SA Maritime Museum: The Last of the Windjammers

The scene is the South Australian town of Port Victoria in the 1930s and the windjammers are moored ready to take grain to the markets of Europe. The majority of these majestic sailing ships were owned by this man Gustaf Erikson from Mariehamn in the Aland Pro Orlun Islands off the coast of Finland. From the 1920s until as late as 1949, Erikson's fleet of windjammers regularly made the run from this small island around Cape Horn and across the world to Spencer Gulf. They came to collect our grain and in doing so established links between South Australia and Finland which still live today. It was hard and dangerous work and by the time these sailors reached Yorke Peninsula they were keen to come ashore. The Maritime Museums latest Exhibition tells the story of the Great Grain races in which this trophy, donated by the International Paint Company, was offered for the first ship to return to England from the ports of Spencer Gulf. "People started betting who would be the first ship in England and who would be the fastest and so on. It became very interesting for the general public and papers all over the world were writing about this." The fastest voyage was that of the Parma in 1933, which completed the passage in 83 days, the slowest took five and a half months. Beating the boredom of a long voyage resulted in some intricate creations like this picture frame, the ultimate rubic's cube for a becalmed sailor. It was made from interlocking pieces of wood without glue. Henrik Karlsson - the Director of Aland Maritime Museum, is the driving force behind this exhibition and his connection with South Australia goes back a long way. "My great grandfather was a captain, my grandfather was a captain, the ship's bell from my great grandfathers ship is in this museum and when I went to Port Victoria two years ago the first thing I saw in the Maritime Museum was my grandfather's signature in the notice of readiness he left with the port master. Fantastic. It felt like coming home. At the time of the Great Grain races, these vessels were really dinosaurs from the era of sail but they managed to survive because they could be purchased cheaply. The time taken to complete the epic voyage also meant our grain had plenty of time to ripen before being unloaded on the other side of the world. The last of the Windjammers Exhibition is on at the Maritime Museum in Lipson Street, Port Adelaide until July the 18th. For more information you can email info@postcards.sa.com.au