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ELIZABETH in 2010
Elizabeth
ELIZABETH in 2010
ELIZABETH in 2010
Private Collection

Elizabeth

Vessel numberHV000295
Vessel Registration Number13427
Sail NumberK32
Previous owner
Date1951
DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 10.36 m x 8.23 m x 2.44 m x 1.52 m, 5.91 tonnes (34 ft x 27 ft x 8 ft x 5 ft, 5.81 tons)
DescriptionArthur Bishop built ELIZABETH at his Cottlesloe shed in Perth for Richard L Anderson. It is 10.36 m long, carvel planked with a full keel and moderate overhangs - a classic style for the period. It was a 1949 SCORN IV design by Melbourne builder EFA Montgomery. This was featured in the April 1950 Seacraft, with a suggestion it become a national cruiser-racer class. It appears the class did not eventuate, but with ELIZABETH it can be said that at least one other SCORN was built.

At this time Bishop was becoming recognised as a builder capable of completing a well finished boat with attention to detail. For example, ELIZABETH is planked in robust and durable WA Jarrah below the waterline, and finished in New Zealand Kauri on the topsides. Bishop carried on his business until the early 1970s.

The Anderson family has passed ELIZABETH from one generation to the next. The yacht and family were one of the foundation members for the Koombana Bay Yacht Club where ELIZABETH was a well known yacht on which many sailors learned to crew. The only mishap recorded was a grounding on a mud bank in Bunbury Harbour; it was pulled off the mud with a long line attached to a train onshore.

In 1995 family member John Anderson overhauled and restored ELIZABETH. He kept the original Stuart Turner petrol engine which remains in use in 2010. ELIZABETH continues sailing in the region.
SignificanceELIZABETH is a cruising yacht from 1951 built by Arthur Bishop in Perth, Western Australia. Bishop was an important builder in the decades just after World War II. ELIZABETH is an Australian SCORN IV class design. It has remained cruising in the south west region of WA for almost 60 years and has been with the one family for most of this period since it was launched.
MAID MARIAN near Esperence WA in 2012
Arthur Bishop
1947
Underwater profile
Arthur Bishop
1939
MAY QUEEN, June 2012
Alexander Lawson
1867
KELPIE at the 2013 SASC Gaffers Day event, raisng the ensign in style.
George Ellis
1893
On Sydney Harbour , date unknown
Lars Halvorsen Sons Pty Ltd
1931
NYMPHAEA at the Geelong Wooden Boat Festival in 2016
C Blunt
1946
The dinghy on display in Adelaide
John Marston Ltd
c1929
MV Beth at the Maritime Museum of Townsville in 2023 following restoration work
Hansen Brothers
1950
SS ASCOT Lifeboat on display
Napier & Miller
1902
Kon tiki
Uffa Fox
1953