensland in 1854. He settled in Sydney until 1862 when he moved to Queensland and operated barges in the coastal trade. He also became a well-known salvage operator and shipbreaker. He is regarded as a pioneer of the Queensland coastal and river trade, and one of his most notable achievements was to mark the passage through Torres Strait with buoys, for the Queensland Government. His reminiscences published in 1914 are an important source for the social and commercial history of early Queensland.SignificanceWilliam Collin, Life and Adventures (of an Essexman) Captain William Collin, a Queensland Pioneer. Brisbane, 1914. Vaughan Evans Library 910.450942 COL.J A Hempel, article on William Collin in Australian Dictionary of Biography 1851-1890, p 441
Jonathan Wantrup, catalogue entry for William Collin, Life and Adventures, in New Century Antiquarian Books, Travel Australia and Pacific, December 2006, item 15.
