Polly Woodside Ticket in Melbourne

Built in Belfast in 1885, the three-masted cargo vessel was built to carry coal and nitrate between England and South America, sailing around the Cape Horn 16 times.

The ship took around six months to build and was made from iron, which had become the favoured material for ship builders since the 1830s.

The Barque was built for the W.J. Woodside Co. owned by William Woodside a ‘dynamic entrepreneur’ and was named after his wife Marian (Polly).

Sailing ships had ruled the seas and the transition to steam meant faster and more reliable travel. When the trade in coal/nitrate diminished the Polly Woodside discharged cargoes wherever they could be found. The ship was sold in 1904 and renamed Rona, eventually converted into a coal hulk to refuel steam ships in the Port of Melbourne.

In 1968, after being laid up at South Wharf the ship was handed over to the National Trust for the cost of 1 cent, while plans were drawn up for its preservation.

You can join the crew, come aboard for a tour of the ship and discover what life was like on a tall ship sailing the seven seas.