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Convict ship SUCCESS, Circular Quay west
Convict ship SUCCESS, Circular Quay west

Convict ship SUCCESS, Circular Quay west

Photographer (Australian, 1877 - 1951)
Date1891
Object number00002510
NameGlass plate negative
MediumEmulsion on glass
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Bruce Stannard
DescriptionPhotograph of the convict ship SUCCESS at Circular Quay west, Sydney Cove. HistoryHMS SUCCESS became a prison hulk in 1852 and was one of five vessels moored in Hobson’s Bay at Williamstown in Victoria. The gold rush had caused a huge influx on the population and the colony had to look for alternatives to house the growing number of prisoners. The SUCCESS was known for its extreme harshness and was surpassed in its brutality only by hulk PRESIDENT. The purpose of this tiered system meant prisoners could either toe the line and be moved to more humane hulks and eventually gain their freedom or be moved onto the PRESIDENT if they continued to cause trouble. In 1857, a group of prisoners on the SUCCESS murdered the Inspector General of Penal Establishments in Victoria, John Price. Although the men were hung for their crime, Price's negative reputation and death resulted in a government inquiry into the prison hulk system and lead to its discontinuation. SignificanceIn a career that spanned 106 years (1840-1946) and four continents, SUCCESS performed a variety of roles such as emigrant ship, trader, prison hulk and exhibition ship.

The vessel achieved great fame in the twentieth century as a floating museum, based partly on the erroneous claim that it had transported convicts to Australia. This image is probably during the ship's visit to Sydney in November 1891 as a museum to SUCCESS's exaggerated convict past.