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Margherita

Vessel numberHV000117

Vessel Registration Number3349QD

Builder Hansen and Collis

Designer Hansen and Collis

Vessel type Pearling Luggers

Date1955

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 15.85 m x 15.24 m x 3.96 m x 1.98 m (52 ft x 50 ft x 13 ft x 6.5 ft)

DescriptionMARGHERITA was launched as BRITON in 1955 from the Hansen and Collis yard in Cairns, North Queensland. It was one of at last four luggers that were built by Alfred Hansen and Harold Collis and all had names that ended in '...ton' . The other three were called SONGTON, TRITON, and WINSTON.

It was used in the pearling industry around Thursday Island as well as for collecting trochus shell. It has since been retired form this type of work to become a charter boat.

The 15.85 metre long hull has a transom stern and is a typical carvel construction, using all Queensland timbers. Along with many of the later Queensland luggers MARGHERITA still retains a modest-sized sailing rig.
SignificanceMARGHERITA is a wooden pearling lugger built in North Queensland in 1955. It was one of the last of the Thursday Island or Torres Strait type of pearling lugger, a variant that dates back to the 1890s, and represents the last period of construction for this style of pearling lugger.

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