Letter to William Collin from Sir Anthony Musgrave
Date18 July 1884
Object number00045537
NameLetter
MediumPaper
DimensionsOverall: 202 x 251 mm
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionA letter to William Collin from Sir Anthony Musgrave, governor of Queensland from 1883 - 1888 regarding the naming of Collins' new steamer.
The handwritten letter is on government house letterhead and approves of Collin's request to name his new steamer LADY MUSGRAVE. Collin used this vessel in the Bundaberg coastal trade and in opening up communications
between Brisbane and the northern rivers of New South Wales.HistoryCaptain William Collin 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 QueenslandSignificanceCaptain William Collin is regarded as a pioneer of Queensland coastal and river trade, from the 1860s until the 1910s. He was well known for his skill in marine salvage of ships off the dangerous Queensland coast. His most notable achievement was marking the passage through Torres Strait with buoys, for the Queensland Government.
Samuel J Hood Studio
1941
