Hesperus (clipper ship)

The liner Hesperus was an iron hulled sailing ship on the London to Adelaide run, first for the Orient Line then Devitt & Moore. She next served in Russia as the training ship Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna on the Black Sea, then returned to England where she was re-christened Silvana.

For the fictional ship "Hesperus" and Longfellow's poem, see The Wreck of the Hesperus.

Clipper Hesperus c. 1885

History

Hesperus was a sailing ship built by Robert Steele & Company of Glasgow in Greenock, Scotland in 1873 under the supervision of John Legoe for Thompson & Anderson's "Orient Line" as a replacement for Yatala, Legoe master, which was wrecked off the coast of France.

She was an iron-hulled full-rigged ship of 1,777 tons register, length 262.2 feet (79.9 m), beam 39.6 feet (12.1 m), depth 23.4 feet (7.1 m).[1]

She had been built especially for the South Australian trade route, and her first contract was to carry some 340 immigrants to Adelaide, with John Legoe in command.[2] Some enterprising individual managed to produce a slim newspaper The Hesperian of modest pretensions during the voyage.[3]

Her last voyage under Captain Legoe brought his family to settle in South Australia: his wife Grace, daughter Grace and sons John, Glen and William, who were all to make a mark as citizens of the young colony. She left London on 18 July 1877 and arrived in Adelaide shortly before 15 October. Other passengers on that voyage were Col. Downes, for many years military commandant in Adelaide, and subsequently in Victoria, and C. Angel, later an Adelaide stockbroker. Capt. Thomas Row Harry was sent out by the Orient Company in 1877 to take charge of the Hesperus on the return voyage. The ship's log book, the last prepared by the captain, was a prized possession of Glen Legoe.[4]

Captain Harry succeeded Legoe as master of Hesperus, and in February 1886 married Jane Louisa Heywood; two days later embarked on his last voyage before settling in St Ives, Cornwall.

Around 1890 Hesperus left the "Orient Line" for the "Australian Line" of Devitt & Moore, serving as a sail training vessel, John Howard Barrett in command.[5] Barrett died in 1899 as captain of Devitt & Moore's Illawarra.[6]

In 1899 Hesperus changed hands again, to the Russian government and, renamed Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, served on the Black Sea as a sail training vessel, based in Odessa. In 1921 she returned to Great Britain, and once again as "Silvana" entered the maritime service. She did not however live up to her reputation as a "flyer", and made disappointing times;[7] whether due to the ageing ship, a less aggressive captain, or less responsive crew will never be known. She ended her existence in a breaker's yard in 1923.[1]

Some other clippers on the England to Adelaide run

Sister ship

Aurora built after Hesperus and with a few improvements, was lost by fire near Azores 1875. Her only skipper, Adam Johnston, was cleared of blame.[8]

References
  1. Roy Fernandez; Jack Spurling. "Ship Portraits — the paintings of Jack Spurling : Hesperus". Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  2. "Arrival of the English Mail". The South Australian Advertiser. South Australia. 6 April 1874. p. 3. Retrieved 3 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "A Floating Printing Office". The Bunyip (478). South Australia. 15 May 1874. p. 3. Retrieved 13 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Memories of the Hesperus". The Register (Adelaide). XCII (26, 896). South Australia. 29 October 1927. p. 5. Retrieved 3 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "The Hesperus". The Sydney Morning Herald (16, 472). New South Wales, Australia. 8 January 1891. p. 4. Retrieved 13 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "The Ship Illawarra". The Argus (Melbourne) (16, 693). Victoria, Australia. 6 January 1900. p. 15. Retrieved 13 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "The Old Hesperus". The Register (Adelaide). LXXXVII (25, 554). South Australia. 21 November 1922. p. 6. Retrieved 13 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Loss of the Aurora". Adelaide Observer. XXXII (1769). South Australia. 28 August 1875. p. 10. Retrieved 4 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
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