The ''Santiago'' was a 455-ton

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...

launched in 1856. It was built by Henry Balfour of

Methil, Fife Methil (Scottish Gaelic: Meadhchill) is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to the Bishop of St Andrews. Two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as ov ...

for the

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

shipping company

Balfour Williamson Balfour Williamson & Co was a shipping company based in Liverpool, England, and later an export confirming house and freight forwarding company. Latterly a subsidiary of Lonmin (formerly Lonrho). In October 2016 the company returned to family ...

. It sailed mainly between Liverpool and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, but also to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Its remnant hull, which lies in a

ships' graveyard A ship graveyard or ship cemetery is a location where the hulls of scrapped ships are left to decay and disintegrate, or left in reserve. Such a practice is now less common due to waste regulations and so some dry docks where ships are brok ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, is considered 'the oldest intact iron hull sailing vessel in the world.'

Career

After service with Balfour Williamson, she was sold in 1888 to a German company, and in 1890 to Norwegians. In 1901, the Adelaide Steamtug Company purchased the ship and sailed it from

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

with a cargo of coal. She was subsequently dismasted and used as a

lighter A lighter is a portable device which creates a flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of items, such as cigarettes, gas lighter, fireworks, candles or campfires. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid or c ...

. On 21 December 1907, she was used by Adelaide Steamtug Company in association with other vessels to recover the steamer Jessie Darling, which had collided with and sunk on top of the unmarked wreck of the barque ''Norma'' on 21 April 1907. The ''Norma'' had been sunk after a collision with the ship ''Ardencraig'', several hours earlier at the Semaphore Anchorage. In 1918 she was sold to the Adelaide Steam Co. and was used for occasional salvage work and lightering until 1945, when it was abandoned.

Fate

On 19 August 1945, she was towed to the eastern extent of the Port River's North Arm, and became the last vessel to be abandoned in what is now known as the Garden Island Ships' Graveyard. In 1982, the ''Santiago'' was declared as an historic shipwreck under the South Australian ''Historic Shipwrecks Act 1981''. The wreck is officially located at . She has been the subject of study by various parties including the

Society for Underwater Historical Research The Society for Underwater Historical Research (SUHR) was an amateur maritime archaeology organisation operating in South Australia (SA). It was formed in 1974 by Recreational diving, recreational scuba divers and other persons to pursue an int ...

in 1978 and by the Department of Environment and Heritage on an ongoing basis since 1981.Jeffery, B., 2003, ''South Australian Maritime Heritage Program 1970s – 2002 Projects, Activities and Bibliography'', Heritage Branch, Department for Environment and Heritage, Adelaide, page 12, atat http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.203.1192&rep=rep1&type=pdf, retrieved 09/07/2012. In 1991, it was listed on the now-defunct

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

References

Further Information

Mary A. Reilly, Methil Heritage - ''Santiago'' retrieved 08/07/2012

'Ships' Graveyards of SA – Santiago – Garden Island' brochure, retrieved 08/07/2012
*{{Citation , last1=Hartell, first1=Robyn , last2=Richards, first2 = Nathan, title=Garden Island : ships' graveyard , date=2001 , publisher=Heritage South Australia , isbn=978-0-7308-5894-2 Barques of Australia Victorian-era merchant ships of the United Kingdom Coal hulks 1856 ships Shipwrecks of South Australia Ships built in Scotland South Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate

Career

Fate

See also

References

Further Information