Half model of a typical East Indiaman
Model Maker
Allan F Tyler
Date1991
Object number00015631
NameModel
MediumWood
DimensionsOverall: 292 x 963 mm, 5.3 kg
ClassificationsModels
Credit LineANMM Collection
Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionThis half model of a typical East Indiaman is constructed of Kauri pine. With their full rounded hulls, merchant ships could take up to 200 days to sail from England while the streamlined clipper took just 69 days.HistoryEast Indiamen were built for trade between Europe and Asia from 1600 to the 1830s. The English East India Company had its own dockyard at Deptford, England. The ships were highly decorated with gilding and carvings and known as the most expensive and lavish ships of the day, built as symbols of the East India Company's prestige. The ships were also heavily armed for protection against piracy in the Malay Archipelago and against the ships of rival companies.
East Indiamen were significant in Australian history because much of the provisions for the infant colony of New South Wales arrived from India and China aboard East Indiamen. In the 1790s, cargoes of grain, rum or meat were sent from India to Sydney on speculation and the East India Company carried cargos of convicts and supplies from England to Sydney.SignificanceThis model is representative of commercial vessels in East India and the development of trade between Europe and Asia during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
