''James Craig'' is a three-masted, 19th century iron-hulled

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

restored and sailed by the Sydney Heritage Fleet, Sydney, Australia. She is one of only four pre-20th century barques in the world that still go regularly to sea.

History

Built in 1874 in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, by Bartram, Haswell, & Co., she was originally named ''Clan Macleod''. Characterized by her biographer Jeff Toghill as a typical "workhorse barque," she was intended to be operated as economically as possible while carrying general cargo worldwide - coal, salt, grain and cotton goods. In her world travels she rounded

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

twenty-three times in the twenty-six years to 1900. In 1900 she was acquired by Mr J J Craig, renamed ''James Craig'' in 1905 and began to operate between ports in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. She made thirty-five voyages on the trans-Tasman run, to 1911. Like many other sailing ships of her modest size, she fell victim to the advance of steamships in the first decade of the twentieth century and in 1911 she was converted to a storage hulk in Port Moresby. However, with the world-wide shortage of shipping caused by the First World War, she was re-rigged and refitted for trade in the Pacific in 1918. The reprieve for sailing ships was short-lived. With the exception of the

grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals such as wheat, barley, maize, rice, and other food grains. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other agri ...

, sailing ships were soon unable to compete with cargo-carrying steamships. In 1925 she was laid up again, then used as a

hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

, until eventually being abandoned at Recherche Bay in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

.To avoid her drifting and becoming a navigational hazard, a large hole was blown in her stern.

Restoration

Part of the inspiration for preserving ''James Craig '' has been credited to Karl Kortum, then director of the San Francisco Maritime Museum who had also been involved in encouraging Australians to preserve the similar sized barque Polly Woodside in Melbourne in 1962. Restoration of ''James Craig'' began in 1972, when volunteers from the Lady Hopetoun and Port Jackson Marine Steam Museum (now the Sydney Heritage Fleet) refloated her and towed her to

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 ...

for initial repairs. Brought back to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

under tow in 1981, her hull was placed on a submersible pontoon to allow work on the hull restoration to proceed. Over the next twenty-five years, the vessel was restored. Most of the hull was replaced, being repaired by both paid craftspeople and volunteers. The ship was relaunched in 1997, and restoration work was completed in 2001.

Current situation

''James Craig'' is currently berthed at Wharf 7 in

Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...

, near the

Australian National Maritime Museum The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) is a Australian government, federally operated maritime museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney. After considering the idea of establishing a maritime museum, the federal government announced that a nation ...

. She is open to the public, and takes passengers out sailing on

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...

and beyond. She is crewed by volunteers from the Sydney Heritage Fleet. Maintenance is by paid staff, contractors and volunteers. The cost of maintaining her is over $1 million a year; the ship relies on income generated from visitors, charters, events and regular day sails with up to 80 passengers. The ship has made historic return voyages to Hobart (2005, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2025) and to Port Philip (Melbourne and Williamstown) in 2006, 2008 and 2020. The voyages to Hobart coincide with the Wooden Boat Festival, one of the largest in the world. In October 2013 ''James Craig'' participated in the International Fleet Review 2013 in

Historical value

''James Craig'' is of exceptional historical value in that she is one of only four 19th century barques in the world that still go regularly to sea. In 2003 the World Ship Trust awarded the James Craig a Maritime Heritage Award for authentic restoration. She is a working link to a time when such ships carried the bulk of global commerce in their holds. Thousands of similar ships plied the oceans in the 19th and early 20th centuries linking the old world, the new world, Asia and Oceania. She is sailed in the traditional 19th Century manner, mostly by volunteers. Her running rigging consists of 140 lines secured to belaying pins and spider bands. She achieved 11.3 knots on a return voyage from Melbourne on 9 February 2006.

Engineering heritage award

''James Craig'' received an Engineering Heritage National Marker from

Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA), known formally as the Institution of Engineers, Australia, is an Australian professional body and Non-profit organization, not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineerin ...

as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.

Gallery

Image:(1)James_Craig_restoration.jpg, ''James Craig'' during restoration at Darling Harbour in the 1980s File:Maritime Museum + James Craig 1990.jpg, ''James Craig'' under restoration, 1990 File:stern_James_Craig.JPG File:quarterdeck_James_Craig.JPG File:amidships_James_Craig.JPG File:foredeck_James_Craig.JPG File:James Craig, Hobart 2009.jpg, ''James Craig'' in Hobart, 2009 File:James Craig leaving dock 2007.jpg, ''James Craig'' leaving Forgacs Dockyard, 2007 File:Jamescraigship.png, Line art of ''James Craig''

References

Bibliography

*
The James Craig: her history, recovery and restoration
' Jeff Toghill (1978, ) *
The James Craig story
' Jeff Toghill (2003, ) * ''Welcome Aboard James Craig''. Flyer for visitors to the ship (self-guided tour), Sydney Heritage Fleet, Sydney, 2008. (copy obtained on 2009-03-07) * ''All Hands on Deck, The Restoration of the James Craig'', Michael York (2006 Citrus Press, )

Online sources

The James Craig restoration
- archived website from the James Craig Restoration Division, Sydney Heritage Fleet, 1999–2002

External links

Tall Ship: James Craig
– vessel page at the Australian National Maritime Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:James Craig Barques of Australia Museum ships in Australia Individual sailing vessels Tall ships of Australia Coal hulks 1874 ships Museums in Sydney Recipients of Engineers Australia engineering heritage markers Windjammers