Edwin Fox (ship)
Encyclopedia
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. The ship is drydocked at The Edwin Fox Maritime Centre at Picton
in New Zealand
.
in Calcutta in 1853 and her maiden voyage was to London
via the Cape of Good Hope
. She then went into service in the Crimean War as a troop ship, and later carrying passengers and cargo.
On 14 February 1856 she began her first voyage to Melbourne
, Australia carrying passengers, then moved to trading between Chinese ports. In 1858 she was chartered by the British Government as a convict ship
bound for Fremantle
, Western Australia
.
, and from 1873 served on the emigrant route to New Zealand, making four voyages carrying a total of 751 settlers to the distant new colony. Conditions on board for the four to six month voyage were harsh and luggage strictly limited, and several voyagers did not survive to see their new home. On arrival they often found conditions much harsher than expected, and were also faced with being cut off from family and friends in distant Europe
, sometimes for life.
During the 1960s the hulk was in the way of expansion at Picton, and she was towed round to Shakespeare Bay where she remained for nearly 40 years. She settled on her side and the rising and falling tide led to rotting of many of her internal timbers, and she was also subject to vandalism.
Initially it was planned to restore the ship completely, replacing rigging and refurbishing the interior. It has since been decided that this is not practical, not only for reasons of finance but because the timbers required are no longer available. She is thus preserved as a hull with an adjacent informative museum, and visitors can visit two of her decks and so stand inside this atmospheric piece of history. Most visitors to New Zealand will pass through Picton as they move between the islands, and so there are high hopes that the continual cost of her preservation can be met by revenue from the visitor centre. The trust are also looking for sponsors to continue their work on this unique vessel.
She has been given a Category One Registration from the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
convicts to 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...
, brought settlers to both Australia and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and served in the Crimean war
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. She is the oldest surviving merchant sailing ship. The ship is drydocked at The Edwin Fox Maritime Centre at Picton
Picton, New Zealand
Picton is a town in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. It is close to the head of Queen Charlotte Sound near the north-east corner of the South Island. The population was 2928 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 72 from 2001...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Early history
She was built of teakTeak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
in Calcutta in 1853 and her maiden voyage was to 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...
via the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
. She then went into service in the Crimean War as a troop ship, and later carrying passengers and cargo.
On 14 February 1856 she began her first voyage to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia carrying passengers, then moved to trading between Chinese ports. In 1858 she was chartered by the British Government as a convict ship
Convict ship
The term convict ship is a colloquial term used to describe any ship engaged on a voyage to carry convicted felons under sentence of penal transportation from their place of conviction to their place of exile.-Colonial practice:...
bound for Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
, 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...
.
Emigrant ship
In 1867 she was converted from a full-rigged ship to a barqueBarque
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...
, and from 1873 served on the emigrant route to New Zealand, making four voyages carrying a total of 751 settlers to the distant new colony. Conditions on board for the four to six month voyage were harsh and luggage strictly limited, and several voyagers did not survive to see their new home. On arrival they often found conditions much harsher than expected, and were also faced with being cut off from family and friends in distant Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, sometimes for life.
Lamb and coal
The Edwin Fox was overtaken by the age of steam, and in the 1880s she was refitted as a floating freezer hulk for the booming sheep industry in New Zealand. She was towed to Picton on the South Island on 12 January 1897 where she initially continued as a freezer ship, before being further dismembered into a coal store hulk. By this time she had long since lost her rigging and masts, and suffered holes cut in her sides and the removal of most fittings.During the 1960s the hulk was in the way of expansion at Picton, and she was towed round to Shakespeare Bay where she remained for nearly 40 years. She settled on her side and the rising and falling tide led to rotting of many of her internal timbers, and she was also subject to vandalism.
Preservation
In 1999 she was bought by the Edwin Fox society for a nominal sum, and after much further fundraising was refloated and towed to her final home, a dry dock on the Picton waterfront. She floated in and the dock was drained to begin restoration.Initially it was planned to restore the ship completely, replacing rigging and refurbishing the interior. It has since been decided that this is not practical, not only for reasons of finance but because the timbers required are no longer available. She is thus preserved as a hull with an adjacent informative museum, and visitors can visit two of her decks and so stand inside this atmospheric piece of history. Most visitors to New Zealand will pass through Picton as they move between the islands, and so there are high hopes that the continual cost of her preservation can be met by revenue from the visitor centre. The trust are also looking for sponsors to continue their work on this unique vessel.
She has been given a Category One Registration from the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
See also
- Thomas BushellThomas BushellThomas Bushell was a convict transported to Western Australia. He was hanged in 1865 after attacking a warder.Thomas Bushell was born in Ireland around 1834; nothing is known of his early life...
, a convict transported on the Edwin Fox - Convict era of Western Australia
- List of convict ship voyages to Western Australia
- List of museum ships