View source for SS City of Adelaide (1863)

{{Other ships|SS City of Adelaide}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image          = Ss city of adelaide 1864.jpg
| Ship caption        = ''City of Adelaide'' between 1871 and 1890,<br>as a two-masted steamship
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Ship country        = [[Australia]]
| Ship flag           = {{shipboxflag|UKGBI|civil}}
| Ship name           = ''City of Adelaide''
| Ship owner          = *1864: [[Australasian Steam Navigation Company|Australasian SN Co]]
*1887: British India & Queensland Agency Ltd
*1887: [[Australasian United Steam Navigation Company|AUSN Co]]
*1890: WA Ritchie
*1895: GJ Robertson
*1902: [[Howard Smith Limited|Howard Smith Co]]
*1915: George Butler
| Ship operator       =
| Ship registry       = *1864: [[Port of Melbourne|Melbourne]]
*1887: [[Port Jackson|Sydney]]
*1887: [[Port of London|London]]
*1890: Sydney
*1902: Melbourne
*1915: [[Port of Townsville|Townsville]]
| Ship builder        = [[J & G Thomson]], [[Govan]]
| Ship yard number    = 67
| Ship launched       = 22 December 1863
| Ship completed      = 1864
| Ship maiden voyage  =
| Ship identification = *UK [[official number]] 49261
*[[code letters]] WCHB
*{{ICS|Whiskey}}{{ICS|Charlie}}{{ICS|Hotel}}{{ICS|Bravo}}
| Ship refitted       = *1871 reduced to two masts
*1890 converted to four-masted jackass [[barque]]
*1902 converted to coal hulk
| Ship out of service = 1912
| Ship fate           = *1912 caught fire
*1915 bought for scuttling
*1916 ran aground
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Ship type           =*iron-hulled ship:
*1864: 3-masted sail-steamer
*1871: 2-masted [[steamship]]
*1890: 4-masted sailing [[barque]]
| Ship tonnage        =*1863: {{NRT|615}}, {{GRT|838}}
*1871: {{NRT|824}}, {{GRT|1212}}
*1890: {{NRT|779}}, {{GRT|1212}}
| Ship length         =*1863: {{cvt|251.4|ft|abbr=on}}
*1871: {{cvt|252.8|ft|abbr=on}}
*1893: {{cvt|246.0|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam           = {{cvt|28.3|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught        = 
| Ship depth          = {{cvt|16.6|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship sail plan      = 1890: jackass [[barque]]
| Ship power          = until 1890: 200 [[Horsepower|HP]]
| Ship propulsion     = *until 1890: 1 × [[Propeller|screw]]
*1 × [[marine steam engine]]
| Ship crew           =
| Ship notes          =
}}
|}

''City of Adelaide'' was an iron-hulled ship that was launched in [[Scotland]] in 1863, spent a long career in [[Australia]]n [[Passenger ship|passenger]] and [[Cargo ship|cargo]] service, and sank off the coast of [[Queensland]] in 1916. She served with several Australian shipowners, including the [[Australasian Steam Navigation Company]], [[Australasian United Steam Navigation Company]] and [[Howard Smith Limited|Howard Smith Company]].

''City of Adelaide'' ship was built as a three-masted sail-steamer. In 1871 one of her masts was removed to increase her passenger accommodation. In 1890 her steam engine was removed and she was refitted as a four-masted jackass [[barque]]. In 1902 she was turned into a coal [[Hulk (ship type)|hulk]]. In 1912 she was gutted by fire.

In 1916 her burnt hulk ran aground in [[Cockle Bay (Queensland)|Cockle Bay]], [[Magnetic Island]], Queensland. In 1942 four people were killed when a [[Royal Australian Air Force]] aircraft collided with one of her masts. In 1971 [[Cyclone Althea]] broke up part of her wreck, but its remains are still visible in Cockle Bay.

==Building==
[[J & G Thomson]] in [[Govan]], [[Glasgow]] built ''City of Adelaide'' for the [[Australasian Steam Navigation Company]]. She was launched on 22 December 1863 and completed in 1864.<ref name=SBS>{{cite web |url=http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?year_built=&builder=&ref=22255 |title=City of Adelaide |work=Scottish Built Ships |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=6 January 2010 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531080328/http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?year_built=&builder=&ref=22255 |url-status=live }}</ref> Her registered length was {{cvt|246.0|ft|abbr=on}}, her beam was {{cvt|28.3|ft|abbr=on}} and her depth was {{cvt|16.6|ft|abbr=on}}. Thomson's also built her [[marine steam engine]], which had two cylinders and was rated at 200 [[horsepower]].<ref>{{cite book |year=1890 |title=Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping |chapter=Steamers |publisher=Lloyd's Register |at=CIT |via=[[Internet Archive]] |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1890/page/n729/mode/1up |access-date=30 May 2022}}</ref>

Her owners [[Ship registration|registered]] ''City of Adelaide'' at [[Port Jackson|Sydney]]. Her [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] [[official number]] was 49261 and her [[code letters]] were WCHB.<ref>{{cite book |year=1865 |title=Mercantile Navy List |page=70 |via=Crew List Index Project |url=https://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/viewimages?&name=City%20of%20Adelaide&steamsail=Steam&submit=Enter&year=1865 |access-date=30 May 2022 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531080329/https://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/viewimages?name=City+of+Adelaide&steamsail=Steam&submit=Enter&year=1865 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Career==
''City of Adelaide'' ran regular passenger services between several destinations including [[Melbourne]], [[Sydney]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mariners and ships in Australian Waters |url=http://mariners.records.nsw.gov.au/1873/02/scan.asp?filename=037ade.jpg |publisher=State Records Authority of New South Wales |access-date=6 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110401042128/http://mariners.records.nsw.gov.au/1873/02/scan.asp?filename=037ade.jpg |archivedate=1 April 2011}}</ref> [[Honolulu]] and [[San Francisco]].

In 1871 the ship was refitted, and her masts were reduced from three to two to increase her passenger accommodation.<ref name=SBS/> She served for a further 14 years before being retired in 1885. After the merger of the Australasian Steam Navigation Company with the [[Queensland Steam Shipping Company]], in 1887, ''City of Adelaide'' continued in service with the successor company [[Australasian United Steam Navigation Company]].

[[File:StateLibQld 1 117104 City of Adelaide (ship).jpg|thumb|left|''City of Adelaide'' between 1890 and 1902, when she was a four-masted jackass [[barque]]]]
In 1890 to WA Ritchie of Sydney bought her and had her converted to a four-masted jackass barque by removing her boilers and engines and adding two new masts.<ref>{{cite book |year=1893 |title=Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping |chapter=Sailing Vessels |publisher=Lloyd's Register |at=CIT |via=[[Internet Archive]] |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1893SV/page/n172/mode/1up |access-date=30 May 2022}}</ref> In 1895 GJ Robertson of Sydney bought her. In 1902 Howard Smith Company of [[Townsville]] bought her and turned her into a coal hulk.<ref name=SBS/>

In 1912 the ship caught fire and burnt for some days before flames were extinguished.<ref name=Magnetic>{{Cite web |title=Magnetic Island: a walk on the muddy side |url= http://www.magnetictimes.com.au/article-7.html |work=Magnetic Times |date=9 August 2002 |access-date=6 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110408033338/http://www.magnetictimes.com.au/article-7.html |archive-date=8 April 2011}}</ref> TIn 1915, by George Butler, the son of the first European resident of [[Magnetic Island]], bought her burnt hulk. He had the hull stripped, and an attempt was made to float the ship to Magnetic Island's [[Picnic Bay, Queensland|Picnic Bay]], where she would be [[Scuttling|scuttled]] as a [[Breakwater (structure)|breakwater]] for a [[jetty]]. However, as the ship was being towed from Townsville to Picnic Bay she ran aground off Magnetic Island's Cockle Bay.<ref name=Magnetic/><ref name="shipwreckenc">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Queensland Shipwrecks, including central and southern Great Barrier Reef |url= http://oceans1.customer.netspace.net.au/qld-main.html |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Australian Shipwrecks |access-date=6 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20091002084651/http://oceans1.customer.netspace.net.au/qld-main.html |archive-date=2 October 2009}}</ref>

==Wreck==
[[File:Bristol Beaufort LOC fsa 8d29959u.jpg|thumb|A [[Bristol Beaufort]] aircraft of [[No. 100 Squadron RAAF|100 Squadron RAAF]], like the one that collided with one of the masts of ''City of Adelaide''{{'}}s wreck]]
In [[World War II]] the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) used the wreck for target practice for bomber crews from the nearby [[RAAF Base Townsville|Garbutt Airfield]]. On 22 October 1942, six RAAF [[Bristol Beaufort]] bombers of [[No. 100 Squadron RAAF|100 Squadron]] made a coordinated mock torpedo attack on Townsville Harbour, followed by a coordinated practice bombing of the wreck. The mock attack on Townsville Harbour was a success, after which the six bombers climbed to about {{convert|1000|ft}} and flew in a vee formation towards Cockle Bay.

Several of the aircraft dived at the wreck in a bombing run, during which one of the aircraft appeared to strike one of the [[Mast (sailing)|masts]] of the sunken ship, before crashing into the shallow sea about {{convert|700|m|yd}} from the ship. The plane's fuselage disintegrated on impact, instantly killing three RAAF officers and a [[United States Navy]] officer aboard the bomber.<ref>{{Cite web |title=22 October 1942, Crash of a Beaufort Bomber, Cockle Bay, Magnetic Island |url= http://home.st.net.au/~pdunn/ozcrashes/qld214.htm |last=Dunn |first=Peter |work=Australia at War |access-date=6 January 2010 |url-status=live |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20091022112202/http://home.st.net.au/~pdunn/ozcrashes/qld214.htm|archive-date=22 October 2009}}{{dead link|date=May 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Adelaide ship.jpg|thumb|300px|''City of Adelaide''{{'}}s wreck at low tide]]
The wreck is about {{convert|300|m|yd}} off the shore of Cockle Bay. On 24 December 1971 Cyclone Althea struck the coast of northern Queensland near Magnetic Island, causing the part of the wreck's iron hull to collapse. However, the wreck remains an artificial island, hosting a diversity of plant and animal life. The location of the wreck is {{Coord|-19.174842|146.825471|display=inline,title}}.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{1912 shipwrecks}}
{{1915 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:City of Adelaide (1863)}}
[[Category:1863 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:Ship fires]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1912]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1915]]
[[Category:Coal hulks]]
[[Category:1912 in Australia]]
[[Category:1915 in Australia]]
[[Category:1971 in Australia]]
[[Category:1871–1900 ships of Australia]]
[[Category:1901 – World War I ships of Australia]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of Australia]]
[[Category:Passenger ships of Australia]]
[[Category:Iron and steel steamships of Australia]]
[[Category:Barques of Australia]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Magnetic Island]]