History of Clipper Ships

It was Admiral Nelson who ordered that all British naval and mercantile ships be painted in black and white.

The Cospatrick

The mercantile fleet may have lost its Frigate-like look and gun ports, but gun ports had still to be painted in contrasting colours.

The Blackwall Frigate Class ships which were very heavily rigged and developed from the East Indiamen were dispatched to New Zealand as emigration increased in the 1840s. It is written that their rounded wooden hulls with square sterns (an example being the Frigate, Southern Cross) and buff-like heavy sterns pushed or heaved through the water rather than cutting through it like the new "Clipper" class of ships based on American designs. These vessels appeared in the 1850s and because of their superior speed and comfort they quickly replaced the older Frigate type of sailing ship. As a consequence sailing ships became larger and iron-framed ships were common by the 1870s.

Their wedge-shaped bows and hollow hull shapes together with better rigging, tall raked masts allowing more sail area, led to very fast sailing times between ports. Many had the distinctive white band along the entire gun deck, hence the look of many of these fine vessels reminds us of the Cutty Sark, built in Scotland in 1869. This distinctive, iron composite Clipper is preserved for all to see in Greenwich, London.

Before steel hulls and steel over wood took over, the slimmer, faster clipper designs gave way to hulls which could carry larger more valuable cargoes of nitrate, wood, sheep meat, cereals etc. Many of these vessels ranged in size from 800 to 3000 tons and were built in Scottish and English ship builders' yards. It took many a forest to provide the wood for these handcrafted vessels. After the Maori wars, many were used for the transport of immigrants to Australia and New Zealand.

The Americans led the way in the design of the early fast Clipper ships, however after the American Civil War many were sold to British shipowners. The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain assisted British ship builders who soon bettered their American cousins by building composite iron and wood Clippers which could carry more sail and cargo. (Most of Britain's forests had been used during the Napoleonic wars.) The faster the ship, the better price the owners got for their cargoes. A good example was tea from China.

The public used to follow every sailing of their favourite Clippers, and bet on them just as we bet on horses today.

Captains would often wager very hefty bets (for those times), on the journey times of vessels back to London from New Zealand. Having disembarked their passengers Clippers would load up with cargo such as wool and wood from the new colony.

With the coming of the steam ships in the 1880s, (developed in the 1850-60s) and the opening of the Suez Canal, November 17th1869, (The Panama Canal opened August 15th 1914) the days of the Clipper ships to Australia and New Zealand was fast approaching its end. The use of all steel hulls also allowed the development of larger steel hulled "windjammers" like the Pamir.

If you have notes on any vessels and would like to be considered for inclusion in this website, please e-mail.