Damaged schooner INCA at anchor, possibly in Sydney Harbour

Photographer William James Hall (Australian, 1877 - 1951)

Datec 1920

Object numberANMS1092[116]

NameGlass plate negative

MediumEmulsion on glass

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Mr and Mrs Glassford

Terms

HistoryFive-masted schooner INCA was built by Hall Bros. of Port Blakely, United States, in 1896. In October 1920, while en route to Sydney, Australia with a cargo of lumber, INCA was dismasted in the Tasman Sea. The vessel was abandoned on 7 December and the crew were sighted in their lifeboats by the steamship COSMOS. COSMOS towed INCA into Sydney Harbour, arriving on 18 December 1920. INCA spent the next six years as a hulk before being burnt off Sydney Heads as a prop for the film 'For the Term of his Natural Life'.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 iconic vessels are also included in this visual record.