RMM1598_1

Pot

Fullrigger the Harbinger was launched in Greenock, Scotland in 1876. She was built to carry passengers and freight quickly from London to Adelaide, Australia. Her first-class accommodation put up 30 passengers, and there was further room for 200 migrants.

The ship was sold to Rauma in 1898. J. K. Nordlund was appointed Master. In July 1899, the Harbinger was caught in a storm that newspaper Rauman Lehti accounted on 14.9.1899: "According to information we have received, full-rigged ship HARBINGER of Rauma, Captain J. K. Nordlund, while sailing from Australia to England, was caught in the midst of a heavy hurricane off Cap Horn on the 14th day of last July, suffering minor damage. On the same occasion, deck boy August Waldemar Ekström of Uusikaupunki, as the waves surged over the ship, fell into the sea without being noticed by any one. In his declaration, Captain N. says that Ekström’s absence was only noticed when the crew was summoned on the afterdeck. Whereas the ship was carried by the storm at a speed of 11, perhaps 12 knot, any effort of saving him could not be considered. Ekström was born on the 22nd day of November 1882."

The ship made its last voyage carrying timber from Buenos Aires to Falmouth in the autumn of 1909. She was caught in a storm for several days in the English Channel. Her rig was damaged, and the ship needed to be taken in tow. Severely damaged, the Harbinger was towed to Falmouth and later, with a load of dyewood, to Rotterdam where she arrived on 4.12.1909. In January 1910, the ship was sold to Antwerp to be scrapped.

Before the last voyage, ship movables were sold into many homes in Rauma. The six-piece sanitary porcelain set was donated to the maritime museum by descendants of Captain J. K. Nordlund. The set was probably used by the Master only, as the crew usually did not have access to similar conveniences.