Historical information

This photograph was taken in about 1924 as it approached Newcastle, New South Wales before the sailing ship Monkbarns was converted for use as a hulk.

The steel-hulled, 3-masted fully rigged ship was built in 1895 by Archibald McMillan & Son at Dumbarton in Scotland. It was 267 feet long, 40.1 feet wide and 23.5 feet deep. In 1914 John Stewart & Co. owned ten sailing vessels, one of which was the Monkbarns, but by the end of the first World War, the fleet had only four vessels survived the war, including the Monkbarns.

The Monkbarns traded across the world. Some of the destinations included Port Adelaide, Table Bay in South Africa, Liverpool, Sydney, London and New York. Her last commercial voyage was in 1926. Overall, the ship traded for 32 years before it was converted in Spain in 1927 for use as a hulk for carrying coal.

There were several owners of the ship over its lifetime. They were
- 1895, first owner, Charles Webster Corsar, Liverpool
- 1902, the owner was D. Corsar & Son, Liverpool
- 1909, owned by John Hardie & Sons, Glasgow
- 1911, John Stewart & Co., Liverpool
- by1915, James A. Young, London
- 1926, L.H. Wilson, Liverpool
- 1927, Ballener Espando (Brunn & van Lippe, Tonsberg).

Physical description

Photograph, black and white, of the ship "Monkbarns" , a steel hulled sailing ship under sail, bow facing viewer. Rectangular wooden frame has an inner gilt frame around a wide, natural bark matte. The lover edge of the matte has a decorative rectangular cut-out surrounding an inscription with the ship's name. On the back is a handwritten inscription about the ship and the presentation of the photograph..

Inscriptions & markings

Front: "MONKBARNS"
Reverse handwritten in pen:
"PRESENTED TO A.F. WATSON / FOR S.S.V. BY / CAPT. F.K. BAXTER / 74 VERDON ST/ WILLIAMSTOWN "
Reverse: "STEEL SHIP MONKBARNS / 1771 TONS REGISTER / 267 x 40' X 27'2" Draft / Build 1895 by McMillan, Dumbarton, Scotland / Converted to a hulk in /Spain 1927. / Photo taken in - Converted from NEWCASTLE N.S.W. about 1924"