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Captain Slocum and his schooner SPRAY during his visit to Sydney in 1896
Captain Slocum and his schooner SPRAY during his visit to Sydney in 1896

Captain Slocum and his schooner SPRAY during his visit to Sydney in 1896

Photographer (Australian, 1877 - 1951)
Date1896
Object number00002617
NameGlass plate negative
MediumEmulsion on glass
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Bruce Stannard
DescriptionA handwritten note accompanying this image reads: 'SPRAY arrived in Sydney 9 October 1896 and left on December 1896. Capt Joshua Slocum aboard SPRAY in Sydney 188?. SPRAY's new suit of sails - seen here, were given to Slocum by Sydney merchant and open boat enthusiast Mark Foy'.
HistoryAmerican Joshua Slocum was the first man to sail alone around the world. Slocum completed the feat in his schooner SPRAY in just over three years and published a book on his epic adventure titled 'Sailing Alone Around the World'. In this book he wrote of Sydney's animated harbour scene and noted with admiration the skill and number of local yachting enthusiasts.

Slocum gained much of his knowledge of the sea during his career as a merchant seaman. In 1871, while he was serving as the master of the barque WASHINGTON, Slocum put in at Sydney Harbour. During this visit he married Virginia Albertina Walker, a young american woman whose family had migrated to Australia during the gold rush. Virginia often sailed with Slocum and the couple went on to have seven children.

At sixty-five years of age Slocum disappeared in SPRAY in 1909 during a voyage from the United States to South America.
SignificanceThe Hall photographic collection provides an important pictorial record of recreational boating in Sydney Harbour from the 1890s to the 1930s. The collection documents the lively sailing scene in Sydney during this period and features images of vessels ranging from large racing and cruising yachts to the great array of skiffs and the emerging technologies of motorboats. Images of the many spectators and crowds who supported and followed the sailing races are also included in this visual record.