HMAS Tingira
Encyclopedia
HMAS Tingira was a training ship operated by the Royal Australia Navy (RAN) between 1911 and 1927. The ship was built in Scotland by Alexander Hall & Co. in 1866 as the passenger clipper
Clipper
A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...
Sobraon; the largest composite-hull sailing vessel
Composite ship
The technique of composite ship construction emerged in the mid-19th century as the final stage in the evolution of fast commercial sailing ships....
ever built. She sailed on an annual migration run between England and Australia until 1891, when she was sold to the colonial government of New South Wales for use as a reformatory ship. The vessel was was then sold to the federal government in 1911, and entered RAN service. Tingira was paid off in 1927, but despite efforts to preserve the ship, was broken up
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
in 1941.
Design and construction
The ship had a tonnage value of . She was 317 feet (96.6 m) in length overall and 272 feet (82.9 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 40 feet (12.2 m), and a mean draught of 16 ft (4.9 m). The vessel was designed as a combination steam-sail ship, but plans to integrate a steam-powered propulsion system were cancelled while the ship was being built. Under full sail, Sobraon could use up to 2 acre (0.809372 ha) of sail, and could achieve 16 knots (8.7 m/s). The ship's hold was 27 feet (8.2 m), and there was provision for livestock. The hull was of composite construction - teak planking over an iron frame. Sobraon was the largest composite-hull sailing vesselComposite ship
The technique of composite ship construction emerged in the mid-19th century as the final stage in the evolution of fast commercial sailing ships....
ever built.
Sobraon was built by Alexander Hall & Co. at Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Scotland. She was given the yard number 239. The ship, named after the Battle of Sobraon
Battle of Sobraon
The Battle of Sobraon was fought on 10 February 1846, between the forces of the British East India Company and the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of the Sikh Empire of the Punjab...
, was launched in November 1866.
Sobraon
The ship was built for Shaw, Lowther, Maxton & Co., but was initially operated by the firm Devitt and MooreDevitt and Moore
Devitt and Moore were a British shipping company formed by Thomas Henry Devitt and Joseph Moore in 1836. They became shipowners and entered the passenger and cargo trade to Australia managing and owning many clipper ships such as the City of Adelaide and the South Australian. With the advent of...
, who purchased the vessel in 1870. Sobraon was used on the England to Australia migration route, and made one trip per year, departing England in September, The maiden voyage departed England on 9 September 1866 and reaching Australia on 4 February 1867. Initially, voyages ended in Sydney, but from 1872 onwards, Sobraon began sailing to Melbourne instead. The ship's high speed, along with onboard facilities like a water condenser, 3 tonnes (3 LT) ice chamber, and fresh milk daily from onboard livestock, made Sobraon one of the more popular migration ships. On the first three return voyages, Sobraon would take on a cargo of Indian tea and race other ships back to England to deliver the first cargo. After the third voyage, the ship was instead loaded with cargoes of Australian wheat and wool for the return leg.
On 14 October 1890, Sobraon sailed on her final voyage to Australia. She reached Melbourne on 4 January 1891, was sold later that month to the New South Wales Government, then towed to Sydney. In the hands of the colony's government, Sobraon was assigned to the State Welfare Department and refitted for use as a reformatory ship, where delinquent boys were trained in the skills for a maritime career. Moored off Cockatoo Island
Cockatoo Island
Cockatoo Island may refer to the following places in Australia:*Cockatoo Island, New South Wales in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales...
and operated under the designation "Nautical School Ship Sobraon", over 4,000 boys were hosted and trained across a 20-year period.
HMAS Tingira
The Australian federal governmentGovernment of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
purchased the ship in 1911 for use as a training ship for the fledgling Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
(RAN). She was refitted, commissioned into the RAN as HMAS Tingira (an aboriginal word for "open sea") on 25 April 1912, and moored in Rose Bay
Rose Bay, New South Wales
Rose Bay is a harbourside, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rose Bay is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Waverley Municipal Council and Woollahra Council .Rose Bay has views of both the Sydney...
. Up to 250 boys between the ages of 14 1/2 and 16 could be trained at any time, although the trainee complement rarely exceeded 200. Between 1912 and 1927, 3,158 boys were trained for naval service.
Fate
Tingira was paid off on 30 June 1927, and laid up in Berry's Bay. In 1929, the ship was sold to a private owner, but he did not put her to any use before passing away in 1935. Tingira was then purchased by Major Friere (a retired British Army officer) in 1936, who was working with Louisa Ankin to preserve the ship as a national relic. Two years later, the ship was sold to a ship breakerShip breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
by mortgagees; Friere and Ankin attempted to repurchase the ship, but were unsuccessful. Tingira was broken up in 1941.
Teenage trainees at the RAN's Junior Recruit Training Establishment (which operated at Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
naval base from 1960 to 1984) wore shoulder flashes bearing the name "Tingira" as a historical link with the training ship. Tingira Memorial Park, a small park on the Rose Bay waterfront, commemorates HMAS Tingira. The park was established in two phases; the first opening in 1962, the second completed in 1977.