Below is our original proposal for returning the City of Adelaide to Sunderland for restoration and display. Since these proposals were first conceived events both in Sunderland and to the future of the City of Adelaide mean that certain aspects of these proposals require re-evaluation. The original proposals are therefore detailed below only as a matter of historical record.
 

The 750 mile voyage from the Clyde to the Wear could not be made with any degree of safety with the ship being towed "on her own bottom". The vessel has no watertight compartments, and if she were to be holed by, for example, a semi-submerged container, she would founder. She must therefore be transported on a towed barge or pontoon, which can be submerged under her, and pumped out to lift her clear of the water. To reach a site to allow this to happen , though, she needs to be towed about two miles down the River Irvine, to open water. This will entail jacking the vessel up a small amount to effect repairs to the cradle and rails, sealing the holes in the hull below and up to one metre above the waterline, and fitting pumps. A hard-core bund at the end of the slipway will have to be removed, and a channel dredged. SMH has been in contact with Mr. John Cleator, of Marine Consultants International (UK) Ltd., who has great experience of lifting and towage operations. He is currently in the process of identifying a barge suitable for 'City of Adelaide' and may well have found one belonging to the MOD, about to be sold at auction. Towing around the North of Scotland should obviously not be attempted in the winter months.

 Where? 

Sunderland Maritime Heritage believe that the ideal long-term site for the vessel is in the dry-dock at the bottom of Pann's Bank. This is in the heart of Sunderland, on the south-side of the river Wear and just below the Wearmouth Bridge.

This was previously the site of Austin's yard. The vessel would be highly visible to thousands of people everyday. Adjacent to this site is a space which could be utilised for a visitor centre, museum, and other facilities, as well as visitor parking. The site is near St Mary's Car Park and a new Metro station, and is virtually opposite the original yard in which she was built.

The dock has not been operational for some time but has recently been surveyed at the request of Sunderland Maritime Heritage by Messrs WSP of Gateshead and found essentially to be in good order. A very major decision which will have to be made concerns the type of gate, if any, to be fitted to the dock. The vessel could be put in the dock and sealed in with a wall (ie. a 'permanent dry-dock' as is used for The Cutty Sark). Alternatives include working dock gates, a caisson barrier, or a shutter which would need to be lifted out by crane. These alternatives would allow her to be floated out as required, which would enable her to be brought out into the river to be turned around, to ensure an equal degree of weathering on each side, or even to be put on her pontoon transportation further afield. If she is made watertight, preservation of the hull may be more assured if she were to be floating.

The cost of new gates has been estimated to be in the region of £1m. The cost of a shutter has been estimated at £0.5m. The dock needs to be dredged and samples taken to ascertain the presence, or otherwise, of toxic industrial compounds. Should these exist, safe disposal of the dredgings will be necessary.

In the short term it may be more practical to put the vessel in an alternative position perhaps in the South Dock, should that be available, for initial restoration work. She could even be kept on her floating pontoon until the permanent berth is ready and secure.

 How? 

This project cannot take place without the whole-hearted, long-term support of the people of Sunderland, and Sunderland City Council, in particular. Immediate substantial funding is required. The Council has offered help, advice and support to SMH. We are grateful to Sunderland City Council for the agreement of our proposed use of the dry-dock and surrounding area as described, known as Pann's Bank. We are and will be in the process of making applications to whatever other sources of funding as may be available.

Restoration of the dock has been estimated to cost in excess of £1,000,000. The building of adjacent structures in keeping with the grandeur of the vessel will not be cheap.

The cost of acquisition of the vessel which would include legal costs and possibly some contribution to the debt she has incurred, needs also to include the cost of a 2-3 day dredging operation to allow her to reach open water. Mr. Fred Walker has estimated subsequent costs as follows:

These costs exclude the costs of workshop and office premises, and the administration and publicity aspects of the exercise, which will have to be put in place at early stage. The more obvious potential sources of funding are the Heritage Lottery Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, various other Regional funding bodies and hopefully local business interests. Other possible sources are the shipping industry, and Australian sympathisers, either Governmental, corporate, or individual.

As a guide we would consider the project viable if we can attract £2.5 million very soon, with the reasonable prospect of receiving a further £5 million over a subsequent 5-year period.

 Why? 

Sentimental nostalgia is not an effective long-term driving force and it is important to be objective about what the vessel is, what she represents, and what she can achieve for the people of Sunderland and elsewhere.

She is herself a thing of beauty, and an antique, so is inherently valuable. She is an important and inspiring symbol of Sunderland's 600 year history of shipbuilding, not only the sole survivor of ships built by William Pile, a recognised high quality, innovative builder, but the only survivor of the huge number of sailing vessels built in the North East in the nineteenth century. She is of major historical importance, and of national importance specifically to Britain and to Australia. She is one of 46 vessels listed in the Core Collection identified by the National Historic Ships Committee, which reported in February 2001. She is the only Core Collection vessel not restored, or under active restoration.

She is unique as the last remaining example of a composite-built  passenger sailing ship, the world's oldest composite ship, and Britain's oldest clipper ship. She is of World Heritage standing. In terms of the number of peoples' lives she influenced, both directly and indirectly through the subsequent generations descended from her passengers, she is more important than 'Cutty Sark', which has been visited by more than twelve million people.

She can provide opportunities for people in many ways, the key being involvement. The restoration project, although supervised by a professional workforce, could include contributions from volunteers from within the region and from far afield, hopefully including Australia. Residential 'holidays' could be organised similar to those run by the Jubilee Sailing Trust in the building of their latest ship 'Tenacious', much of the work on that project being carried out by disabled people.

Formal training placements could be offered for woodworking, metalworking, and rigging skills. Educational and research opportunities exist from the earliest stage of the project, to the distant future.

For Sunderland as a whole she will be the focus of local pride and a highly visible and popular tourist attraction, with the potential for contributing greatly to other forms of commerce through identification with the ship. Ships such as this provided the only link between continents 150 years ago. 'City of Adelaide' can still provide links: firstly, between the people of the region and their history in the awe-inspiring industry of shipbuilding; secondly, between people of the present in different parts of the globe, because of her influence in the past, and the interest she raises now; and finally she can link the present with the future, by inspiring the vision.

The image above is a computer generated image of how she would
look in the dry-dock at the bottom of Pann's Bank.

 Sustainability. 

No-one could guarantee the long-term sustainability of any project such as this; however, we feel that this project contains so many meaningful ingredients when applied to this part of the world, that it is as likely to succeed in the long term, as any similar venture. The most important aspect is the huge population base of the region, a large proportion of which will identify with this product of local industry. Communications and access to her proposed site are very good, with a good road network and the position of the new Metro station. The National Glass Centre, and the expanding and popular City Centre, are bound to attract more tourism in the future. The historical importance of the ship and her local, national and international significance (see below) are bound to appeal widely. We consider this project to be potentially a major asset to both Sunderland, and the Northeast region.

Thanks to Brian Walker and Tom Taylor for use of images on this page.