''Inconstant'' was a wooden

full-rigged A full-rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel's sail plan with three or more masts, all of them square-rigged. A full-rigged ship is said to have a ship rig or be ship-rigged. Such vessels also have each mast stepped in three seg ...

sailing ship built in 1848 at

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

which later became known as "Plimmer's Ark" and played an important role in the development of

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. The ship's hull remains in Wellington today as an important archaeological site. Built by George Old at

Big Bras d'Or, Nova Scotia Big Bras d'Or is an unincorporated place in the Municipality of the County of Victoria, Nova Scotia, Canada. An early shipbuilding site, the 1848 Inconstant is now an historical site in New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an i ...

''Inconstant'' was one of largest wooden ships ever built in

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

and the largest ship built by Old, a shipbuilder who started with

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

s before focusing mainly on

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

s. The ship was sold to owners in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

and made a voyage to Australia carrying immigrants. On a subsequent Australian voyage, she was wrecked at

in 1851 when she put in for water and ran aground. After the ship was deemed too badly damaged to sail again, the hull was purchased by

John Plimmer John Plimmer (28 June 1812 – 5 January 1905) was an English settler and entrepreneur in New Zealand who has been called the "Father of Wellington". Early life in England Plimmer was born at a village called in contemporary accounts "Upton-unde ...

, an entrepreneur later known as "the Father of Wellington". The hull was converted to a prominent wharf on the Wellington waterfront where it became known as " Plimmer's Ark". Linked to the shore by a bridge the ship served as one of the first piers in Wellington with the interior serving as a warehouse and auction room. It also served as a bonded customs store,

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

pier and office for the first Wellington

harbourmaster A harbourmaster (or harbormaster, see spelling differences) is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct operat ...

. A light mounted at the seaward side of the ship became the first harbour light in Wellington. The hull later became a ship chandlery and gradually became landlocked between 1857 and 1860 as the Wellington waterfront was expanded. ''Inconstant'' became surrounded by Lambton Quay, Customhouse Quay and Willis Street in a wedge shaped piece of land. The upper works were demolished in 1883 and the lower hull disappeared under the first

Bank of New Zealand Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) is one of New Zealand's Big Four (banking), big four banks and has been operating in the country since the first office was opened in Auckland in October 1861 followed shortly after by the first branch in Dunedin in D ...

. In the late 1990s when a new commercial development ('

Old Bank Arcade The Old Bank Arcade is a retail and office complex on a corner site at Lambton Quay, Wellington, New Zealand. The property consists of four buildings built between 1883 and 1904. The most prominent is the Bank of New Zealand building (no. 1) o ...

') was built on the bank site, the remains of the hull were discovered and excavated by archaeologists. The lower

bilge The bilge of a ship or boat is the part of the hull that would rest on the ground if the vessel were unsupported by water. The "turn of the bilge" is the transition from the bottom of a hull to the sides of a hull. Internally, the bilges (us ...

s of the ship were found, running from bow to stern. Several important early Canadian shipbuilding features were documented including the use of

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

for main ship timbers some of which still bore layers of

birch bark Birch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus ''Betula''. The strong and water-resistant cardboard-like bark can be easily cut, bent, and sewn, which has made it a valuable building, crafti ...

. The bow of the hull was preserved under glass and displayed with various associated artifacts in the arcade of the new development.

Kirkcaldie & Stains Kirkcaldie & Stains (known as ''Kirks'') was a mid-sized department store in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1863 by John Kirkcaldie and Robert Stains with a capital of £700. The first store was opened on Lambton Quay. In 1868 ...

opened for business on 9 December 1863 in a portion of the Ark named Waterloo House.The Wellington Independent. XVIII (1992). 5 December 1863. p. 2.

References

John Parker, ''Cape Breton Ships and Men'', (London: Hazell Watson & Viney, 1967) p. 75, p. 178.

External links

Plimmer's Ark website

Parks Canada Ship Information Database Registry Information, ship Inconstant, official no. 9012761

"Plimmer's Ark", Museum of Wellington

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inconstant (ship) Maritime history of Canada Maritime history of New Zealand Wellington City Buildings and structures in Wellington City Tall ships of Canada Individual sailing vessels Ships built in Nova Scotia Victorian-era merchant ships of Canada Sailing ships of Canada History of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Archaeological sites in New Zealand Full-rigged ships Wellington Harbour 1850s in Wellington