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Image Not Available for NSS VERNON
NSS VERNON
Image Not Available for NSS VERNON

NSS VERNON

Date1876
Object number00027245
NamePhotograph
MediumPhotographic print on paper. Mounted and framed.
DimensionsOverall: 307 × 400 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection
DescriptionA black and white sepia toned photograph of the nautical school ship NSS VERNON. The bow faces the viewer, the crew stand arm in arm on the yards of the masts, the longboats sit beside the ship attached with booms, the gun ports are opened. The NSS VERNON was a nautical school ship - a reformatory and industrial school and housed more than 100 boys, training them in nautical and other trades. The VERNON was first anchored between Garden Island and the Government Domain, and from 1871 at Cockatoo Island. The VERNON was replaced by another ship, the SOBRAON, in 1892.History"In 1866, the Industrial Schools Act was introduced to control 'wayward' children. This included youths found destitute, wandering the streets, begging, abandoned or committing a crime. The act also allowed for the governor to declare 'any ship or vessel or any building or place together with any yards, enclosures or lands attached there, to be a 'Public Industrial School.' Under this wide-ranging act, the former merchant sailing ship Vernon was purchased in January 1867. It was refitted and declared a Public Industrial School in May 1867. The ship was the embodiment of the principles of the Society for the Relief of Destitute Children. In 1853 the Society had stated its aims: to provide relief for children found in a degraded and neglected state, to place them in protection under good influences, and to train them in the habits of honest industry. The Vernon was initially moored between the Government Domain and Garden Island. Admissions commenced on 20 May 1867 and by July the following year, 113 boys had been admitted, with some as young as three being sent to the ship. On board, the boys were given moral training, nautical and industrial training and instruction, and elementary schooling. In 1871 the Vernon was moved and moored off Cockatoo Island. The island provided a small plot for the boys to have a vegetable patch and for use as a drill ground and recreational area. " [Mark Dunn, Vernon nautical training ship, Dictionary of Sydney, 2008, http://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/vernon_nautical_training_ship]SignificanceThe NSS VERNON was a familiar sight on Sydney Harbour for many years - an accepted symbol of the problem of 'wayward' boys. It was an early effort to address a social problem on a large and organized scale.