''The Murray'' was a three-masted

clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. The term was also retrospectively applied to the Baltimore clipper, which originated in the late 18th century. Clippers were generally narrow for their len ...

ship that was built in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1861 and lost off the coast of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 1884. For nearly 20 years, the

Orient Line The Orient Steam Navigation Company, also known as the Orient Line, was a UK, British shipping company with roots going back to the late 18th century. From the early 20th century onwards, an association began with P&O (company), P&O which bec ...

sailed between

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

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 ...

. In 1880, Norwegian owners bought her and renamed her ''Freia''.

Details

''The Murray'' was the first ship built for the

packet Packet may refer to: * A small container or pouch ** Packet (container), a small single use container ** Cigarette packet ** Sugar packet * Network packet, a formatted unit of data carried by a packet-mode computer network * Packet radio, a form ...

service of James Thompson & Co. of London, better known as the Orient Line. She was the last of their ships to be built entirely of wood. Alexander Hall & Co. built her in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. Her registered length was , her breadth was , and her depth was . Her

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on '' tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a cal ...

s were 1,019 BM and . She was launched on 25 May 1861. Thompson

registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

''The Murray'' at

. Her

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

official number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

was 29788, and her

code letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of ...

were QHCT.

Career as ''The Murray''

Her first

master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

was the highly regarded

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

John Legoe, whose wife named her ''The Murray''. She sailed from

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

on her first voyage to Australia in July 1861. She carried both passengers and cargo, making very fast times. In 1863, she left

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

on 15 July and arrived in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

on 26 September, making the entire journey in 73 days, equal to the 1860 record of , considered the fastest on the route until the advent of . James Norval Smart in 1867,

William Begg William Begg (31 May 1821 – 26 July 1889) was a ship's captain in the merchant navy and as a privateer who made many voyages between England, Africa, East Asia and Adelaide, South Australia, where he later settled and had success as a businessm ...

in 1869–1872 (previously of ''Sebastian'' and ''Coonatto''), and Thomas L. Wadham in 1874–1876 all succeeded Captain Legoe, formerly Celstial. On the night of 26 May 1870 in mid-Atlantic between Brazil and West Africa, a lookout aboard ''The Murray'' saw a ship on fire, and Begg made his towards it. It was the Italian barque ''Mannin Barabino'', out of

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, bound for the River Plate (

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

) with a cargo of

spirits Spirit(s) commonly refers to: * Liquor, a distilled alcoholic drink * Spirit (animating force), the non-corporeal essence of living things * Spirit (supernatural entity), an incorporeal or immaterial being Spirit(s) may also refer to: Liquids ...

. The fire had started in the

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

and swiftly engulfed the ship; the

ship's boat A ship's boat is a utility boat carried by a larger vessel. Ship's boats have always provided transport between the shore and other ships. Other work done by such boats has varied over time, as technology has changed. In the age of sail, espe ...

was lowered but was soon overloaded and capsized, and the few survivors managed by clinging to the upturned boat or floating spars, and more than 120 were lost by fire or drowning. Captain Begg was awarded a silver medal by the Italian government for his part in the rescue.

Career as ''Freia''

In 1880, OL Roed of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

bought ''The Murray'', renamed her ''Freia'', and registered her in

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

. In December 1884, ''Freia'' sailed from

North Shields North Shields ( ) is a town in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. The population of North Shields at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom cens ...

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 ...

, with a cargo of coal for Vrengen, Norway. She was wrecked on the

Koster Islands The Koster Islands (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kosteröarna'') situated 10 km west of Strömstad, Sweden, comprises an archipelago surrounding the two largest islands, South Koster and North Koster. South Koster has an area of 8 km2 and ...

off the west coast of Sweden and lost with all hands.

''The Murray'' in art

The

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...

in Greenwich, London, holds a

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

of the ''Clipper Ship 'The Murray' '' (1861) by

Thomas Goldsworthy Dutton Thomas Goldsworthy Dutton (1820–1891) was a 19th-century English marine lithographer, drawing, draftsman, watercolourist, marine painting, painter, and etcher. Early life Born in 1820 in London, Middlesex, England, and named after his father, a ...

Some other clippers on the route between England and South Australia

* * * * * * * *

References

External links

*{{cite news , url= http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/128931392 , title=Early days of voyaging , newspaper= The News , place=Adelaide , date=10 August 1941 , page=7 , via=Trove – description of travel aboard ''The Murray'' in 1871 1861 ships Full-rigged ships Maritime incidents in December 1884 Sailing ships of Norway Sailing ships of the United Kingdom Ships built by Alexander Hall and Sons Ships lost with all hands Shipwrecks of Sweden