Ship History

History

RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE Passenger Clipper Ship CITY OF ADELAIDE 1864

The City of Adelaide is a remarkable and exceptionally historic passenger clipper ship. This unique passenger cargo sailing ship survives today as the last of the passenger clipper ships. These in many respects were the sailing predecessors of the ocean liner. Therefore we make no apologies for including this ship in the Ocean Liner Virtual Museum. For while the S.S. Great Britain is famous for being the world's first true ocean liner and the forerunner of all modern ships. It is arguable that the City of Adelaide is the sailing predecessor of the S.S. Great Britain and therefore all ocean liners.

She was built by William Pile, Hay & Co. in Sunderland and was launched on the 7th May 1864. The City Of Adelaide is the oldest survivor of only three composite ships in the world. She was William Pile's first composite ship and the only one left out of hundreds of sailing ships built on the Wear in the nineteenth century. She is five years older, and a little smaller than the world famous Cutty Sark, one of the other two composite survivors. Although the world's first iron ship was built in 1819 there was a brief period around 1860 to 1880 when hybrids were built with iron frames and wooden planking. These composite construction ships were fast, light and had good cargo-carrying abilities. As a result they represented the peak of innovation in shipbuilding at that time.

The City Of Adelaide is 178 feet long and 33 feet in width. Her overall length from the end of the spanker boom to the stern and the end of the jib boom at the bow was about 244 feet and the height of the top of the mainmast above the waterline was about 144 feet. Her displacement was 791 tons and she could carry 1500 tons of cargo. Her historical importance lies partly in the fact that she was a passenger ship with 14 first-class cabins and able to carry about 270 second class passengers.

Between 1864 and 1887, the City of Adelaide made 46 voyages between England and South Australia – 23 outward and return - bringing hundreds of families from England, Scotland, Ireland and other European countries. She was built specifically for trade with the relatively new Colony of South Australia and was operated by the company of Devitt and Moore. This company started as shipbrokers and later became ship owners and prime movers in the concept of school ships and sail training. They owned or operated very many ships connecting Britain and Australia for more than half a century. Many of them were built in Sunderland by William Pile. One of the original shareholders in City Of Adelaide, and her first commander, was David Bruce (pictured right), a Scot who had previously commanded the barque Irene for eleven years. Captain Bruce and City Of Adelaide made annual voyages from London to Adelaide and two of his sons subsequently commanded the ship in turn. The ship voyaged annually from London to Adelaide and back to London, for 23 years from 1864. She held the record journey time of 65 days from London to Adelaide. She returned from Adelaide with passengers and a high-value cargo of wool, sometimes via Cape Horn. The advent of steamships in the late 1800s led to the demise of sail. As a result, the clipper ships represented the pinnacle of sailing ship design. By 1887 however, she was becoming un-economical to run and she was sold, and then sold again. For a brief period she was used for coal transportation and later transatlantic timber carrying.

Static Roles (1893 - 1990):

Her sailing days ended in 1893 and she was purchased by Southampton Corporation for use as a sanatorium and floating isolation hospital, following a cholera outbreak the previous year. She remained in Southampton until 1923 when she was sold to the Admiralty, towed to Irvine and converted and re-named HMS Carrick, to be used as the Drill Ship for the Clyde Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR), being moored in Greenock. The change of name was necessary because the Royal Australian Navy already had a ship named 'Adelaide'. The opening ceremony as Drill Ship was attended by the Duke of Montrose, who had served in Devitt and Moore's training ship 'Hesperus' as a junior officer. During the Second World War she served as the administrative centre for the training of gunners for Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships (DEMS).

Following the war she was scheduled for breaking up, but the intervention of senior figures prevented this, and she was saved to be transferred to the RNVR for use as a Clubhouse. After some modification, and an opening ceremony carried out by Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, she served this purpose until 1990, being moored on the Clyde in central Glasgow. In 1978 a very low tide caused her to be caught against the quay alongside which she was lying, resulting in her becoming trapped and heeled to 35 degrees, with consequent flooding of the interior. In 1989 the ship was once again flooded and partly sunk, and the RNVR Club was unable to finance salvage, so the vessel was declared a Total Loss. At this time Glasgow City Council applied for Listed Building status to facilitate preservation of the ship, and this inspired move resulted in her being listed as Category A (i.e. of the most exceptional historical importance).

Preservation (1990 - Present):

She was purchased in 1990 by a maritime trust, and was towed to Prince's Dock where she sank in unexplained circumstances during the night preceding a planning inquiry appeal over a proposed development of the surrounding area. At this stage she was in grave danger of destruction, to the extent that even the Director of Planning of Glasgow City Council asked for her to be de-listed. However, her legal protection saved her, and she was subsequently acquired by the Scottish Maritime Museum (SMM), who organized the complex task of raising her, and towing her to Irvine, the site of the Museum, also the location of her previous conversion in 1923. She has been back in Irvine since May 1992.

The original intention was to restore her to her former glory as a passenger clipper ship and thus she would become an iconic tourist attraction. However due to lack of funding and resources this never was accomplished. She lingered on in deteriorating condition on her slipway at the Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine. In May 2007 permission was given to sensitively deconstruct the City of Adelaide so that parts of her can be preserved in museums. Sadly despite much protest this is likely to commence in 2008.

The Battle to Save the City of Adelaide (2000 - Present):

The City of Adelaide is the older sister of the Cutty Sark. These two ships are the last two 19th century composite clipper ships left anywhere in the world. While the Cutty Sark is the last tea clipper in the world, the City of Adelaide is the last passenger clipper ship. As such she is the forerunner of the SS Great Britain and the ocean liners. As a result the City of Adelaide is a maritime icon of international historical significance. If restored for present and future generations, she has the potential to contribute hugely to culture, tourism and the local economy. While the SS Great Britain being the first ocean liner tells the story of the early ocean liners, the City of Adelaide uniquely can tell the story of their sailing predecessors - the passenger clipper ships. She is a forgotten icon and must be safeguarded, her condition stabilised and then eventually restored to her former glory. If she is scrapped now this option will be ruled out forever. To lose this unique, priceless and irreplaceable historic ship would be a national tragedy, scandalous, unforgivable and a huge loss to Britain's cultural heritage.

Since 2000 several campaigns have been underway to try to save her. One campaign is led by Sunderland Maritime Heritage and they want to save her and restore her to her original condition as an iconic tourist attraction in Sunderland, England, UK. The other group is the Save the City of Adelaide Group in Adelaide, Australia that want to save her and transport her to Adelaide for restoration as a tourist attraction for Australia in light of her important role in bringing emigrants to South Australia.

Why is the ship so important?

The City of Adelaide is one of only two surviving sailing ships to carry emigrants from the British Isles to any destination woldwide. The other is the Edwin Fox.

She is the only surviving sailing ship that gave regular service between Europe and Australia.

She is the only survivor of the timber trade from North America to UK.

The Cutty Sark and the City of Adelaide are the world’s only two surviving composite clipper ships.

The City of Adelaide, built in 1864, is the world’s oldest clipper ship being five years older than the Cutty Sark.

In 2001 there was conference held in Glasgow to discuss the plight of the City of Adelaide and put forward ideas for saving her. The event was hosted by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. The conference was chaired by Sir Julian Oswald, and a large number of stakeholders attended the conference including representatives from interests in Australia. The outcome was clear:

The vessel must be saved.
The Scottish Maritime Museum was unable to retain the City of Adelaide and she would have to be relocated to either Sunderland, where she was built, or Adelaide.
Urgently need to move the vessel from present location in Irvine due to site costs.
Interim ownership to pass to Maritime Trust.
Two groups have claims - Sunderland, UK, and Adelaide, SA. First group with viable restoration plan may take ownership.
Maritime Trust will fund refloating and delivery to transportation barge.

The post conference statement was agreed as follows and issued by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh:

"Carrick" - "City of Adelaide" Conference: 19th September 2001

The conference, held as a result of an initiative from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, reached a number of important conclusions.

"Carrick" - "City of Adelaide" is one of the most important Historic vessels in the U.K. and every effort should be made to ensure the future of the vessel. Resources available in Scotland to preserve the vessel at the Scottish Maritime Museum were insufficient to make any real progress and the Museum's stewardship of the vessel could result in the whole of the museums collections being placed in jeopardy.

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh proposed that the Maritime Trust and Scottish Maritime Museum should work in partnership to fund a first phase of work. This phase would see the vessel removed from the slipway, on which the initial work had been completed, and placed on a barge or similar vessel and her transhipment to another location. The Maritime Trust would take the lead in raising the funding support for the first phase.

The 'Sunderland Maritime Trust' and 'Save the City of Adelaide 1864 Group', Adelaide, Australia, both presented the conference with proposals for the vessel to be restored and displayed. The conference agreed that both organisations should now look to securing funding support for their proposals and an active dialogue would be maintained by all concerned. The aim of the Maritime Trust and the Scottish Maritime Museum would be that final transfer to either the 'Sunderland Maritime Trust' or the 'Save the City of Adelaide 1864 Group' would take place as quickly as possible. The Maritime Trust and the Scottish Maritime Museum would work in partnership to ensure this outcome.

The final decision of the conference was that as the significance of the vessel lay in her activities under the name "City of Adelaide" she should in future be known simply as "City of Adelaide".

The conference was chaired by Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Julian Oswald, and in addition to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh was attended by representatives of Australian High Commission, Save the City of Adelaide 1864 Group, City of Sunderland Council, Cutty Sark Trust, DCMS, Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland, North Ayrshire Council, National Historic Ships Committee, Scottish Executive, Scottish Maritime Museum , State of South Australia, and Sunderland Maritime Heritage."

Post Conference Statement issued by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, 2001

Sunderland Maritime Heritage campaign:

The aims of the trust are to bring the City of Adelaide back to the river Wear where she was built. Once this is achieved it is intended that she be restored and exhibited as part of a maritime museum. The museum is intended to show the history of ship building on the Wear, and will hopefully house artefacts and pictures from other ships, and shipbuilding yards which were once the mainstay of the area. The demise of the river as one the major shipbuilding areas of the world has seen the loss of many skills allied to shipbuilding, within the local area. It is intended that the restoration work will re-kindle some of these skills, and allied with a programme of training, will allow these skills to be passed on to some of the younger people in the area.It is also intended that the ship, and associated museum, be used as an educational aid, which will enable future generations to see and experience, the sights, sounds, and sense of history, within which the forebears lived and worked.

Website: www.sunderlandmaritimeheritage.org.uk

Save the City of Adelaide Group campaign:

Their Vision is to …

preserve the world heritage clipper ship City of Adelaide,
promote knowledge of this precious ship’s heritage significance to South Australia, Australia and the international community,
enrich lives through an interpretative museum and community venue, and,
provide enjoyment for visitors to the maritime heritage tourist precinct of Port Adelaide and for the local community.

Our Mission is to save the historic clipper ship City of Adelaide and preserve the ship for future generations, by …

Transporting the ship from Scotland to South Australia.
Protecting and securing the ship under cover, and on land, in Port Adelaide.
Developing an interpretive museum and community venue that educates, entertains and involves visitors.
Providing visitors with an appreciation of …

the unique construction of the ship,
the traditional skills of the 19th century English shipbuilders,
the traditional skills of the crew of the ship,
the life on board for the passengers and crew,
the trade importance of the clipper ships to the fledgling colony of South Australia in transporting goods, grain, wool, wine, copper and other commodities to the European markets,
the great Clipper Races from Australia to the European markets.

Linking to other related South Australian tourist destinations such as Port Augusta, Burra, the ‘Copper Triangle’ towns, the River Murray Paddle Steamers, the ships graveyard, the Migration Museum, and the SA Maritime Museum.
Creating critical mass together with other local museums, heritage organisations and community groups.

The Australian campaign has also submitted petitions to the Federal Australian Senate and to the State House of Assembly in the South Australian Parliament. This supports the UK e-petition submitted to the British Prime Minister by the author.

Website: www.cityofadelaide.org.au

The Author's Efforts:

Meanwhile the author (Alex Naughton) has also been doing is best in a small way to raise the profile of the City of Adelaide and to put the case for the preservation of the ship as a whole intact rather than by managed deconstruction which will only result in the preservation of parts of the ship. I have corresponded with the Scottish Maritime Museum and the Scottish Government highlighting the historical signifcance of the ship and lobbying for the decision on the recorded deconstruction of the ship to be reconsidered. This became especially important in light of the fire on the Cutty Sark (the only other surviving clipper ship) in London in May 2007. At that time it seemed likely that we may lose the world's last two surviving clipper ships at the same time.

The author received the following statement from the Scottish Maritime Museum on the 23rd May 2007:

"Following several years of attempting to find a new owner or viable restoration schemes, without success, the Scottish Maritime Museum sought listed building consent to deconstruct the City of Adelaide in the summer of 2006. Conditional approval was granted by North Ayrshire Council in February 2007 and a panel of experts has been assembled to establish the method, or methods, of deconstruction that will gain the greatest insight into the original construction of the vessel. The first meeting of this group is scheduled for the end of May and it is anticipated that the various proposals and associated costs will be known by late summer. Funding then wil be sought for the work to be carried out.

The following statement was issued by the Chairman of the Trustees of the Scottish Maritime Museum on the 21st May 2007.

Statement from the Scottish Maritime Museum

The news of the fire on Cutty Sark and the possible damage to her very important iron frames is exceptionally sad and we very much hope that detailed examination will establish that the damage is not as severe as first thought.

The Trustees of the Scottish Maritime Museum are very concerned at the potential loss of our maritime heritage especially as the Museum has entered the final phase of preparing for the deconstruction of the City of Adelaide. We are continuing with the process and a panel of experts will be meeting next week to prepare the brief.

The City of Adelaide is an older clipper ship than the Cutty Sark and built for passengers rather than fast cargo carrying but together they represent the last 19th century composite clipper ships in the world.

It has been with very great regret that the Trustees have been forced, through lack of funding for the work of the museum and the preservation of its national collections, to go through with the deconstruction of the City of Adelaide".

Response from Jim Tildesley, Chief Executive of the Scottish Maritime Museum, 23rd May 2007.

The author has also had correspondence with the Scottish First Minister (head of the devolved Scottish Government) and his Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture on the issue of the plight of the City of Adelaide. On the 13th June 2007 the author received the following response from the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture who was responding on behalf of Alex Salmond, the Scottish First Minister and the devolved Scottish Government.

"Thank you for your e-mail of 24th May to Alex Salmond, First Minister, regarding the Carrick (also known as the City of Adelaide). The First Minister has asked me to reply as Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture.

The recent fire on the Cutty Sark is a great tragedy. Historic Scotland has discussed the implications of the fire with their counterparts at English Heritage. Although it is early days, English Heritage seem confident that the damage is far less than was originally suggested and that the ship will be redisplayed as intended, albeit the project may be delayed.

I very much appreciate the historic and cultural significance of the City of Adelaide particularly to Scotland and Australia. Sadly, no viable option for her restoration has yet been presented, despite widespread publicity about her future in recent years.

Over the last year, Historic Scotland, the agency charged with protecting our built heritage, has worked closely with North Ayrshire Council in assessing the listed building consent application to deconstruct this Category A listed vessel. I would like to assure you, however, that the vessel is not to be scrapped but deconstructed as part of a controlled and carefully monitored process in line with best practice. It is in the nature of ships that they reach a point where they cannot be meaningfully repaired without being virtually replicated. Consent was, therefore, approved with conditions to ensure methods of dismantling will be carefully controlled. This process will be carried out in accordance with a policy document produced by National Historic Ships (NHS), entitled "Understanding Historic Ships". NHS is the national body set up by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to advise government on matters relating to historic vessels in the UK.

The aim is to meticulously record the vessel as she is and preserve sections of her hull for interpretation and future display, enabling this important maritime document to continue to be appreciated and understood. An advisory group which includes the Trustees of the Scottish Maritime Museum, members of NHS and a maritime archaeologist from Historic Scotland has been set up to implement the process.

This is an unusual and complex case but I hope that some of your concerns about safeguarding the fabric of thsi vessel have been allayed."

Response of Linda Fabiani MSP, Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture (Scottish Government), 13th June 2007

I then replied with some follow on queries. I then received a response from Historic Scotland on the 26th June 2007 who had been requested by the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture to give a further response.

"Thank you for your further e-mails about the Carrick (also known as the City of Adelaide) to the First Minister and to the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture who have asked me to reply.

I would reiterate that we very much appreciate the historic and cultural significance of the Carrick, particularly to Scotland and Australia, but that no viable option for her restoration has yet come forward, despite the recent widespread publicity about her future and the interest of many people concerned about the maritime heritage. In the absence of any viable scheme for restoration of the Carrick, the process of careful deconstruction will record the vessel for educational purposes, allowing the history and significance of the vessel to be appreciated and understood.

With regard to the Carrick's authenticity, we appreciate that a working vessel will represent the sum of its original and replaced components. We also accept that the vessel as it exists has very high historic significance. If a scheme of restoration were to be presented we would certainly support that option in principle, but this has not happened and we must therefore do what we can to make sure that this historic vessel is properly recorded and partially conserved."

"We have seen references to the Sunderland rescue bid, however as yet we have not received any details either from the group or the local authority, who are responsible for determining the listed building consent application. If a realistic proposal is submitted, both ourselves and the local authority would no doubt support this. It is very unlikely that the vessel would be deconstructed in the face of a realistic offer to remove the ship from its current location for conservation."

Response of John S. Graham, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland, 26th June 2007

I then submitted an e-petition to the 10 Downing Street website to gauge public support and raise this issue to the attention of the British Prime Minister and the UK Government. The wording of the e-petition was as follows:

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to do everything possible to prevent the scrapping of the City of Adelaide clipper ship in Scotland by the Scottish Maritime Museum. This ship is arguably more important than Cutty Sark and must be saved. In light of the very tragic fire on the 21st May 2007 which damaged the Cutty Sark clipper ship in London. We want to highlight the plight of the City of Adelaide passenger clipper ship whose future is threatened in Scotland as her owners (the Scottish Maritime Museum) want to dismantle and scrap her. We urge the Government to do everything possible to force them to urgently reconsider this decision. She must be safeguarded for the future, while they may not be able to restore her now, they or others may be able to do so in the future.

The City of Adelaide is the older sister of the Cutty Sark. These two ships are the last two 19th century composite clipper ships left anywhere in the world. While the Cutty Sark is the last tea clipper in the world, the City of Adelaide is the last passenger clipper ship. As such she is the forerunner of the S.S. Great Britain and the ocean liners. As a result the City of Adelaide is a maritime icon of international historical significance. She has the potential to contribute hugely to culture, tourism and the local economy. While the SS Great Britain being the first ocean liner tells the story of the early ocean liners, the City of Adelaide uniquely can tell the story of their sailing predecessors - the passenger clipper ships. She is a forgotten icon and must be safeguarded, her condition stablised and then eventually restored to her former glory. If she is scrapped now this option will be ruled out forever. To lose this unique, priceless and irreplaceable historic ship would be a national tragedy, scandalous, unforgivable and a huge loss to Britain's cultural heritage. Please save the world's last passenger clipper ship - the City of Adelaide."

Wording of the author's e-petition to the British Prime Minister, September 2007

I then in October 2007 got the following response from the British Government.

"The matters raised in this petition are the responsibility of the Devolved Administration in Scotland. You may find the following websites useful www.historic-scotland.gov.uk and www.scotland.gov.uk."

The matter obviously was referred to the Scottish First Minister by the British Prime Minister for I then received the following reply on the 2nd October 2007 from Historic Scotland again responding on behalf of the Scottish First Minister.

"Thank you for your e-petition sent to the Prime Minister in September. Since the Carrick is listed and heritage matters are devolved to the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister has asked me to reply.

I appreciate that you have already received replies from us. I must reiterate nevertheless that we very much appreciate the cultural significance of the Carrick, but that no viable option for her restoration has yet come forward, despite the continuing publicity about her future. I should stress that in the absence of any viable scheme for restoration of the Carrick, the process of careful deconstruction will record the vessel for educational purposes, allowing the history and significance of the vessel to be appreciated and understood. It is not the intention of the vessel's owners simply to scrap it.

It is not possible to protect the ship indefinately in the absence of a scheme of restoration. A choice does need to be made about whether restoration or managed deconstruction is the best option. In the meantime, if a scheme of restoration were to be presented we would certainly support that option in principle, but until this happens we must do what we can to make sure that the vessel is properly recorded and partially conserved."

Response of John S. Graham, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland, 2nd October 2007

So Britain and Australia are doing their very best to lobby for the preservation in full of this historic clipper ship. Yet the most likely fate seems to be managed deconstruction at this point. This will be a sad blow for maritime heritage internationally and will inevitably mean the loss of this vessel as only parts of the ship will be conserved and saved for posterity. Let's hope that the City of Adelaide can be saved.