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Figurehead , POSTBOY

Details

ProvenancePostboy' was a two masted wooden schooner of 62 tons, built in Port Adelaide in 1874 by John Lowen and owned by Messrs. Weman and Morgan. It foundered in Gulf St.Vincent, South Australia in December 1876 on a voyage to Port Adelaide from Port MacDonnell with a cargo of bark and stone ballast. Six lost their lives including the captain, three crewmen and two passengers. The first mate, hung onto a dinghy for several hours, attracting attention by waving a red shirt belonging to a drowned crew member. The yacht 'Hygeia' rescued him. A number of attempts failed to raise Postboy, but in March 1877 the vessel was finally refloated and refitted. Its masts were shortened to avoid another capsize. The Postboy worked on, but was driven ashore while loading wheat at Minlacowie, South Australia, in August 1895. Again, Postboy was refloated and repaired at Port Adelaide, South Australia. It continued its career as a trading vessel before finally grounding at Arno Bay, South Australia, in 1907.SignificanceFigureheads, carved wooden sculptures which ornamented the bow of a sailing ship, embodied the 'soul' of the vessel and were believed to offer the crew protection and safe passage on the seas. They were also used to identify a ship, reflecting its function or paying tribute to a person connected with the vessel. The South Australian Maritime Museum has a collection of seventeen ship’s figureheads- the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. They date from the age of sail, which dominated the 18th and 19th centuries. The figureheads were sourced and acquired by Vernon Smith, the Honorary Curator of the Port Adelaide Nautical Museum (from which the current museum evolved) over a period of fifty years. He thoroughly documented his search and as a result, most of the figureheads are well provenanced with a recorded chain of ownership. Postboy's figurehead is an evocative relic of one of a fleet of schooners and ketches crucial for transporting cargo between Adelaide and its shallow gulf ports. Postboy, as the figurehead's name suggests, delivered the mail to these remote ports and the collection also includes one of the vessel's mail bags.DescriptionSingle piece, hand carved, wooden bust of a postal service boy from the schooner Postboy. Tunic and cap painted bright red, gold cap band. Bow tie, hair and eyebrows black. White shirt, light blue eyes, pink face. Head has been crudely retouched in the past.Creator (person) Creator (organisation) Acknowledgement Keywordsdeck gamesSportDate of Creation1874Date of Usage1874-1907MaterialAustralian Red Cedar
|oil-based enamel paint
DimensionType: Total
Height: 860
Width: 340
Depth: 100
Unit (Lengths): mm
Accession NumberHT 1985.1686On DisplaySouth Australian Maritime Museum

Connections

PlacePort Adelaide, South AustraliaCollectionNeptune’s Wooden Angels SA Maritime Museum Collection

Image Credits

Image FilenameHT1985-1686_CI7305.jpgCopyrightHistory Trust of South AustraliaLicenseCC-0PhotographerKylie Macey

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