SS City of Launceston
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Artist's impression of the City of Launceston sinking
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| History | |
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 Australia
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| Name: | City of Launceston |
| Namesake: | Launceston, Tasmania |
| Owner: | Launceston & Melbourne Steamship Company |
| Port of registry: | Launceston, Tasmania |
| Builder: | Blackwood & Gordon, Paisley |
| Cost: | £17,000 |
| Yard number: | 55 |
| Launched: | 4 April 1863 |
| In service: | October 1863 |
| Identification: | official number: 32240 |
| Fate: | Sank after collision, 19 November 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | cargo and passenger ship |
| Tonnage: | |
| Length: | 177 ft 2 in (54.00 m) |
| Beam: | 24 ft 5 in (7.44 m) |
| Depth: | 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 cylinder 80 hp (60 kW) steam engine, Single screw |
| Sail plan: | Schooner-rigged on two masts |
| Capacity: | 188 passengers |
SS City of Launceston was a 368 GRT steamship operated by the Launceston and Melbourne Steam Navigation Company from 1863, which had an early role in colonial steam shipping as the forerunner of the modern Bass Strait ferry service between Tasmania and Victoria. It was sunk in Port Phillip Bay after a collision with another ship on 19 November 1865.
The iron-hulled ship was built at the yard of Blackwood & Gordon in Paisley, Scotland, for the Launceston & Melbourne Steamship Company, at a cost of £17,000, and launched on 4 April 1863. At 368 gross register tons (GRT) and 177 ft (54 m) long she was built to carry passengers and cargo, and was powered by an 80 nhp steam engine as well as sails on two masts.
The ship sailed from Glasgow on 6 June 1863, bound for Melbourne, arriving there on 16 September. Once at Melbourne, while undergoing an overhaul preparatory to her first commercial voyage, she was altered from a brig to a schooner rig. As the flagship of the Launceston and Melbourne Steam Navigation Company, no expense was spared in her fitting-out.
On 21 October 1863 the ship made a trial voyage from Launceston to George Town, with between 450 and 500 invited passengers aboard, who were lavishly entertained with free wines and refreshments, and music provided by the Volunteer Artillery brass band. The ship left launceston at 7.30 a.m. and made the crossing in 2¾ hours. At George Town the passengers went ashore to stroll around the town and on the beach, and were provided with sumptuous lunch before the ship set sail again at 3.30 p.m., arriving back at launceston by 6.00 p.m.
For the following two years she carried passengers, mail and cargo across the Strait, without incident.
At 7.20 p.m. on 19 November 1865 the City of Launceston sailed from Port Melbourne under the command of Captain William Thompson. She carried a crew of 23, and 25 passengers, and a general cargo that included mail, luggage, drapery, brandy, port, rum, cigars, tea, boots, and sheepwash. The evening was bright and cloudless, the seas calm.
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