SS COLUMBIAN off Cape Howe
Date1856-1859
Object number00004617
NamePainting
MediumWatercolour on paper
DimensionsOverall: 594 x 750 x 45 mm, 4.4 kg
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionEarly steamship flying the house flag of P. Henderson & Company. Watercolour attributed to Frederick Garling.HistoryP. Henderson & Company operated migrant and mail steamships between Scotland and Australian and New Zealand in the 1850s.
The ship has been identified as the SS COLUMBIAN, a single screw iron hulled bark of 2,283 tons built in 1855 for Robert Henderson & Company. The company was known as the European & Australian Royal Mail Company Limited when it briefly won the Royal Mail contract between the United Kingdom and Australia. The company was not a success and was wound up in 1859.
SignificanceThis ship portrait highlights the migration of people to Australia and commercial maritime trade during the mid-19th century.
