Queen Of Nations (clipper ship)
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Queen Of Nations was an 827-ton wooden clipper ship. She was built in Aberdeen in 1861, and sailed out of Auckland, New Zealand, on the Sydney to Liverpool route.[1]
Queen of Nations wrecked in May of 1881 on Corrimal Beach, New South Wales, Australia. The cargo on this final, fatal journey consisted almost entirely of wine and distilled spirits, a fact which combined with the enthusiasms of the newly installed captain and mate for those self-same beverages, led to the captain to become confused by a fire in the hills and order a turn to port facilitating his entry into Sydney harbor. There was no harbor, only sand and rocks, and the Queen ran aground. Her crew made their way to shore with the loss of only one sailor, despite threats from the drunken mate, armed with a pistol. The Queen broke up and her cargo drifted ashore over the next several months, inspiring the establishment of a long-lived and very cheery beachside campground.[1]
In her more respectable days, in 1879, the Queen Of Nations received international attention for having gallantly rescued Captain Lewis Gerhardt Goldsmith and his ailing wife from their tiny lifeboat, in its last moments, after a storm on the Grand Banks, and carrying them safely to England.
The wreck of the Queen is being studied by Florida State University.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b The clipper ship Queen of Nations (1861-1881). NSW Hritage Office. Retrieved on 2007-12-27.
- ^ David Nutley (April 2006). The Queen of Nations: A Shipwreck with Influence. Underwater Cultural Heritage at Risk: Managing Natural and Human Impacts / Heritage at Risk - Special Edition. International Council on Monuments and Sites. Retrieved on 2007-12-27.
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