Star of Finland. ex Kaiulani
Date
2008
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Texas Tech University Libraries
Abstract
Ship Name:Star of Finland; Sailed: 1899-?; Type: Steel 3-masted bark; Built by: Bath, Maine by Arthur Sewall & Co.; Dimensions: 225.7' x 43.3' x 20'; Tonnage: 1699 tons.
Description
Star of Finland came down the ways as Kaiulani, named after the daughter of the last king of Hawaii. Earlier in 1899, the year of Kaiulani’s launch, the daughter died. Bought by Williams, Dimond & Company, Kaiulani carried sugar and coal back and forth to Hawaii until 1910. Purchased by the Alaska Packers Association, Kaiulani became Star of Finland and entered the Alaska salmon cannery trade voyaging north every summer until 1927. Star of Finland was laid up in Oakland until the mid 1930s. As the Alaska Packers Association sold off ship after ship, Star of Finland became the sole survivor of a once large fleet of sailing ships and there was some talk at the company’s offices of keeping Star of Finland as a museum ship or souvenir of former glory. Ever conscious of the bottom line, however, this plan, if indeed it ever rose to become a “plan” never blossomed beyond an idea. Star of Finland did perform in the film “Souls at Sea” in 1937. In 1939 the ship was purchased by D. H. Bates of Portland, Oregon, but left in ordinary at Alameda. In 1941, Star of Finland was bought once again by Hammond Lumber Company, renamed Kaiulani and sent to sea with lumber on a voyage to South Africa. From Durban, Kaiulani loaded explosives for Australia and after a trying voyage arrived in Hobart, where the crew refused to sail until a competent afterguard could be secured. The company refused to acquiesce. The crew was jailed for mutiny, released after two weeks--but by then events in the Pacific had upstaged these grievances. The U.S. Army purchased Kaiulani, dismasted the ship, and it became a barge tethered to a tow up and down the Australia and New Guinea coasts. The end of the war found the ship as a lumber barge in Manila, where it resided for many years. As the last surviving American-built square rigger, Kaiulani was the object of several failed attempts to purchase then restore the ship first at San Francisco, then Washington DC. None was successful, however, and the ship sank near Manila years ago.
Rights
Availability
Unrestricted.
Keywords
Ships, Merchant Ships