Sailing Ships of the Tasman Sea

Millwood Press, Wellington, 1984. First edition. Bright red hardcover with gilt titles on spine. Boards in good condition. Binding tight with no inscriptions. 164pp with illustrations throughout. Dust jacket has faded spine but is complete, in good condition and has been covered. Cracked hinges have been repaired. A tidy copy.

Graceful sailing ships were very much a part of the Tasman Sea trade around the turn of the century. Many of these beautiful ships had previously voyaged in the world's sea lanes and most were well known prior to becoming NZ owned. The best remembered fleet of barques and barquentines was that belonging to J J Craig, a prominent Auckland merchant who named his ships after members of his family. The Craig Family as they were affectionately known, were renowned for their smart appearance and they established a splendid record for fast passages between NZ and Australia. This book is about these ships and it embraces almost half a century - the most interesting era in NZ's maritime history. The voyages and trade in which these pretty ships were employed is recorded...