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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-10-31 Daily Xml
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CITY OF ADELAIDE RESTORATION PROJECT

The Hon. R.B. SUCH (Fisher) (12:53): I move:

That this house—

(a) congratulates those who have contributed and continue to contribute, to the City ofAdelaide restoration project; and

(b) calls upon the state government to be supportive in regard to the future location of the clipper near the Maritime Museum.

The first point I make is that I am absolutely amazed at the commitment and devotion of the people involved in seeking to bring the City of Adelaide clipper ship back here, and I know other members, such as the member for Port Adelaide, are also great admirers of the people who have put in this time and effort.

I am led to believe that the City of Adelaide was constructed in 1864, and is the world's oldest surviving clipper ship. It is one of only two clipper ships in the world today, the other being the Cutty Sark, which was built in 1869 and which is moored at Greenwich. It is the only surviving purpose-built passenger sailing ship, and it is a vital icon of the making of modern Australia, particularly its relationship between the UK and the Australian colonies.

For those with a technical bent (I hope they are not too bent) or a technical orientation, the City of Adelaide is of composite construction, with timber planking on a wrought-iron frame, which provides the structural strength of an iron ship combined with the insulation of a timber hull. I do not know whether Mr Palmer has looked up Wikipedia to see how to build his Titanic, but that is how the City of Adelaide was built.

By way of a bit more technical information, unlike iron ships, where copper would cause corrosion in contact with the iron, the timber bottoms of composite ships could be sheathed with copper to prevent fouling. The iron frames meant that composite ships could carry large amounts of canvas sail and therefore were some of the fastest ships afloat.

The City of Adelaide set sail 23 times from England to bring passengers to South Australia—more visits to the fledgling colony than any other vessel before or since. For over quarter of a century, the City of Adelaide carried English, Scottish, Cornish, German, Danish, Irish and other migrants to Australia. I do not think any category has been left out there. Descendents of her passengers can be found throughout Australia. Approximately quarter of a million South Australians, or one in five, can trace an ancestor who migrated or who was a passenger on the City of Adelaide. It also imported trade goods and carried South Australian exports—copper, wool and wheat—on the return voyage.

It proudly bore upon her stern the coat of arms of the City of Adelaide—the city she was built to serve and after which she was named. The people who are involved in bringing the clipper ship to Adelaide are 100 per cent volunteers, and their aim is to save the historic clipper and preserve the ship for future generations by transporting it from Scotland to Australia; this now is underway, after some additional work in, I think, the Netherlands. Their aims are also to protect and secure the ship under cover and on land in Port Adelaide and to develop an interpretive museum and community venue that educates, entertains and involves visitors and provides them with an appreciation of:

the unique construction of the ship;

the traditional skills of the 19th century English shipbuilders;

the traditional skills of the crew of the ship;

the life on board for the passengers and crew;

the trade importance of the clipper ships to the fledgling colony; and

information about the great clipper races from Australia to the European markets.

The aim is to preserve, not restore, the City of Adelaide. Some media reports do not appreciate the important difference in philosophy and erroneously suggest that South Australia aims to see restoration or a full reconstruction. The renaming ceremony was held on 18 October this year, when the clipper's name reverted to the City of Adelaide.

What I am trying to do with this motion is focus attention on all the good work of these people, these volunteers, in bringing the ship back here to preserve it and to ensure that the location is the most appropriate. I am not an expert on matters such as the location, but what I am suggesting is that the state government and its agencies be supportive of the intentions of the group that is bringing the clipper back. They do not want the vessel to be put in some location where it is not prominent or readily visible and able to be enjoyed, if you like, in terms of the range of activities and objectives I mentioned before.

Essentially, this motion is a plea to the government to do all it can to ensure that the ambition of that wonderful group that is bringing the clipper out is fulfilled and that the City of Adelaide will rest in a place that is appropriate and prominent. I ask the government and its agencies to seek to do that.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mrs Geraghty.


[Sitting suspended from 13:00 to 14:00]


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