Stranding of the immigrant ship CITY OF ADELAIDE, near Port Adelaide
Maker
Australasian Sketcher
(1873 - 1889)
Date1881
Object number00003171
NameEngraving
MediumPaper
DimensionsOverall: 184 x 248 mm
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionEngraving titled 'Stranding of the Immigrant Ship CITY OF ADELAIDE, near Port Adelaide'. Published in the Australian Sketcher in 1881.HistoryCITY OF ADELAIDE was built in Sunderland in 1864 to take migrants from Europe to Australia and made 23 trips from London and Plymouth to Adelaide, returning with wool and copper. The ship jointly held the record for sailing between London and Adelaide in 65 days before retiring from the service in 1887 as steam ships took over. It was sold for use in the North American timber trade, and then served for 30 years as an isolation hospital near Southampton before being taken over by the Royal Navy for use as a drill ship in Greenock in 1923.
In 1948, now renamed HMS CARRICK, the ship became floating clubrooms for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Club, and was moored at various locations on the Clyde in Glasgow city centre.
The vessel was transported to Australia in 2014 on a cargo ship and is now situated in Adelaide, South Australia.SignificanceCITY OF ADELAIDE, along with CUTTY SARK, is the oldest surviving vessel of its kind. According to the National Historic Ships Committee, the passenger and cargo ship is one of the most important in British maritime history, the last survivor of the timber trade between North America and the UK.
