Name Santiago Acquired 1890 Acquired Appx. 1900 Launched 1856 Tons burthen 412,800 kg Builder Henry Balfour | Acquired 1888 Port of registry Adelaide Out of service 1945 Length 49 m Place built Methil, United Kingdom | |
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The Santiago was a 455-ton barque launched in 1856. It was built by Henry Balfour of Methil, Fife for the Liverpool shipping company Balfour Williamson. It sailed mainly between Liverpool and Chile, but also to Australia. Its remnant hull which lies in a ships' graveyard in South Australia is considered to be 'the oldest intact iron hull sailing vessel in the world.'
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Career
After service with Balfour Williamson, she was sold in 1888 to a German company, and in 1890 to Norwegians. In 1901, the Adelaide Steamtug Company purchased the ship and sailed it from Newcastle, New South Wales to Port Adelaide with a cargo of coal. She was subsequently dismasted and used as a lighter. On 21 December 1907, she was used by Adelaide Steamtug Company in association with other vessels to recover the steamer Jessie Darling which had collided with and sunk on top of the unmarked wreck of the barque Norma on 21 April 1907. The Norma had been sunk after a collision with the ship Ardencraig, several hours earlier at the Semaphore Anchorage. In 1918 she was sold to the Adelaide Steam Co. and was used for occasional salvage work and lightering until 1945, when it was abandoned.
Fate
On 19 August 1945, she was towed to the eastern extent of the Port River’s North Arm, and became the last vessel to be abandoned in what is now known as the Garden Island Ships' Graveyard. In 1981, the Santiago was declared as an historic shipwreck under the South Australian Historic Shipwrecks Act 1981. The wreck is officially located at 34°48′36″S 138°32′24″E. She has been the subject of study by various parties including the Society for Underwater Historical Research in 1978 and by the Department of Environment and Heritage on an ongoing basis since 1981.