City of Adelaide (1864) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The City of Adelaide was built in 1864 by William Pile, Hay and Co.

William Pile (shipbuilder)

William Pile was a renowned British shipbuilder. He was the first to introduce the Clipper class of ship to the river Wear, Sunderland.'his genius was displayed in the building of ships, wherein he was not excelled...

in Sunderland, England, and was launched on 7 May 1864. The ship was commissioned in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

as HMS Carrick between 1923 and 1948 and, after decommissioning, was known as Carrick until 2001. At a conference convened by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in 2001, the ship's name reverted to City of Adelaide.

The City of Adelaide is:

the world's oldest surviving clipper
Clipper
A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...

ship,
one of only two surviving composite
Composite ship
The technique of composite ship construction emerged in the mid-19th century as the final stage in the evolution of fast commercial sailing ships....

clippers (the other is the Cutty Sark
Cutty Sark
The Cutty Sark is a clipper ship. Built in 1869, she served as a merchant vessel , and then as a training ship until being put on public display in 1954...

; built 1869),
one of only three surviving sailing ships (and the only one of these a passenger ship) to have taken emigrants from the British Isles to any destination in the world (the other two are the Edwin Fox
Edwin Fox (ship)
Edwin Fox is unique as the only surviving ship that transported convicts to Australia, brought settlers to both Australia and New Zealand and served in the Crimean war. She is the oldest surviving merchant sailing ship...

and the Star of India
Star of India (ship)
Star of India was built in 1863 as Euterpe, a full-rigged iron windjammer ship in Ramsey, Isle of Man. After a full career sailing from Great Britain to India and New Zealand, she became a salmon hauler on the Alaska to California route...

),
the last survivor of the timber trade between North America and the United Kingdom,
an A-listed structure in Scotland,
part of the National Historic Fleet of the United Kingdom,
listed in the prestigious Core Collection
National Historic Fleet, Core Collection
The National Historic Fleet, Core Collection is a list of museum ships located in the United Kingdom, under the National Historic Ships register.The vessels on the National Historic Fleet are distinguished by:...

of the United Kingdom.

As a fast sailing ship, between 1864 and 1887 the City of Adelaide made 23 annual return voyages transporting passengers and goods from London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

and Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

to Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

, South Australia. On the return voyages, the ship carried passengers, wool and copper from Adelaide and Port Augusta

Port Augusta, South Australia

-Electricity generation:Electricity is generated at the Playford B and Northern power stations from brown coal mined at Leigh Creek, 250 km to the north...

to London. During this period it played an important part in the immigration of Australia.

Between 1923 and 1989, the ship was an iconic landmark on the River Clyde

River Clyde

The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....

in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, known as the Carrick. After a series of events stemming from a flooding mishap in 1989, the ship's ownership passed to the Scottish Maritime Museum

Scottish Maritime Museum

The Scottish Maritime Museum currently has collections located at two sites in the West of Scotland, both with strong maritime connections. The museums, located in Irvine and Dumbarton, each portray different areas of Scotland’s maritime heritage...

and in 1992/1993 was moved to a private slipway

Slipway

A slipway, boat slip or just a slip, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats. They are also used for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers and flying boats on their undercarriage. The...

adjacent to the Scottish Maritime Museum's site in Irvine

Irvine, North Ayrshire

Irvine is a new town on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland. According to 2007 population estimates, the town is home to 39,527 inhabitants, making it the biggest settlement in North Ayrshire....

, Scotland.

A restoration commenced but was halted in 1999 after funding difficulties when Scotland regained its own parliament. After being served with an eviction notice by the owners of the slipway, the museum applied for permission from North Ayrshire Council to demolish the listed structure.

In June 2010 the Scottish Minister for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop

Fiona Hyslop

Fiona Hyslop is the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs and Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Linlithgow.-Family life and background:...

offered a reprieve for City of Adelaide by commissioning a study to look at four options for the ship:

an archaeological deconstruction (demolition),
transport to a different site in Scotland,
transport to Sunderland in England, or
transport to Adelaide in South Australia.

In August 2010, it was announced that the preferred option was for the ship to be transported to Australia for preservation.

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Ownership

After having gained much experience on the London to Adelaide run with his ship the Irene, Captain David Bruce had the City of Adelaide built expressly for the South Australia trade. The order for the new ship was given to William Pile, Hay, and Company of Sunderland who built the ship and launched it on 7 May 1864.

The City of Adelaide is frequently referred to as being owned by the British shipping firm Devitt and Moore

Devitt and Moore

Devitt and Moore were a British shipping company formed by Thomas Henry Devitt and Joseph Moore in 1836. They became shipowners and entered the passenger and cargo trade to Australia managing and owning many clipper ships such as the City of Adelaide and the South Australian. With the advent of...

, but they were only the managing agents in London. It was only partner Joseph Moore snr. who personally became a syndicate member, holding a quarter-share in the ship. Captain Bruce also took a quarter-share ownership. The remaining two quarter-shares were taken up by Australian interests - Harrold Brothers who were the agents in Adelaide, and Henry Martin, the working proprietor of the Yudnamutana and Blinman copper mines in the Flinders Ranges

Flinders Ranges

Flinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately north west of Adelaide. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna...

Construction

The City of Adelaide was designed to carry both passengers and cargo between England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Cabins could accommodate first-class and second-class passengers, and the hold could be fitted out for carrying steerage-class emigrants when needed.

The City of Adelaide is of composite construction

Composite ship

The technique of composite ship construction emerged in the mid-19th century as the final stage in the evolution of fast commercial sailing ships....

with timber planking on a wrought iron frame. This method of construction provides the structural strength of an iron ship combined with the insulation of a timber hull. Unlike iron ships, where copper would cause corrosion in contact with the iron, the timber bottoms of composite ships could be sheathed with copper

Copper sheathing

Copper sheathing was the practice of protecting the under-water hull of a ship or boat through the use of copper plates affixed to the outside of the hull. It was pioneered and developed by the Royal Navy during the 18th century.-Development:...

to prevent fouling. The iron frames also meant that composite ships could carry large amounts of canvas sail. Composite ship

Composite ship

The technique of composite ship construction emerged in the mid-19th century as the final stage in the evolution of fast commercial sailing ships....

s were therefore some of the fastest ships afloat.

Composite ships were built for a relatively short period from circa 1860 to 1880. The City of Adelaide was built in 1864 before Lloyd's Register

Lloyd's Register

The Lloyd's Register Group is a maritime classification society and independent risk management organisation providing risk assessment and mitigation services and management systems certification. Historically, as Lloyd's Register of Shipping, it was a specifically maritime organisation...

recognised and endorsed composite ships in 1867. Before this, all composite ships were labelled by Lloyds as being "Experimental". Being a developmental technology in 1864, meant that many of the structural features on the City of Adelaide are now regarded as being 'over-engineered', particularly when compared to other later composite ships like the Cutty Sark

Cutty Sark

The Cutty Sark is a clipper ship. Built in 1869, she served as a merchant vessel , and then as a training ship until being put on public display in 1954...

(1869). For example, the frame spacing on the City of Adelaide is much closer together than seen on other composite ships. This extra strength from 'over-engineering', together with the good fate to have benefited from human habitation and/or husbandry through to the late 1990s, has likely been a major factor why the City of Adelaide has survived, even after being grounded on Kirkcaldy Beach

Grange, South Australia

Grange is a coastal suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Charles Sturt.-History:Originally called The Grange, the suburb is named after Captain Charles Sturt's cottage, which stood on of farmland...

in South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

for a week in 1874 - see below.

Today, only four (former) sea-going ships of composite construction survive, in various states of preservation or decay: the City of Adelaide (1864), the Cutty Sark

Cutty Sark

The Cutty Sark is a clipper ship. Built in 1869, she served as a merchant vessel , and then as a training ship until being put on public display in 1954...

(1869) tea-clipper in Greenwich, the skeletal remains of the Ambassador

Ambassador (clipper)

Ambassador was a British Tea Clipper.She was a composite clipper, built with wooden planking over an iron skeleton and was Lund's first tea clipper....

(1869) tea-clipper in Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, and HMS Gannet

HMS Gannet (1878)

HMS Gannet was a Royal Navy screw sloop launched on 31 August 1878. She became a training ship in the Thames in 1903, and was then lent as a training ship for boys in the Hamble from 1913...

(1878) a Naval Sloop

Sloop

A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....

in Chatham

Chatham, Medway

Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...

Service history

The South Australian Trade

The ship spent 23 years making annual runs to and from South Australia

South Australia

, playing an important role in the development of the colony. Researchers have estimated that a quarter of a million South Australians can trace their origins to passengers on the City of Adelaide.

At least six diaries, kept by passengers and describing respective voyages, have survived from the 23 return voyages between London and Adelaide.

On 24 August 1874, the ship was stranded on Kirkcaldy Beach near Grange, six miles south of Semaphore

Semaphore, South Australia

Semaphore is a north-western seaside suburb of Adelaide of the LeFevre Peninsula 14km from the CBD, in the state of South Australia, Australia and falls under the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. It is adjacent to Semaphore South, Glanville, Exeter and Largs Bay. The postcode for Semaphore is 5019...

opposite Adelaide. On board at the time, were over 320 people, including one of the diarists, a Scot named James McLauchlan. An outbreak of Scarlet Fever

Scarlet fever

Scarlet fever is a disease caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Once a major cause of death, it is now effectively treated with antibiotics...

had occurred during the voyage and seven people died. Two babies were born on board during the voyage - one was "born dead".

Upon reaching South Australian waters at the end of this voyage, severe gales were encountered resulting in the stranding of the City of Adelaide. The storms also caused accidents and losses of other vessels along the South Australian coast. By coincidence, the schooner Mayflower, on its way from Port Broughton to Port Adelaide

Port Adelaide

Port Adelaide is a suburb of Adelaide lying about 14 kilometres northwest of the City of Adelaide. It lies within the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and is the main port for the city of Adelaide...

, lost its mate Richard Burton, 32, overboard and he drowned. He was on his way to Port Adelaide to meet his wife, Isabella, 29, who was one of the immigrants on board the City of Adelaide.

Amongst the cargo on this voyage were two Scottish Deerhound

Scottish Deerhound

The Scottish Deerhound, or simply the Deerhound, is a breed of hound , once bred to hunt the Red Deer by coursing.- Appearance :The Scottish Deerhound resembles a rough-coated Greyhound. It is however, larger in size and bone...

s, bred by the Marquis of Lorne, John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll

John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll

John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll KG, KT, GCMG, GCVO, VD, PC , usually better known by the courtesy title Marquess of Lorne, by which he was known between 1847 and 1900, was a British nobleman and was the fourth Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883...

, and being imported by Sir Thomas Elder

Thomas Elder

Sir Thomas Elder GCMG was a Scottish-Australian pastoralist, highly successful businessman, philanthropist, politician, race-horse owner and breeder and public figure...

.

A day after the stranding, the passengers were removed by steam tugs. The City of Adelaide was refloated on 4 September after much of the cargo had been discharged and much of the rigging temporarily removed. The ship was virtually undamaged.

The 1874 voyage was but one of twenty three such voyages. Not all were as eventful.

By the 1880s, the City of Adelaide was also calling at Port Augusta, South Australia

Port Augusta, South Australia

-Electricity generation:Electricity is generated at the Playford B and Northern power stations from brown coal mined at Leigh Creek, 250 km to the north...

, on the return voyages. At Port Augusta, copper from Henry Martin's Blinman

Blinman, South Australia

Blinman is a town deep in the Flinders Ranges, in the mid north of South Australia. It is very small but has the claim of being the highest surveyed town in South Australia. It serves as a base for large acre pastoralists and tourism...

and Yudnamutana

Yudnamutana, South Australia

Yudnamutana is an historic mining valley in the Northern Flinders Ranges, North West of Arkaroola on the edge of the wilderness sanctuary. It is accessible by four-wheel drive from the south. Ancient mining sites give the opportunity for ecologically responsible bush camping, but no supplies are...

copper mines in the Flinders Ranges

Flinders Ranges

Flinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately north west of Adelaide. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna...

, and wool from outback sheep station

Sheep station

A sheep station is a large property in Australia or New Zealand whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or south-west of the country. In New Zealand the Merinos are usually in the high country of the South...

s would be loaded before racing to the wool sales in London.

During this time, in 1881, the ship was rerigged as a barque

Barque

A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...

Route of 1874 Voyage

The following map traces the route of the 1874 voyage from the Latitudes and Longitudes provided in the diary of James McLauchlan.

Notable Passengers

Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld
Frederick Weld
Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld, GCMG , was a New Zealand politician and a governor of various British colonies. He was the sixth Premier of New Zealand, and later served as Governor of Western Australia, Governor of Tasmania, and Governor of the Straits Settlements.-Early life:Weld was born near...

GCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

- sixth Premier of New Zealand
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...

, and later served as Governor
Governor of Western Australia
The Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia's Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor performs important constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:* presiding over the Executive Council;...

of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, Governor
Governors of Tasmania
The Governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. The Governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as the Governor-General of Australia does at the national level.In accordance with the...

of Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

, and Governor of the Straits Settlements.
Cyril Maude
Cyril Maude
Cyril Francis Maude was an English actor-manager.-Biography:Maude was born in London and educated at the Charterhouse School. In 1881, he was sent to Adelaide, South Australia, on the clipper ship City of Adelaide to regain his health...

- English stage and film actor.
Alfred Sandover
Alfred Sandover
Alfred Sandover M.B.E. , born in Plymouth England he was the youngest of five children. Educated at North Adelaide Grammar School graduating in 1881, he came to Perth Western Australia in 1884 arriving Fremantle when the temperature was 41oC vowing to stay not a day over his contract...

MBE - donor of the Sandover Medal
Sandover Medal
The Sandover Medal is an Australian rules football award, given annually since 1921 to the fairest and best player in the West Australian Football League...

.
Matilda Methuen - wife of Peter Waite a South Australian pastoralist, businessman, company director and public benefactor.
Frances Goyder - wife of George Goyder
George Goyder
George Woodroffe Goyder was a surveyor in South Australia during the latter half of the nineteenth century....

a surveyor in South Australia who established Goyder's line of rainfall.

Coal Trade

In 1887, the City of Adelaide was sold to Dover coal merchant, Charles Havelock Mowll, for use in the collier

Collier (ship type)

Collier is a historical term used to describe a bulk cargo ship designed to carry coal, especially for naval use by coal-fired warships. In the late 18th century a number of wooden-hulled sailing colliers gained fame after being adapted for use in voyages of exploration in the South Pacific, for...

trade carrying coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

from Tyne

Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...

to Dover

Dover

Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...

Timber Trade

In 1888, the City of Adelaide was sold to Belfast based timber merchants, Daniel and Thomas Stewart Dixon, and used to carry timber in the North Atlantic trade.

By the start of the eighteenth century, Britain had basically exhausted its supplies of the great oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

s that had built the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. The lack of large trees was especially problematic as they were a necessity for masts for both its war and merchant shipping. A thriving timber import business developed between Britain and the Baltic region

Baltic region

The terms Baltic region, Baltic Rim countries, and Baltic Rim refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea.- Etymology :...

but was unpopular for economic and strategic reasons The Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

and a Continental blockade had a large impact on the Baltic trade and so Britain looked to the North American colonies that were still loyal.

The North Atlantic timber trade became a massive business and timber was British North America

British North America

British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...

's most important commodity. In one summer, 1,200 ships were loaded with timber at Quebec City alone.

As timber is a very bulky cargo, it required many ships to carry it from North America to Britain, but there was little demand for carrying goods on the return voyages. However, there was a market for carrying migrants, and so many of the timber ships turned to the migrant trade to fill their unused capacity for the return voyages from the British Isles to British North America. Since timber exports tended to peak at the same time as conflicts in Europe, a great mass of refugees sought this cheap passage across the Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. This created an unprecedented influx of new immigrants in North America.

The timber trade not only brought immigrants to British North America, but also played a very important role in keeping them there as well. While many of those disembarking from the timber trade ships would head south to the United States, many others would stay in British North America. At the peak of the trade in the 1840s, 15,000 Irish loggers were employed in the Gatineau

Gatineau

Gatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...

region alone at a time when the population of Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

was only ten thousand.

The City of Adelaide was homeported in Belfast and from there frequented several British North American ports. Of these ports, it would most frequently visit Miramichi, New Brunswick

Miramichi, New Brunswick

Miramichi is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay...

. Of the thousands of sailing ships involved in the timber trade between North America and the United Kingdom, the City of Adelaide is now the last survivor.

Hospital Ship

The City of Adelaide ended its sailing career in 1893, when purchased by the Southampton Corporation for £1750 to serve as a floating isolation hospital in Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

. During one year of operation, 23 cases of Scarlet Fever were cared for. In 2009, the National Health Service (England)

National Health Service (England)

The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...

named a new hospital at Millbrook, Southampton

Millbrook, Southampton

Millbrook is a suburb and former civil parish of Southampton. As the area developed, several settlements grew within the parish, some of them becoming parishes in their own right, thus reducing the extent of the Millbrook parish. As well as the Millbrook of today, the original Millbrook parish...

, in honour of the ship - the Adelaide Health Centre.

Royal Navy & Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

In 1923, the City of Adelaide was purchased by the Admiralty

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

and towed to Irvine, Scotland, where it was placed on the very same slipway it was to return later to in 1992. After conversion to a training ship, it was then towed to Greenock and commissioned as a Naval Drill Ship for the newly constituted Clyde Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR)

Royal Naval Reserve

The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...

. As the new cruiser HMAS Adelaide

HMAS Adelaide (1918)

HMAS Adelaide was a Town class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy , named after Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia...

had been commissioned only the previous year, to avoid confusion of two British Empire ships named Adelaide, the clipper ship was renamed HMS

Her Majesty's Ship

Her or His Majesty's Ship is the ship prefix used for ships of the navy in some monarchies, either formally or informally.-HMS:* In the British Royal Navy, it refers to the king or queen of the United Kingdom as appropriate at the time...

Carrick

Carrick, Scotland

Carrick is a former comital district of Scotland which today forms part of South Ayrshire.-History:The word Carrick comes from the Gaelic word Carraig, meaning rock or rocky place. Maybole was the historic capital of Carrick. The county was eventually combined into Ayrshire which was divided...

.

After the war, the ship was scheduled for breaking up, but through the work of Commodore the Duke of Montrose

Duke of Montrose

The title of Duke of Montrose was created twice in the peerage of Scotland, firstly in 1488 for David Lindsay, 5th Earl of Crawford. It was forfeited and then returned, but only for the period of the holder's lifetime...

, Vice-Admiral Cedric S. Holland and Admiral Sir Charles Morgan, it was presented by the Admiralty to the R.N.V.R Club (Scotland), an organisation formed in the autumn of 1947. The towing of the HMS Carrick upriver, from Greenock to Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....

's shipyard at Scotstoun on 26 April 1948, was known as 'Operation Ararat'. A grant of 5,000 pounds was received from the King George's Fund for Sailors and 500 pounds was donated from the City of Glasgow War Fund.

After fitting out, Carrick was towed further up-river to a berth at Custom House Quay, just above Jamaica Bridge. A plaque on board commemorates the opening ceremony of the Club, which was carried out by Admiral of the Fleet

Admiral of the Fleet

An admiral of the fleet is a military naval officer of the highest rank. In many nations the rank is reserved for wartime or ceremonial appointments...

Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope

Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope KT, GCB, OM, DSO and two Bars , was a British admiral of the Second World War. Cunningham was widely known by his nickname, "ABC"....

. The ship stayed there until January 1954 when the Clyde Navigation Trust decided to move it to the opposite side of the river at Carlton Place.

Flooding and Sinking

By the mid-1980s the Club realised that they could not afford to maintain their floating clubrooms. They commenced seeking ways of securing the ships future and passing on ownership, and contacted various bodies with potential interest including the, then, recently established Scottish Maritime Museum.

In 1989 there proved to be some need for haste, when the ship was flooded when the deck edge was trapped beneath the wharf on a very low tide. The Club, in some desperation, took the option on their insurance of having the vessel declared a total loss. To facilitate the preservation of the ship itself, Glasgow District Council applied for Listed Building status. Historic Scotland

Historic Scotland

Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...

agreed to take the unusual step of listing a historic vessel as Category A – normally only applied to historic buildings. Listing was viewed as a boost to the preservation project.

By 1990 a new body, the Clyde Ship Trust, had been formed and, in March of that year, had purchased the vessel for £1. Under the control of the new Trust the vessel was dismasted and prepared for removal and in August 1990, was successfully towed downstream to Princes Dock

Princes Dock

Princes Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is the most southerly of the docks situated in the northern part of the Liverpool dock system, connected to Princes Half Tide Dock to the north...

.

Early in 1991, for reasons that have not been clearly identified, the vessel sank at her moorings. The Clyde Ship Trust was placed in a position of embarrassment, for, being already in debt, they were unable to put forward the funds required for a major salvage operation. It became necessary for other organisations to step in to attempt to prevent the total loss of the ship.

Recovery by the Scottish Maritime Museum

In 1992, with the encouragement of Historic Scotland and Strathclyde Regional Council, the ship was salvaged by the Scottish Maritime Museum

Scottish Maritime Museum

and moved it to Irvine, North Ayrshire

Irvine, North Ayrshire

, with the expectation to preserve them and eventually restore the vessel. The ship was also identified as part of the UK National Historic Ships Core Collection.

In September 1993 the City of Adelaide was slipped on the same slipway near the Scottish Maritime Museum

Scottish Maritime Museum

where the ship had been converted in 1923. From then a programme of work was planned and operated on two fronts. The first was the preservation and restoration. The second was to allow public access and good quality interpretation.

In May 1999 Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

regained its own parliament. A side effect of this is that previous UK funding sources for the Scottish Maritime Museum

Scottish Maritime Museum

dried up. This then had a snowball effect on the Scottish Maritime Museum

Scottish Maritime Museum

. An application for funding for the Museum’s other major project, under the UK Heritage Lottery Fund

Heritage Lottery Fund

The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...

, was rejected. Due to the eroded revenue position, the local municipality then reduced its funding, and then other grant aiding organisations adopted a similar position.

Following the restructuring of Local Government in Scotland the Scottish Maritime Museum, as an independent charitable trust, appealed to the Scottish Executive for support. The Executive commissioned a report through the Scottish Museums Council which recommended the sale of the City of Adelaide. The Museum began to receive government support but it was conditional on no government funds being spent on the vessel. In 1999 all work on the City of Adelaide stopped and the shipwrights were moved to other projects.

In May 2000 the trustees of the Scottish Maritime Museum applied to North Ayrshire Council for consent to demolish the "Listed Building" City of Adelaide. The Council subsequently received over 100 objections to the Museum's application to demolish the vessel. For the first time the Authority received objections from other countries. There were representations from nine significant worldwide organisations who are involved in the history and preservation of ships. Many Members of the UK and Scottish Parliament

Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...

s objected as well as the Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer

Alexander Downer

Alexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...

and Australian ex-Senator and diplomat Robert Hill.

The North Ayrshire Council refused demolition in February 2001. The Scottish Maritime Museum was left in a dire financial predicament with rental for the slipway beginning to accrue.

Duke of Edinburgh Conference

A conference was convened in Glasgow as a result of an initiative from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh on 19 September 2001 and reached a number of important conclusions:

Carrick - City of Adelaide is one of the most important historic vessels in the UK and every effort should be made to ensure the future of the vessel. Resources available in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

to preserve the vessel at the Scottish Maritime Museum
Scottish Maritime Museum
The Scottish Maritime Museum currently has collections located at two sites in the West of Scotland, both with strong maritime connections. The museums, located in Irvine and Dumbarton, each portray different areas of Scotland’s maritime heritage...

were insufficient to make any real progress and the Museum's stewardship of the vessel could result in the whole of the museum's 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 Heritage and Save the City of Adelaide 1864 Group, Adelaide, South Australia, both presented the conference with proposals for the vessel. 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

Admiral of the Fleet

An admiral of the fleet is a military naval officer of the highest rank. In many nations the rank is reserved for wartime or ceremonial appointments...

Sir Julian Oswald

Julian Oswald

Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Julian Robertson Oswald GCB was a British naval officer who served as Chief of the Naval Staff and First Sea Lord.-Naval career:...

, and in addition to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh was attended by representatives of High Commission of Australia in London, Save the City of Adelaide 1864 Group, City of Sunderland

City of Sunderland

The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...

Council, Cutty Sark Trust, DCMS

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, such as broadcasting and internet....

, Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland

Historic Scotland

Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...

, North Ayrshire Council, National Historic Ships Committee, Scottish Executive

Scottish Executive

The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...

, Scottish Maritime Museum, Government of South Australia

Government of South Australia

The form of the Government of South Australia is prescribed in its constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...

, and Sunderland Maritime Heritage.

Tourist Sailing Ship Proposal

In 2003 businessman Mike Edwards donated funds for preservation and a feasibility study for the ship's restoration as a tourist adventure sailing ship for Travelsphere Limited. In February 2006 the results of the feasibility studies identified that the cost to comply with current maritime passenger safety regulations for sea-going vessels would be more expensive than building a replica. The studies concluded that it would be more cost-effective to turn the City of Adelaide into a static exhibit. Edwards decided not to take up his original option of acquiring the City of Adelaide but his charitable efforts had extended a life-line to the City of Adelaide that ultimately gave her another three years of reprieve as well as a protective cover to protect her from the elements.

Demolition Proposals

After three years the Scottish Maritime Museum was back in its original predicament. This predicament was worsened as the volunteer organisations that had previously been campaigning to acquire the City of Adelaide had now been put in hiatus for three years. The Scottish Maritime Museum applied again to North Ayrshire Council to demolish the ship at an estimated cost of £650,000.
When the proposal was gazetted by the council, some 132 letters of objection were received. Some of these came from maritime-related organisations who are involved in the history and preservation of ships as well as:

City of Adelaide 1864 Group (Adelaide, South Australia)
SOS Action Group, (Sunderland, U.K.)
Christopher Pyne
Christopher Pyne
Christopher Maurice Pyne, MP , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since 13 March 1993, representing the Division of Sturt, South Australia.-Early years:...

, Member of Parliament (Adelaide, South Australia)
South Australian Maritime Museum (Adelaide, South Australia)
Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...

(Canberra, Australia)
Sunderland Maritime Heritage (Sunderland, U.K.)
Institute of Advanced Studies (Canberra, Australia)
Australian Defence Force Academy
Australian Defence Force Academy
The Australian Defence Force Academy is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and tertiary academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force .Tertiary education is provided by the...

(Canberra, Australia)

On World Heritage Day, 18 April 2007, the North Ayrshire Council advised that they agreed to the deconstruction of the clipper subject to:

Referral of the application to Historic Scotland under Section 12 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997, and
A plan for demolition be developed by a Steering Committee based on the recommendations of National Historic Ships Committee (NHSC) and be agreed in writing by North Ayrshire Council as Planning Authority and by Historic Scotland.

The proposals for demolition were due to be discussed at the end of May 2007, but postponed due to the fire on the Cutty Sark

Cutty Sark

The Cutty Sark is a clipper ship. Built in 1869, she served as a merchant vessel , and then as a training ship until being put on public display in 1954...

Rescue Proposals

The SCARF group plans to initially keep the City of Adelaide in storage on private land in the city whilst working on plans to develop a Maritime Museum around a restored City of Adelaide.

The South Australian organisation Clipper Ship 'City of Adelaide' Ltd. is also working to secure the future of the City of Adelaide. They plan to return the City of Adelaide to Port Adelaide

Port Adelaide

Port Adelaide is a suburb of Adelaide lying about 14 kilometres northwest of the City of Adelaide. It lies within the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and is the main port for the city of Adelaide...

in South Australia

South Australia

in time for the state's 175th Jubilee in 2011 and display her with the local ships Falie

Falie

The Falie is a 46-metre ketch which traded for many years in South Australian and Australian waters. During World War II, she served in the Royal Australian Navy...

and Nelcebee. The Nelcebee is an 1883 tug lighter which assisted clippers including the City of Adelaide in and out of Port Augusta

Port Augusta, South Australia

-Electricity generation:Electricity is generated at the Playford B and Northern power stations from brown coal mined at Leigh Creek, 250 km to the north...

.

In March 2009, a British e-petition asking the British Prime Minister to intervene to save the City of Adelaide was created on the Number 10 Downing Street website.

An Australian e-petition to the Australian Senate

Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...

to save the City of Adelaide is featured in the gallery Living Democracy: The Power of the People in the new Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, Canberra

Old Parliament House, Canberra

Old Parliament House, known formerly as the Provisional Parliament House, was the house of the Parliament of Australia from 1927 to 1988. The building began operation on 9 May 1927 as a temporary base for the Commonwealth Parliament after its relocation from Melbourne to the new capital, Canberra,...

Open Letter from Australians

In November 2009, sixty-six eminent Australians wrote an Open Letter appeal to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

and the First Minister of Scotland

First Minister of Scotland

The First Minister of Scotland is the political leader of Scotland and head of the Scottish Government. The First Minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Scottish Government policy...

to prevent the demolition of the City of Adelaide. Led by the Queen’s representative and Governor of South Australia

Governors of South Australia

The Governor of South Australia is the representative in the Australian state of South Australia of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. The Governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the Governor-General of Australia at the national level.In...

, Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce

Kevin Scarce

Rear Admiral Kevin John Scarce, AC, CSC, RANR is a retired officer of the Royal Australian Navy and the Governor of South Australia. He succeeded Marjorie Jackson-Nelson as Governor on 8 August 2007...

(patron of the City of Adelaide Preservation Trust), other notable Australians who signed the letter include:

The current (2009) Lord Mayor of the City of Adelaide, Michael Harbison
Michael Harbison
Michael John Henry Harbison was the Lord Mayor of Adelaide, South Australia from 2003 to 2010.Before becoming Lord Mayor, he was a successful businessman and has been a Councillor since 1998....

, and four former Lord Mayors of the City of Adelaide;
Former Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...

, Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....

, who was born in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

;
United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

Special Envoy to Cyprus and former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
Alexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...

;
Former Australian Ambassador to the United Nations, former Australian Defence Minister
Minister for Defence (Australia)
The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...

, and former Australian Minister for the Environment and Heritage
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts (Australia)
The current Australian Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities is Tony Burke, who took over from Peter Garrett . The Minister and department change took effect in the Second Gillard Ministry on 14 September 2010...

, Robert Hill;
Former South Australian Premier
Premiers of South Australia
Before the 1890s when there was no formal party system in South Australia, MPs tended to have historical liberal or conservative beliefs. The liberals dominated government from 1893 to 1905 with Labor support, with the conservatives mostly in opposition. Labor took government with the support of...

and President of the History Council of South Australia, John Bannon
John Bannon
John Charles Bannon AO is a former Australian politician. He was the 39th Premier of South Australia, leading the Labor Party to government at the 1982 election. The Bannon Labor government was re-elected at the 1985 election and the 1989 election...

;
Former Chief of Navy
Chief of Navy (Australia)
The Chief of Navy is the most senior appointment in the Royal Australian Navy, responsible to the Chief of the Defence Force and the Secretary of Defence...

, Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral (Australia)
Vice admiral is the second-highest active rank of the Royal Australian Navy and was created as a direct equivalent of the British rank of vice admiral. It is a three-star rank...

David Shackleton;
Professor Geoffrey Bolton
Geoffrey Bolton
Geoffrey Curgenven Bolton AO is an Australian historian born on 5 November 1931 in North Perth , Western Australia. He attended Wesley College, Perth from 1943 to 1947. He has been publishing works on Australian history since 1952, and has authored 13 books, most recently Land of Vision and Mirage:...

, former Chancellor Murdoch University
Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university based in Perth, Australia. It began operations as the state's second university in 1973, and accepted its first students in 1975...

, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society was founded in 1868. The premier society in the United Kingdom which promotes and defends the scholarly study of the past, it is based at University College London...

(London);
Australian Living Treasures
Australian Living Treasures
Australian Living Treasures are people who have been nominated by the National Trust of Australia. The first list of 100 Living Treasures was published in 1997....

: Dr Basil Hetzel
Basil Hetzel
Basil Stuart Hetzel, AC is an Australian medical researcher who has made a major contribution to combating iodine deficiency, a major cause of goitre and cretinism world wide.-Academic career:...

, Jack Mundey
Jack Mundey
Jack Mundey is a distinguished Australian union and environmental activist. He came to prominence during the 1970s for leading the New South Wales Builders' Labourers Federation in the famous Green Bans, whereby the BLF led a successful campaign to protect the built and natural environment of...

and Julian Burnside
Julian Burnside
Julian William Kennedy Burnside AO QC is an Australian barrister, human rights and refugee advocate, and author. He is known for his staunch opposition to the mandatory detention of asylum seekers, and has provided legal counsel in a wide array of high-profile cases...

;
Chancellors of the three South Australian Universities: former Governor of South Australia
Governors of South Australia
The Governor of South Australia is the representative in the Australian state of South Australia of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. The Governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the Governor-General of Australia at the national level.In...

Sir Eric Neal
Eric Neal
Sir Eric James Neal AC CVO was the Governor of South Australia 1996-2001, Commissioner of Sydney from 1987 to 1988, and until the start of 2010, the Chancellor of Flinders University....

(Flinders University
Flinders University
Flinders University, , is a public university in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in the early 19th century.The university has established a reputation as a leading research...

), John William von Doussa (University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...

), and Dr. Ian Gould (University of South Australia
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia is a public university in the Australian state of South Australia. It was formed in 1991 with the merger of the South Australian Institute of Technology and Colleges of Advanced Education. It is the largest university in South Australia, with more than 36,000...

;
Robert Champion de Crespigny
Robert Champion de Crespigny
Robert James Champion de Crespigny, AC is an Australian businessman.-Early life and education:Champion de Crespigny was educated at Melbourne Grammar School and the University of Melbourne, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.-Accounting:Upon completing his studies, he...

, 2002 South Australian of the Year, founder and former Executive Chairman Normandy Mining Ltd., former Chairman Economic Development Board of South Australia, former Chancellor University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...

;
South Australian Minister for Tourism and Minister for the City of Adelaide, Jane Lomax-Smith
Jane Lomax-Smith
Jane Diane Lomax-Smith is a former Australian politician in the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Adelaide representing the Labor Party from 2002 to 2010, and Lord Mayor of Adelaide from 1997 to 2000...

and the Chairpersons of the Australian Tourism Commission
Tourism Australia
Tourism Australia is a statutory authority of the Government of Australia, with responsibility for tourism marketing within Australia and internationally, as well as research and forecasting of domestic and global tourism trends...

, Rick Allert, and South Australian Tourism Commission
South Australian Tourism Commission
The South Australian Tourism Commission is commission set up by the Government of South Australia to promote Tourism in South Australia.-SATC Divisions:* Corporate Services* Events South Australia* Executive Services...

, Robert Foord;
Les Burdett
Les Burdett
Les Burdett served as the curator of the Adelaide Oval until 2010. He has also been hired to advise other international cricket grounds on the preparation of cricket pitches....

, curator of the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...

; and,
Darren Lehmann
Darren Lehmann
Darren Scott Lehmann is a former Australian cricketer, who made his ODI debut in 1996 and Test debut in 1998. He was on the fringes of national selection for the entirety of the 1990s, and only became a regular in the ODI team in 2001 and Test team in late 2002, before being dropped in early 2005...

, former first-class Australian cricketer, former Captain South Australian Cricket Team, former Captain Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

Demolition Tender

The Scottish Maritime Museum called for tenders for the deconstruction of the City of Adelaide which closed on 23 November 2009. The Adelaide based non profit organisation Clipper Ship 'City of Adelaide' Ltd. submitted a tender, but unlike other tenders, its proposal involved removing the ship as a whole.

In January 2010, the Scottish Maritime Museum received a revised proposal from the South Australian City of Adelaide Preservation Trust (Clipper Ship 'City of Adelaide' Ltd.) accepted as being technically feasible by the Museum. The Trust subsequently made a planning application to North Ayrshire Council to remove the vessel. While the Trust is yet to provide evidence they have the funds to complete the project, the South Australian proposal is the only detailed proposal for the preservation of the complete vessel to have been received by the Scottish Maritime Museum.

Questions in the Scottish Parliament

In March 2010, in response to questions from Irene Oldfather

Irene Oldfather

Irene Oldfather is a Scottish Labour politician, and was the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Cunninghame South constituency from 1999 until 2011.-References:...

MSP in the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Minister for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop

Fiona Hyslop

said the Scottish Government was working closely with a number of stakeholders to explore realistic options for securing the future of the City of Adelaide and that Historic Scotland had commenced an assessment of these options.

Fiona Hyslop

Fiona Hyslop

said she had personally met with a delegation from the Clipper Ship 'City of Adelaide' Ltd. and had subsequently spoken to the South Australian Minister for Transport (Patrick Conlon

Patrick Conlon (politician)

Patrick Frederick "Pat" Conlon is a South Australian politician. Since 1997 he has represented the Electoral district of Elder in the South Australian House of Assembly as a member of the Australian Labor Party. He is Minister for Transport, Minister for Infrastructure, and Minister for Energy,...

Government Reprieve and Historic Scotland Assessment

The Scottish Maritime Museum found itself in the Catch-22

Catch-22

Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953, and the novel was first published in 1961. It is set during World War II in 1943 and is frequently cited as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century...

position. Although the slipway had been leased to the Museum at £1 per year, failure to remove the vessel when required by the site owner could result in additional and punitive charges. They were now being evicted from the slipway and the punitive charges were being applied. If they did not remove the ship from the slipway before a March 2010 deadline the debt would bankrupt them, but they also did not have sufficient funds to scientifically deconstruct the vessel.

Scientific deconstruction is quite expensive and a simple demolition would be significantly cheaper. In order to switch to a demolition would require a new planning application. Such an application would take significantly more time than the March deadline allowed and was unlikely be approved. As a result the museum asked the Scottish Government to provide funds for the scientific deconstruction of the City of Adelaide.

The Scottish Government found itself in a complicated and politically sensitive position. If the Scottish Maritime Museum goes into administration its collection would likely be sold off to pay creditors. This means that the nation could lose this important collection of Scottish maritime history. In order to prevent this loss the Scottish Government can then either fund the deconstruction of the City of Adelaide or help fund the removal of the City of Adelaide.

In order to properly evaluate these options the Scottish Government gave assurances to the Scottish Maritime Museum that the government would cover the risks associated with passing the March 2010 deadline. With the assurances given, the Museum temporarily halted the deconstruction until May 2010 and the Scottish Government charged Historic Scotland

Historic Scotland

Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...

with evaluating the options and making a recommendation. While it was initially reported by the Scottish Maritime Museum that the reprieve was to allow the Australian campaigners time to raise funds (the reprieve came soon after a visit by the Australians), the Scottish Minister for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop

Fiona Hyslop

clarified that the reprieve is for the Scottish Government and Historic Scotland to fully evaluate the following four options:

Removal to Sunderland
Removal to Adelaide in South Australia
Retention in a different location in Scotland
Managed (archaeological) Deconstruction of the vessel

In April 2010, Fiona Hyslop

Fiona Hyslop

announced that Historic Scotland has commissioned DTZ

DTZ

DTZ is a global real estate adviser headquartered in London, employing over 10,000 people in 148 cities in 43 countries, operating in Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia and the Americas....

to undertake an Options Appraisal for the historic clipper. DTZ appointed Sir Neil Cossons

Neil Cossons

Sir Neil Cossons OBE FSA FMA is Pro-Provost and Chairman of the Council of the Royal College of Art, of which he has been a Governor since 1989. From 1986 to 2000 he was the Director of the Science Museum, London, UK, the National Museum of Science & Industry...

, the former Director of the National Maritime Museum

National Maritime Museum

The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...

in Greenwich and a former Chair of English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

, to provide technical expertise for the project based on his extensive experience, particularly in the realm of maritime heritage.

Recent activities

Diary presentation

In May 2010, Minister Fiona Hyslop

Fiona Hyslop

(National Party) accepted from Irene Oldfather

Irene Oldfather

Irene Oldfather is a Scottish Labour politician, and was the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Cunninghame South constituency from 1999 until 2011.-References:...

MSP (Labour Party) a copy of a diary by James Anderson McLauchlan. James McLauchlan was a 21 year old Scot who migrated to South Australia on the City of Adelaide in 1874. The diary begins with his departure from Dundee, Scotland, aboard the steamer SS Anglia before joining the City of Adelaide in Gravesend for the 80 day voyage to the colony of South Australia. Ms Oldfather's presentation was to highlight the importance of the City of Adelaide from the human perspective and the experiences "shared by thousands of other people who made the journey across the globe for a new life".

Duke of Edinburgh Radio Interview

In July 2010, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh gave a rare radio interview reflecting on the 40 year anniversary of the rescue of the SS Great Britain

SS Great Britain

SS Great Britain was an advanced passenger steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York. While other ships had previously been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first...

, and commented on the hideous trap that the City of Adelaide is in.

Australian Bid Selection

Scottish Minister for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop announced on 28 August 2010 that the City of Adelaide would not be deconstructed, and that Adelaide has been identified as the preferred bidder. Extensive work will be undertaken to allow the ship to be moved and displayed in Adelaide during 2011, the 175th anniversary of the settlement of South Australia, the first stage of which was completed in December 2010. The group based at Sunderland congratulated the Australian group but stated that their campaign to keep the ship in the United Kingdom would continue.

External links

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