Passing of a Golden Age
Built at South Maitland, Nova Scotia in 1890, the barque Calburga was one of Canada’s last big wooden sailing ships. She continued to trade long after most ships like her had been sold or broken up and replaced by steamships. Nova Scotia model maker David Coldwell captures the mood of a passing age in this realistic and detailed scale model. The stains, the rust, the windmill pump – all speak to a vessel into her mature years. Can you spot the captain’s wife? There were a surprisingly large number of women and children on board 19th-century Nova Scotian ships. Calburga was wrecked in a gale off the coast of Wales in 1915.
Object type:
Model - Ship
Object #:
M49.7
Collection name:
Curator:
Date (age/made):
1973
Origin/place:
Halifax
Materials:
wood, brass, steel wire, paper
Dimensions:
137 cm long, 88 cm high, 35 cm wide