This month of July the Sticky Beaks bus left the Mosh at 09.00 in cold damp weather conditions.
With10 Sticky Beaks aboard we headed off via Mt Barker and the Freeway, destination being Port Adelaide.
A couple of Crows supporters on board (including me) were a little apprehensive about traveling into enemy territory.
A couple of Port supporters were excitingly chatting away about how great their AFL team was going in this year’s competition.
The chest beating soon stopped when I (the driver) pulled off the road into a safe parking area city side of the Heysen tunnels for our coffee break and a stretch of the old bones.
Being booked in at 11.30am to Sticky beak over the “CLIPPER” ship ‘CITY OF ADELAIDE’ we moved off again
Arriving at 11.20am we were met by a very friendly Volunteer who then escorted us over the almighty CLIPPER while giving us a running commentary of its history.
Built in Sunderland UK in 1864 the City of Adelaide undertook 23 return voyages between London and Adelaide. It also carried immigrants from many other locations including England, Scotland, Cromwell, Ireland Germany, and Scandinavia to Adelaide, the city after which it was named.
With the arrival of Steamships it was sold into the North American Timber trade working for 6 years as a cargo ship.
She was moved on again and converted into a Isolation Hospital near Southampton for 30 years before being taken over by the Royal Navy renaming her HMS CARRICK and used as a drill ship and as a Royal Navel Volunteers reserve club rooms on the river Clyde in Scotland.
Under mysterious circumstances she sunk and was left in a muddy grave. She was finally recovered and placed on a private slip in Irvine where it lay for 14 years.
A $6 million campaign by Adelaide Volunteers to save her, and after heavy negotiations and organization she was transported by a heavy lift ship then the 600 ton Clipper was lifted by giant cranes onto a barge and towed all the way back to Adelaide arriving in 2014.
The CLIPPER ship CITY OF ADELAIDE now proudly sits
on dry land at Dock 2 Port Adelaide where Volunteers are working to restoring this historical Clipper.For more info Google: City of Adelaide Clipper Ship. On the way home we were encouraged to pop in to the Thebarton footy oval (Port powers home ground) but the call for the soft serve icecreams from Macdonalds was greater. A great bunch of guys being
George, William, Ron, Norman, Mel, John, Wayne, Kevin, Rob and Gerry.
Next month the Sticky Beaks are off to a Motor Museum at Mypolonga. If you are interested please contact the MOSH but don’t delay as there are only 10 seats.
Cheers,