Ilala

Official Number
86254

The Ilala was an iron full-rigged ship built by the Whitehaven Ship Building Co. at Whitehaven, launched on the 27th September 1882. She had a poop deck 50 feet long and a forecastle 27 feet long. Her initial owners were Lowden, Edgar & Co.of Liverpool, later to become W.Lowden & Co. The Ilala made her first voyage from Liverppol to Sydney, under the command of Capt.Thomas Chellew, arriving in February 1883 (see Mariners and Ships in Australian Waters for Crew List).

As with many of Lowden's iron sailing ships (eg. Eskdale, Ladstock) the Ilala was sold to Norwegian owners, though she was not re-named. From 1903 her owners were Hansen & Anderssen, of Larvik, then from 1916 she was owned at Sandefjord.

On the 5th March 1917 the Ilala developed a leak after being dismasted, at 50.30 N, 25.30 W (600 nm W of Ireland), on a voyage from Buenos Aires to Vaksdal with a maize cargo. The vessel was abandoned, the crew being picked up by the British steamship Albanian. The British ship was an armed merchantman, and she sank the hulk by gunfire, considering her to be a navigation hazard.

Name
Year Built
Gross Tons
Length (feet)
Breadth (feet)
Depth (feet)
Masts
Figurehead
Stern
Lloyd's Classn.
Ilala
1882
1375
235.0
37.5
21.5
3
 
 
100 years A1, Special Survey 

Sources :

  1. "Shipbuilding in Whitehaven - A Checklist" by Harry Fancy, Whitehaven Museum (1984)
  2. Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1882-3 (Supplement): Ilala, iron ship, 1375 grt, 1329 nrt, tons, built by the Whitehaven S.B.Co. in September 1882, owned by Lowden, Edgar & Co., registered at Liverpool, master Capt.Chellew.
  3. There are photographs and newspaper reports available at the National Library of Australia and Picture Australia websites.
  4. Photo of available at the San Francisco Public Library website.
  5. University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections - Photo of the crew on the deck of the sailing vessel Ilala, Capt.J.T.Thorburn, at Puget Sound port, Washington, ca.1904.
  6. Mystic Seaport Library Ship Register Search has shipping register details from 1884 to 1900.
  7. Record of American and Foreign Shipping, 1885 - names master as Capt.J.H.Chellew (who later commanded the Netherby), owner as Lowden, Edgar & Co.
  8. Record of American and Foreign Shipping, 1890 - names master as Capt.Parsell, owner as Lowden, Edgar & Co.
  9. Record of American and Foreign Shipping, 1895 - names master as Capt.A.Davies, owner as W.Lowden & Co.
  10. New Zealand Maritime Index - the Ilala arrived at Wellington, NZ, from Liverpool in 1899.
  11. Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1899-1900: Ilala, iron ship, 1375 grt, built by the Whitehaven S.B.Co. in September 1882, official no.86254, signal letters WPJN, owned by W.Lowden & Co., registered at Liverpool, master Capt.D.Timothy,
  12. Norsk Skipsfartshistorisk Selskap (Norwegian Shipping History Society)