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TORRENS

Artist Fred Dawson (c 1890-1925)

Date1902

Object number00045690

NamePainting

MediumWatercolour

DimensionsOverall: 435 × 688 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection

Terms

Port Adelaide

DescriptionA watercolour painting by Frederick Dawson of the Elder Line's clipper ship TORRENS, 1902. The ship is wearing the British red ensign at the stern, and a company flag comprising a white flag with a crescent and two stars. The painting is signed F. DAWSON PORT ADELAIDE 1902, but the background shows only a foreshore with two headlands.HistoryThe clipper ship TORRENS, 1,276 registered tonnage, 222 feet long (67.7 metres), was built at James Laing's Sunderland shipyards in 1875. Constructed with iron frames and teak planking, it was designed to carry emigrants to South Australia and return home with cargoes such as wool. It was the last full-rigged composite passenger clipper to be built. It was known for its comfort and achieved notable speeds, averaging 74 days for the passage during its first 15 voyages commanded by the Commodore of the Elder Line, Captain Henry Robert Angel, who was also part-owner. It was sold to Italian owners after an accident in the Thames in 1903, and was scrapped in 1910.SignificanceThe clipper ship TORRENS was one of the most popular and best known ships of its day in the England-Australian passenger trade, with particular importance in the maritime history of South Australia. Between 1875 and 1903 the ship made 27 return voyages between Plymouth and Adelaide, making very fast passages and establishing a record-breaking 64 days for the passage.

The TORRENS is also noted for the fact that Joseph Conrad, later to become famed as a writer, served as chief officer on two return voyages between 1891 and 1893.