ProvenanceFigurehead of the iron ship 'British Admiral'. The British Admiral was an iron full-rigged ship built at Liverpool by T. Royden & Sons in 1873. It was registered at Liverpool in the name of the British Shipowners Association. The ship sank on its maiden voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne, Australia, on 23 May 1874. It struck a reef off the coast of King Island, Bass Strait at 2.30 am, and sunk in less than half an hour, with the loss of 79 lives. The figurehead floated in Bass Strait for several months until it was picked up by a vessel bound for Port Adelaide and sold to Mr George Thompson, Ethelton, who displayed in his garden for 50 years. In 1938 it was donated to the Port Adelaide Nautical Museum which begun in 1872. It is the oldest maritime collection in Australia and represents the Port Adelaide community, businesses and seafarers - some returning home from abroad and others passing through. Formerly located in the museum of the Port Adelaide Institute, established 1851, it was a part of the 19th century movement for self-education that led to the establishment of public libraries, schools and museums. The collection, including the British Admiral, is now held by the South Australian Maritime Museum. The figurehead was badly weathered and a three month conservation project was undertaken to restore British Admiral to its present state.Significance
Figureheads, 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. 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 result, most of the figureheads are well provenanced with a recorded chain of ownership. The figurehead from the British Admiral is linked to one of the worst shipwrecks in Tasmania.DescriptionDisplay box for the figurehead of the iron ship "British Admiral". The figurehead depicts the bust of a man with shoulder length brown hair. He is wearing a blue tunic with gold epaulettes. A blue sash crosses his chest and around his neck he wears a gold tassled rope. The bottom part of the figurehead is sheathed in red.Creator (person)Creator (organisation)AcknowledgementDate of CreationDate of UsageAccession NumberHT 1994.1079
