White Star Line training ship MERSEY

Photographer William Hall Photographic Studio

Datec 1911

Object numberANMS1092[217]

NameGlass plate negative

MediumEmulsion on glass

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Mr and Mrs Glassford

Terms

negatives

HistoryThe iron-hulled ship MERSEY was built in 1894 by Charles Connell & Co., of Glasgow, for the Nourse Line. The vessel was named after the River Mersey in England and was employed in the transport of labourers to British colonies. In 1908 MERSEY was sold and joined the British shipping company White Star Line as a training ship. In 1910 MERSEY was the first training ship to be fitted with a radio and in January 1911 the ship visited Sydney. In 1915 White Star Line sold MERSEY to the Norwegian company Transatlantic Motorship Co., who renamed the vessel CHRISTIAN RADICH. The ship was scrapped in 1923. 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.