Queensland Government Steam Yacht Lucinda

Guest blogger: Jo Seccombe - Senior Reference Archivist, Queensland State Archives

150 years ago this month, the QGSY Lucinda steamed from Dumbarton, Scotland bound ultimately for Queensland. This extract from the Chief Engineer’s log records an estimated 80 tons of coal on board for the journey on 30 December 1884.

The QGSY Lucinda arrived in Brisbane on 7 May 1885. Named for Lady Jeannie Lucinda Musgrave, the second wife of the then Governor Sir Anthony Musgrave, the QGSY Lucinda was built for government business. A sad duty was when she helped to rescue passengers from the Pearl ferry disaster on the Brisbane River in 1896. A highlight of her service was accommodating the Constitution Committee during the drafting of the Australian Constitution, as documented in the caption of this photograph.

Read more about the officers who served on the QGSY Lucinda in the Register of public servants and the Queensland blue books held at Queensland State Archives. More detail about the voyages of the QGSY Lucinda can be found in the Log Books of QGSY Lucinda.