The ''Enterprize'' is a replica

topsail schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail s ...

built in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. It is currently operated by a not-for-profit group for the purpose of providing the people of Melbourne with a means of experiencing nineteenth century sailing and the city's history.

Building the replica

Planning of a

replica A replica is an exact (usually 1:1 in scale) copy or remake of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without ...

began in 1989 and construction commenced in 1991, with the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

laid at the

Melbourne Maritime Museum The former Melbourne Maritime Museum, now, the ''Polly Woodside'' tall ship and museum, managed by the National Trust of Australia, is situated in South Wharf on the Yarra River in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is home to the ...

. It was completed at the Old Ports and Harbour Yard in

Williamstown, Victoria Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Hobsons Bay Local government areas of Victoria, ...

, and was officially launched by Felicity Kennett, the wife of the

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Vic ...

Jeff Kennett Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian former politician who served as the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, Leader of the Victorian Liberal Party from 1982 to 1989 and from 1991 to 1999, and the Member for ...

, on the 162nd Melbourne Day in 1997. The replica took six years to build, as it was constructed using traditional 19th century methods. It was made using Australian-grown timber, much of which was recycled, including varieties of wood such as

jarrah ''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with rough, fibro ...

Huon pine ''Lagarostrobos franklinii'' is a species of conifer native to the wet southwestern corner of Tasmania, Australia. It is often known as the Huon pine or Macquarie pine, although it is actually a podocarp (Podocarpaceae), not a true pine (Pinacea ...

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside '' Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

, celerytop pine and

ironbark Ironbark is a common name of a number of species in three taxonomic groups within the genus ''Eucalyptus'' that have dark, deeply furrowed bark. Instead of being shed annually as in many of the other species of ''Eucalyptus'', the dead bark accum ...

. The ship's two

mast Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mas ...

s are local

California redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995: 606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coast ...

. Its

sail A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...

s are traditional hand-sewn

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

, and its rigging is traditional tarred

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

. The replica was launched on 30 August 1997 at

Hobson's Bay The City of Hobsons Bay is a local government area in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It comprises the south-western suburbs between 6 and 20 km from the Melbourne city centre. It was founded on 22 June 1994 during the amalgamation of lo ...

for a total cost of $2.5 million. The ''Enterprize'' was the first

square-rigged Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which a sailing vessel's primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars that are perpendicular (or square) to the median plane of the keel and masts of the vessel. These sp ...

commercial sailing ship to be built in Melbourne in 120 years.

The original ''Enterprize''

The original schooner was built in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

in 1829 by William Pender. It was used as a cargo vessel till 1835, after which it was purchased by

John Pascoe Fawkner John Pascoe Fawkner (20 October 1792 – 4 September 1869) was an early Australian pioneer, businessman and politician of Melbourne, Australia. In 1835 he financed a party of free settlers from Van Diemen's Land (now called Tasmania), to sail ...

to carry a settlement party to the future site of Melbourne. It was captained by Peter Hunter. After the settlement, the ship was then used as a trading vessel till 1847, when it was wrecked on the

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body ...

of the

Richmond River The Richmond River is a river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may ...

in northern New South Wales.

Current activity

The replica ''Enterprize'' operates both short and long sails for the public, and for school and private groups. Her most common sails have been one hour daytime sails, 1.5 hour evening sails, one day school excursions, and evening and overnight voyages between Docklands and

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

, Portarlington, and Mornington. It has also offered 4–5 day school voyages, 6–8 day public voyages, one day private charters, and overnight private charters.

References

{{Reflist, 30em, refs= {{cite web , title=About Enterprize , publisher=Enterprize Ship Trust , url=http://www.enterprize.org.au/#!aboutenterprize/c20r9 , accessdate=2015-09-18 {{cite web , title=Enterprize Sailing Calendar , publisher=Enterprize Ship Trust , url=http://www.enterprize.org.au/#!calendar/cc0u , accessdate=2015-09-18 {{cite book , last=Coombes , first=John L. , title=Tall Ships: The Sixteen Square Riggers of Australia and New Zealand , url={{Google Books, lKr0c9l1XhYC, plainurl=y , year=2006 , location=Wollombi, New South Wales , publisher=Exisle Publishing , isbn=978-0-908988-84-6

External links

''Enterprize'' – Melbourne's Tall Ship
website Replica ships