AN UNLUCKY STEAMER

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 244, 15 October 1931, Page 12

AN UNLUCKY STEAMER

STORY OF GREAT EASTERN THE FIRST BIG LINER SERIES OF MISFORTUNES. TRAGEDY ON FIRST VOYAGE. One of the most unlucky ships in the ! history of tho British mercantile ma- ' rine was tho Great Eastern, which, when she was completed in 1857, outclassed in size, equipment and accom- ' modation for passengers all other ships i afloat. Plans for tho construction of this i first leviathan of tho seas—she was chistened the Leviathan when launched, but the name was changed to Great Eastern —was completed in 1852 by Mr. Isambard Brunel, on behalf of the . Great Eastern Steam Navigation Company. Her length was to be 692 ft., beam 83ft.; she was to have accommodation for .1000 passengers, and room in her holds for 5000 tons of cargo. At that time there were no merchant ships above 5000 tons, but the Groat Eastern was to exceed 18,000 tons. Many people declared that it was impossible to build such a large ship; that if she were built she would not float, and that if she did float it would be impossible for her to move through the water except at a snail’s pace. All these predictions were falsified; nevertheless, the gloomy forebodings of those pessimisits who declared that the vessel would be a failure were realised.

Lunching Ceremony a “Frost.” ■When the Great Eastern was being built at Millwall, on tne Thames, by Scott, Russell and Company, many alterations were made in the plans, and these added to her cost. Not until November 3, 1857, was she ready to be launched. Thousands of people assembled at the ship-building yards to see her take the water, but the cere-

mony was a “frost.” She stuck on tho ways, and she resisted many attempts to get her off, made in the course of the ensuing weeks. It was not until January 31, 1858—89 days after the launching ceremony —that she was floated. The expense of launching her mounted up to £6O 000, bringing the total cost of the ship to £732,000. In August, 1859, tho Great Eastern was ready for her trials. A London weekly newspaper of that period, the Illustrated Times of August 13, 1859, contains a report of .- banquet held on board the ship when sbo was completed and lying in the Thames. “The. engineer who first conceived ‘he project of building a ship like the Great. Eastern, the naval architect who carried that project into practical execution, and the capitalists who subscribed their money, may congratulate themselves on the fact that the great shir is ready for sea,” wrote the reporter.

Banquet on the Ship. “The completion of this magnificent ship was formerly celebrated it a banquet on board the ship on August 8. The function was honoured by tho presence of many members of both houses and some of the mos distinguished engineers and scientific men in the kingdom. Many difficulties and obstacles impeded the progress of the work There were scientific difficulties, commercial difficulties, monetary mishaps and some mechanical blunders. * *We all remember the protracted agonies of the launch, the disappoint, ing bulletins from day to day—announcing now a progress of six inches, now a standstill of six hours—the jokes, the criticisms and the final sense of relief when it was announced that the Leviathan was at length afloat in Deptford Creek. But then it seemed as if the real troubles of the undertaking were only about to begin. The capital had been expended and the public refused to advance any more money, and if the directors wished their ship to bo anything but a helpless unfinished carcase £300,000 more must bo raised. Not without difficulty and de'ay the money was found and the vessel finished.”