The ''Santiago'' was a 455-ton

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 ...

launched in 1856. It was built by Henry Balfour of

Methil, Fife Methil () is a coastal town in Fife, Scotland. Methil has ancient origins: two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as over 8,000 years old. The town was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to ...

for the

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

shipping company

Balfour Williamson Balfour Williamson & Co was a shipping company based in Liverpool, England, and later an export confirming house and freight forwarding company. Latterly a subsidiary of Lonmin (formerly Lonrho). In October 2016 the company returned to famil ...

. It sailed mainly between Liverpool and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, but also to

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 ...

. Its remnant hull, which lies in a ships' graveyard in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, was considered 'the oldest intact iron hull sailing vessel in the world', until part of the central section collapsed in January 2023.

Career

After service with Balfour Williamson, she was sold in 1888 to a German company, and in 1890 to Norwegians. In 1901, the Adelaide Steamtug Company purchased the ship and sailed it from

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

with a cargo of coal. She was subsequently dismasted and used as a

lighter A lighter is a portable device which uses mechanical or electrical means to create a controlled flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of flammable items, such as cigarettes, butane gas, fireworks, candles, or campfires. A lighter typic ...

. On 21 December 1907, she was used by Adelaide Steamtug Company in association with other vessels to recover the steamer '' Jessie Darling'', which had collided with and sunk on top of the unmarked wreck of the barque ''Norma'' on 21 April 1907. ''Norma'' had been sunk after a collision with the ship ''Ardencraig'', several hours earlier at the Semaphore Anchorage. In 1918 she was sold to the Adelaide Steam Co. and was used for occasional salvage work and lightering until 1945, when she was abandoned.

Fate

On 19 August 1945, she was towed to the eastern extent of the Port River's North Arm, and became the last vessel to be abandoned in what is now known as the

Garden Island A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

Ships' Graveyard. In 1982, the ''Santiago'' was declared as an historic shipwreck under the South Australian ''Historic Shipwrecks Act 1981''. The wreck is officially located at . She has been the subject of study by various parties including the

Society for Underwater Historical Research The Society for Underwater Historical Research (SUHR) was an amateur maritime archaeology organisation operating in South Australia (SA). It was formed in 1974 by recreational scuba divers and other persons to pursue an interest in maritime ar ...

in 1978 and by the Department of Environment and Heritage on an ongoing basis since 1981, and more recently by Flinders University in conjunction with the

South Australian Maritime Museum The South Australian Maritime Museum is a state government museum, part of the History Trust of South Australia. The museum opened in 1986 in a collection of historic buildings in the heart of Port Adelaide, South Australia's first heritage pre ...

.Treasured Collections – Memories, Ship Memorabilia and Connections between People and the Garden Island Ships’ Graveyard
South Australian Maritime Museum. Retrieved 8 April 2023. In 1991, she was listed on the now-defunct

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

References

Further Information

Mary A. Reilly, Methil Heritage - ''Santiago'' retrieved 08/07/2012

'Ships' Graveyards of SA – Santiago – Garden Island' brochure, retrieved 08/07/2012
*{{Citation , last1=Hartell, first1=Robyn , last2=Richards, first2 = Nathan, title=Garden Island : ships' graveyard , date=2001 , publisher=Heritage South Australia , isbn=978-0-7308-5894-2 Barques of Australia Victorian-era merchant ships of the United Kingdom Coal hulks 1856 ships Shipwrecks of South Australia Ships built in Scotland South Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate

Career

Fate

See also

References

Further Information