An aerial picture of JAMES CRAIG in 2004, showing its restored condition and under full sail re…

Images(6)

JAMES CRAIG passing through 'the Rip', at the head of Port Phillip, in 2006.

James Craig

Vessel numberHV000005

Official Number68086

(not assigned)75

Builder Bartram Haswell and Co

Previous owner Thomas Dunlop and Sons

Owner Sydney Heritage Fleet

Previous owner Cameron Line

Previous owner New Guinea Development Co. (New Zealand)

Previous owner Henry Jones and Company

Previous owner Catamaran Coal Mining Company (Australian)

Date1874

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 54.86 m x 51 m x 9.57 m x 5.3 m, 639.75 tonnes, 1100 m² (180 ft x 167.33 ft x 31.4 ft x 17.39 ft, 629.51 tons, 11841.5 ft²)
Registered Dimensions: 9.5m x 5.51m, 671Tons x 646Tons (31.17ft. x 18.08ft.)
Engine dimensions: 276Kilowatts (370.12Horsepower)
Propeller dimensions: 1140 x 1800 mm (44.8 x 70.74 in.)

DescriptionJAMES CRAIG was built as a cargo ship by Bartram Haswell and Co. Sunderland, England and is rigged as a barque. It has a plated hull, and wooden deck on metal beams. The lower section of the main and foremasts are riveted steel, as are their lower yards for the course sails. The remained of the spars and yards are timber. It has a cabin on deck, below decks most of the space was for cargo. In its modern form it also has two engines, tanks and ballast.

Launched as the CLAN MACLEOD in 1874 and renamed JAMES CRAIG in 1905, it remained in service until 1911 when the ship was hulked in New Guinea. After WW I JAMES CRAIG was refitted when there was a shortage of vessels. It was in service for only a few years before it was again reduced to a hulk in 1922, storing coal. By 1930 the hulk was scuttled and abandoned in Recherché Bay, in southern Tasmania.

The hull of the JAMES CRAIG was recovered in 1973 and taken to Hobart initially. It then went onto a barge and was towed to Sydney where the entire vessel was restored or replicated in Sydney over a long period by the Sydney Heritage Fleet. Many of the plates were saved but where required new ones were made and rivetted in place in a gradual process.

JAMES CRAIG is now operational, working out of Sydney Harbour and undertaking periodic coastal voyages between ports. It has been to Melbourne and Hobart, and other regional locations, and undertakes daysailing trips off Sydney Heads.
SignificanceJAMES CRAIG is a barque, built in England in 1874. It is one of the very few remaining restored tall ships throughout the world and one of the few operational as well..JAMES CRAIG has had very strong trade and commerce connections to Australia for much of its working life. It is also a working example of the construction, layout and operation of a large square-rigged vessel.