Training ship HMAS TINGIRA moored in Rose Bay, Sydney Harbour

Photographer William James Hall (Australian, 1877 - 1951)

Datec 1920

Object numberANMS1092[080]

NameGlass plate negative

MediumEmulsion on glass

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Mr and Mrs Glassford

Terms

HistoryTINGIRA was built in Scotland in 1886 by Alexander Hall of Aberdeen as a passenger clipper named SOBRAON. Purchased by the NSW State Government in 1891 and moved to Sydney, the ship became an Industrial School Ship or Nautical School Ship for destitute boys, training them for a maritime career. The vessel replaced the older ship VERNON, a Blackwaller that had been acquired in 1867 for use as a floating reformatory. VERNON was moved to Cockatoo Island where the vessel was renamed BILOELA and used as an Industrial School and Reform School for Girls. In 1911 the Australian Federal Government purchased SOBRAON for the new Royal Australian Navy and on 25 April 1912 the vessel was commissioned as HMAS TINGIRA. TINGIRA was the Royal Australian Navy's first training ship and by the vessel's decommissioning in 1927 over 3,000 young boys had begun their naval career on the vessel and under the Department of the Navy's boy enlistment scheme. HMAS TINGIRA, ex SOBRAON, was sold several times after being decommissioned in 1927 and was broken up in Berry's Bay in 1942.SignificanceThe Hall photographic collection provides an important pictorial record of recreational boating in Sydney Harbour from the 1890s to the 1930s. The collection documents the lively sailing scene in Sydney during this period and features images of vessels ranging from large racing and cruising yachts to the great array of skiffs and the emerging technologies of motorboats. Images of many of Sydney Harbour's iconic vessels, such as HMAS TINGIRA, are also included in this visual record.