Enterprize | Tall Ship |
The Enterprize is a replica of John Pascoe Fawkner's Schooner (tall ship) Enterprize - the ship that sailed from Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1835 with the first permanent white settlers that started what has become the City of Melbourne.
The ship today is a replica, and the first square rigged commercial sailing ship to be built in Melbourne in over 120 years. She was built so that a significant part of Melbourne's history would be preserved and accessible to the people of Victoria.
Enterprize now gives people of all ages the opportunity to experience life on board a nineteenth century sailing ship. The Enterprize Ship Trust is a not-for-profit organisation and is dependent on sailing income and donations for its continued operation.
As a Not for Profit organisation, our 100+ volunteers and a handful of staff provide an 1830's sailing experience for all with an adventurous spirit and an interest in Melbourne's - and Victoria's - maritime past.
The Ship can be chartered for a few hours or a few days, catering for up to 45 guests for day charters and 10 for overnight sails. We also run public sails throughout the year around Port Phillip Bay and ports around the southeast coast of Australia, see our sailing schedule for details.
Enterprize
Enterprize is an all-timber, carvel planked, two masted, topsail schooner. She is single decked, square transomed, with crossing yards on her foremast.
She has been traditionally constructed using Australian and New Zealand grown timbers. The original Enterprize was built in Hobart in 1830 by William Harvey and William Pender as part of the early coastal trading fleets of southern Australia. At that time most bulk cargo was transported by sea. Enterprize carried cargo such as coal and, on one occasion, over 180 sheep.
In April 1835, Enterprize was purchased by John Pascoe Fawkner to search for a suitable place to found a new settlement in the Port Phillip District. Enterprize sailed from Launceston on 21st July 1835, but only travelled as far as George Town in northern Tasmania, where Fawkner was forced to remain by his creditors. Enterprize then departed George Town on 1st August 1835 under Captain Peter Hunter.
The Enterprize is a replica of the ship that brought the first white settlers to Melbourne in 1835 and is a member of the Maritime Museums of Victoria.
The Original Enterprize 1830-1845
On board was Captain John Lancey, Master Mariner (Fawkner's representative); George Evans, builder; William Jackson and Robert Marr, carpenters; Evan Evans, servant to George Evans; and Pascoe Fawkner's servants, Charles Wise, a ploughman; Thomas Morgan, general servant; James Gilbert, a blacksmith and Gilbert's pregnant wife Mary.
Searching for a place to settle, the party looked first at Westernport and then at the eastern side of Port Phillip. They eventually found the Yarra River, and after warping (hauling on ropes attached to the river bank) the ship upstream, they moored the Enterprize alongside the river bank at the foot of the present day William Street. On Sunday August 30th the settlers disembarked and at once began to put up their tents, build their store and clear some land for growing vegetables. Permanent settlement at Melbourne had begun.
After this, Enterprize continued operating as a coastal trading vessel for a number of years. She eventually disappeared off the shipping register in 1847, having been wrecked on the bar of the Richmond River in northern New South Wales, with the loss of two lives.
The Replica Enterprize 1997-Present
The Replica Enterprize is held in trust for the people of Victoria by the Enterprize Ship Trust.
Construction: It was determined that the replica Enterprize would be as close to the original ship as possible. This was not easy, as there were no copies of the original plans. However, painstaking work by naval architects and shipwrights using information gathered from the few paintings and sketches of the original Enterprize and shipping registration details from the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, resulted in the plans which were used for the project.
It was also determined that the replica would use the same materials that were used in the original ship where possible. This meant the sails would not be machine sewn from modern synthetic sailcloth, but hand sewn from flax cloth imported from Scotland. The standing and running rigging would not use modern materials of stainless steel wire and synthetic rope but natural hemp fibre, imported from Holland, protected with coatings of Stockholm tar.
Wooden boat building methods have not changed very much over the years and so craftsmen with traditional skills were acquired. Much of the timber used in the construction of Enterprize was recycled from a variety of sources.
Specifications
Her keel was laid in 1991 alongside the Polly Woodside, and construction was completed in 1997, when she was launched in Williamstown on August 30. Her keel is a single piece of blue ironbark, fifteen inches by thirteen inches and forty-five feet long.
Her stem, sternpost and deadwoods are 100-year-old ironbark wharf timbers, supplied by Nullabor timbers of Echuca.
She is built on laminated bent ribs. The outer three laminations are New Zealand Kauri, salvaged from the staves of old brewing vats. The top lamination is celery top Pine, as is her deck planking.
Her hull is planked in Jarrah below the waterline. This timber was once the floor joists of a wool store in Fremantle, WA. Above the waterline, her hull is planked in Huon Pine.
Her floor timbers are Jarrah, salvaged from Station Pier, Melbourne.
Her stringers and beamshelf are Kauri.
Her bulwarks are Cyprus Pine from the Royal Melbourne Golf Course.
Her masts are Californian Redwood, planted by Melbourne Water in the 1920's as an experimental timber crop at Kinglake.
Her spars and deck beams are Oregon.
She is bronze and copper fastened.
Dimensions
Length over deck 16.1m (53')
Length overall 27m (88'6")
Beam 5.4m (18'4")
Draft 3m (10')
Height Mast to Deck 17.7m (58')
Height Mast to Waterline 19.1m (62'6")
Displacement 72 tonnes
Sail Area 185 sq. metres (2000 sq ft)
Engine Cummins 613 T Diesel
Freeboard 1.4 metres (4'7")
Public Sails
The Enterprize (replica) offers a range of sails from evening sails to overnight sails.
These sails depart from Docklands, Williamstown, Geelong, Rye and Port Arlington.
For a longer voyage, the Enterprize offers sails to Portland, Westernport Bay, Wilson's Promontory and Tasmania.
Good Reading
Foundation of Melbourne History of Melbourne [Long] History of Melbourne [Short] John Pascoe Fawkner Enterprize Wharf
❊ Address ❊
⊜ 2 North Wharf Road, Docklands 3008 View Map
✆ Telephone: 03 9621 1294
❊ Web Links ❊
➼ Enterprize | Tall Ship
➼ www.enterprize.org
➼ Williamstown Martime Association
❊ Also See... ❊
➼ Enterprize Tall Ship | Harbour Sailing from Williamstown
➼ Enterprize Wharf
➼ Enterprize Wharf
Disclaimer: Check with the venue (web links) before making plans, travelling or buying tickets.
Accessibility: Contact the venue for accessibility information.
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