As reported in RN 109 the City of Adelaide built in Sunderland in 1864, has been rotting away on a slipway in Irvine, Ayrshire, since May 1992 while a debate has continued about her future.
The Scottish Maritime Museum has been unable to raise funds for its restoration and had proposed ‘scientific deconstruction to solve the problem that they could no longer retain the mooring where the ship was stored. No Heritage Lottery Fund money was available, either for any preservation plan or, Scottish Maritime Museum’s proposed ‘scientific deconstruction.
Options for the ship include moving it to Sunderland, Adelaide in Australia, a different location in Scotland, or a managed deconstruction of the vessel.
The vessel, also known as the SV Carrick, is five years older than the Cutty Sark and voyaged annually from London to Adelaide with passengers and a cargo of wool. Her sailing days ended in 1893 and she was purchased by Southampton Corporation for use as a sanatorium and floating isolation hospital following a cholera outbreak.
Last year Sunderland councillor Peter Maddison staged an occupation on board the vessel to highlight a campaign by the Sunderland City of Adelaide Recovery Foundation (Scarf) to bring it back to the city.