Great Britain

Steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and built in 1843 by W. Paterson, Wapping Warf, in Bristol for the Great Western Steamship Company. At the time of building the largest ship in the world measuring 86,87x15,39x5,49 m and 3443 ton gross and 1016 tons net. Built of iron and equipped with propeller as well as being rigged as a six-masted top-sail schooner.

Contemporary description from Scientific American Vol. 1 (1845).

After having successfully served on the Australian passenger trade she was converted into a pure cargo carrying sailing vessel rigged as a three-masted fullrigged ship.

After having been partially dismasted off Cape Horn in May 1866 she put back to Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, where she was condemmed and converted into a floating coal hulk. In which capacity she served until 1937 when she was beached in a nearby cove and abandoned and forgotten until the 1960s.

Brought back to Bristol carried on a barge in 1970 and to the drydock where she was built. She is now being restored back to her original appearance when launched in 1843.

1839 July: Keel laid.
1843: Launched.
1846: Run ashore at Dundrum Bay, Belfast.
18__: Was bought by Gibbs, Bright & Co. for £ 18.000 and was equipped with a new set of engines and a lifting screw. She was also re-rigged as a fourmasted ship.
1852 June: Sailed from Liverpool [?] for Melbourne [?], but had to stop at St Helena to re-fuel.
1852 November 11: Arrived in Melbourne.
>1852: Re-rigged as a three-masted ship and a single funnel.
1853: Sailed from England to Australia in 66 days.
1854: Sailed from England to Australia in 66 days.
1855: Engaged in trooping for Great Britain.
1856: Transferred to the Liverpool and Australian Navigation Co.
1858 December 24: Paricipates in a joint service between the Black Ball Line and the Eagle Line.
1876: Last Australia voyage.
1882: Sails for Montevideo for Anthony Gibbs, Sons & Co. as owners and with Captain Henry Stap as master.

Select Bibliography:

Ewan Corlett: The Iron Ship.
A. Ball & D. Wright: SS Great Britain.

Updated 1995-08-28 by Lars Bruzelius

Sjöhistoriska Samfundet | The Maritime History Virtual Archives.