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                 SAIL VOLUME III


                                                                                          III. AUSTRALIAN TRADERS



                GOLDEN FLEECE (1869 - 1885), tonnage 1,318 gross and 1,257 net, length 223ft, beam 37ft, depth
                22ft 3in. Costructed of  iron by Barclay, Curle & Co,  Glasgow, for A. & J.H. Carmichael.  She was the
                Carmicaels' favorite ship and much admired by others.Basil Lubbock comments that she was "one of those
                all-round ships which sailed well both in hard weather and light, and was as good on the wind as off it."  
                Her reputation was such that she got good charters. She also established a fine passage record: London to
                Sydney in 72 days, in 1871, New York to Liverpool in 13 days 1874, Calcutta to Batavia 22 days in 1879,
                Liverpool to Calcutta in77 days in 1880 and San Francisco to Queenstown (Cobh)  in104 days  in 1884.  
                In 1885, she stranded on Fly Island and was a total loss.
              




                OLD KENSINGTON (1874 - 1909), 1,817 gross tons and 1,777 net tons, length 262ft, beam 42ft 1 in,
                depth 23ft 8in. Constructed of iron, built by Potter, Liverpool, for Smith, Bilbrough & Co. She was built for
                the Australian passenger trade. She established a reputaion for short passages.  Her maiden voyage in 1875,
                Liverpool  to Melbourne, was in77 days,  In 1876, her voyage London to Melbourne was in 73 days, in
                1878 in 76 days, and in 1880 78days.  Up to 1880, she loaded wool for the return journey and her average
                passage time was 90 days  By 1881, the passenger and emigrant trade was being taken over by the steamers.
                In 1881, she transferred to the Calcutta jute trade. After ten years in thius trade, she was forced into looking
                for cargoes and longer voyages.  In 1900/01, she was sold  to Bremen owners and renamed CHRISTEL.
                In 1909, she was no longer in the register. 
                              




                SELKIRKSHIRE  (1878 - 1905), tonnage 1,271 gross and 1.192 net, length 228ft 4in, beam 35ft 8in,
                depth 20ft 4in.  Constructed of iron and built by Birrel, Stenhouse, for David Law of the Scottish Shire Line..
                A barque built to carry emigrants.in the Queensland trade. Described by Basil Lubbock as a fast medium
                clipper.with a turn of speed.  In 1897 she ran between Yokohama andand Portland, Oregon, in 22 days
                faster than any steamer at that time. She carried grain back from Portland.  On her next voyage from
                Glasgow she reached Fremantle in 80 days  As the steamers took over the emigrant trade in eighties,
                she became a general cargo trader.  In 1905.she was sold to Norwegian owners and renamed  AVENTA.
                She was abandoned at sea in that sane year.
               




                STRATHDON - ex- QUEEN'S ISLAND (1885 -1924), 2093  gross tons and 2,038 net tons, length
                282ft 8in, beam 40ft 5in, depth 23ft 6in. Constructed of steel by Harland  & Wolff, Belfast, for S. Lawther.
                She was the largest three masted barque when built.  She was too big and long for a three masted barque
                and should have had four masts.  Her best  performance was made in 1888 when she crossed the Pacific
                from San Francisco to Newcastle, N.S.W., under favourable conditions,  in 38 days at an average speed
                of 7 knots.  In 1890, she was sold to the Aberdeen White Star Line, renamed STRATHDON, and put in
                the Sydney trade  She was not considered fast enough for shipments early in the season but geneally
                succeeded in getting a wool cargo towards the end of the season.  Her passages outward and homeward
                were generally over 100 days.  With increased competition after 1900 in the wool trade, STRATHDON
                like many others had to go to Norway or Western Canada for lumber cargoes or U.S. west coast ports
                for cargoes of grain.  In 1905, she was sold to French owners and renamed GERA. In 1924, she passed
                to the ship breakers.
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                TAMAR (1889 - 1923), 2,112 gross tons, length 286ft 6in, beam 42ft 5in, depth 24ft.  Constructed
                of steel, built by Napier, Shanks & Bell, Dumbarton, for Devitt Moore - a three masted ship rigged
                steel vessel and the last ship built for that firm.  She was put in the Australian trade and did well
                with her cargo capacity of 4,000 tons.  In 1898, she was unable to get a return cargo from Australia
                and took coal to San Francisco and returned with a cargo of wheat.  In 1900, she was sold to
                T.A Shute of Liverpool who put the ship in the South American  trade.  Carrying coal out and
                returning with nitrates from Chile.  She survived World War I, and was in the wheat trade for a
                brief period after the War.  She was laid up in 1921, and sold to ship breakers  in 1923.
               






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