Footnotes

Literature
Basil Lubbock and Jack Spurling, The Best of Sail, Patrick Stephens Ltd. (Cambridge, 1975), p.85-90, illustrated opposite p.86


Lubbock describes the Thomas Stephens as one of the finest ships ever launched on the Mersey. She was an iron fullrigged ship designed for the old Black Ball Line to carry passengers to Australia. She was built in Liverpool by William H. Potter & Co and was owned by Thomas Stephens & Sons of London. Unfortunately she never actually sailed under the Black Ball flag due to the collapse of the Line just before she was launched in July 1869. In 1871, after two passages from Liverpool to Melbourne, she was chartered to Bethell & Co's London line of Australian packets.

The Thomas Stephens was considered a big ship in 1869 but she only registered 1,507 tons. She measured 263 feet in length, 38 feet 2 inches in breadth and 23 feet 1 inch in depth. She was noted for her lofty rig with double top sails, single topgallant sails and three skysails, later changed to double top-gallant sails and a main skysail. The figurehead was a very good likeness of her owner dressed in top-hat. The hull was originally painted in a grey colour but in 1875 was repainted black with painted ports.

The Thomas Stephens had a great career. During the ten years she was running to Melbourne before coming to New Zealand she made several remarkable passages out and home. Captain R. Richards, who took command of her when she was launched, on his arrival at Dunedin reported he had made three runs to Melbourne in 64, 65 and 66 day pilot to pilot. Other records from Liverpool to Melbourne were:—1871, 68 days; 1872, 72 days; 1873, 74 days; 1874, 73 days; 1878, 77 days—on one occasion when on her homeward run from Melbourne she covered the distance to Cape Horn in 16 days.

In 1896 she was sold to the Portuguese Government and under the name of Pero de Alemguer sailed the seas as a training ship. In 1914 she was laid up in the Tagus, but a year later she was once more fitted out and sent across to America. She arrived safely but on her return passage to Lisbon in January 1916 was either overwhelmed by a winter gale, a floating mine or a Hun torpedo and was posted as missing.