Parknook

Official Number
69720

Parknook, courtesy of The Beacon, Whitehaven. The Parknook was an iron barque built by the Whitehaven Shipbuilding Company at Whitehaven in June 1876. She was owned by David Borrowdale of Whitehaven, and her first voyage was from Whitehaven to San Francisco with a coal cargo, under the command of Capt.Richard Thompson.

In 1887 the Parknook carried emigrants to Australia.

The Parknook was sold to Norwegian owners in 1898, and by 1927 was registered at New York, renamed Cecilia M.Dunlap. She entered the coastal trade on the Atlantic seaboard, and subsequently was converted to a schooner barge. She foundered on the 12th September 1931 in 60 feet of water during heavy seas, whilst under tow from Pennsylvania to New Jersey with about 10,000 barrels of oil as cargo. 

Name
Year Built
Gross Tons
Length (feet)
Breadth (feet)
Depth (feet)
Masts
Figurehead
Stern
Lloyd's Classn.
Parknook
1876
 835
198.7 
 32.2
19.5
3 
Male
 
100 years A1, Special Survey 

Sources :

  1. "Shipbuilding in Whitehaven - A Checklist" by Harry Fancy, Whitehaven Museum (1984)
  2. Photo from the collection of  The Beacon, Whitehaven.
  3. Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1878-9: Parknook, iron barque, 835 grt, 793 nrt, built by the Whitehaven S.B.Co. in June 1876, official number 69720, signal letters PRTJ, registered at Whitehaven, owned by D.Borrowdale, master Capt.R.Thompson.
  4. 1887 crew and passenger list from Passenger Ships arriving in Australian Ports
  5. Very good photo of the Parknook in the collection of the State Library of South Australia (refer to the website of the National Library of Australia for this and newspaper reports).
  6. Mercantile Navy List 1896: Parknook, barque, 793 tons, built at Whitehaven in 1876, official number 69720, signal letters PRTJ, registered at Whitehaven, managing owner Robert Conaway, of 29 Tower Buildings West, Water Street, Liverpool.
  7. British registry closed in 1898 (National Archives, ref.BT 110/63/31).
  8. Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1899-1900: Parknook, iron barque, 835 grt, 793 nrt, built by the Whitehaven S.B.Co. in June 1876, registered at Farsund, Norway, owned by GC.Brövig.
  9. Information posted on the Rootsweb Cumberland-L List.
  10. Information from Bob Millman, Queensland, Australia.
  11. New Jersey Historical Divers Association holds plans of this vessel.