The final Australian convict ship’s journey to a small town in New Zealand

The storm that hit the Edwin Fox in February 1873 might seem like something out of a tale of adventure.

This is just one of many chapters in the ship’s extraordinary story. Nearly 150 years later, the Edwin Fox remains the last surviving vessel that carried prisoners from England to Australia. It also had a hand in transporting passengers to New Zealand, ferrying soldiers to the Crimean War, shipping cargo across the seas, and even contributing to New Zealand’s sheep-related reputation.

Given such a rich history, it’s only fitting that the Edwin Fox’s journey to a coastal town at the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island would be just as dramatic.

From its Indian roots to its worldwide legacy

In the mid-1800s, the British Empire seemed to stretch endlessly across the globe. Its fleet of merchant ships, with their towering masts and billowing sails, were as ubiquitous in ports then as airplanes are at airports today.

Against this backdrop, the story of the Edwin Fox begins in relative obscurity. According to Karen McLeod, the manager of the Edwin Fox Museum, the ship was built in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) from teak, a wood highly valued for shipbuilding.

Constructed in 1853, the Edwin Fox predates London’s Cutty Sark, making it one of the older ships of its kind. At 157 feet (48 meters) in length, it wasn’t a particularly large vessel.

As Adrian Shubert and Boyd Cothran, historians at York University, explain in their upcoming book, “Edwin Fox: The Extraordinary Story of How an Ordinary Sailing Ship Connected the World in the Age of Globalization,” ships like the Edwin Fox were driven by the demand for work, traveling wherever they were needed.

The Convict Legacy

While the Edwin Fox’s involvement in significant events like the 1850s Crimean War (where it transported soldiers, and was even mentioned by Florence Nightingale in a letter, though it’s unclear if she ever sailed on it) is notable, the ship is perhaps most famous for transporting convicts to Australia. It’s the last surviving vessel that carried prisoners to the Australian colonies.

Onboard, convicts were often shackled to prevent escape or rebellion. Despite the threat, many guards brought their families along—three babies were even born during the voyage.

Despite the perilous nature of the Fox’s journeys, it never encountered pirate attacks. McLeod points out that the Edwin Fox wasn’t designed for battle—it didn’t even carry cannons. However, the ship’s sides were painted with false gun ports to create the illusion of armament, hoping to deter would-be pirates.

More than a decade later, the Edwin Fox once again made the long journey across the world. This time, however, its passengers were not convicts.

“The Fox carried almost 800 people to New Zealand,” McLeod explains, describing the ship's voyages in the 1870s. These journeys began in England and typically lasted three months one-way. Many New Zealanders today can trace their ancestry to those immigrants who sailed on the Edwin Fox.

The cabins were cramped, and the ship swayed violently in rough seas. One such storm in 1873 led to several fatalities. Toilets were few and far between, and the food was notoriously bad. The damp, foul-smelling conditions made disease widespread. McLeod recounts one tragic case of a man who died after breaking his leg and being unable to receive proper medical care.

“These passengers were not exactly worldly, but they were undeniably courageous,” McLeod says.

“Some were tricked into believing they had purchased land, while others were told fantastical stories about New Zealand being a tropical paradise with banana plantations and almost no rain.”

Revival and rediscovery

The advent of steamships drastically reduced travel times between England and New Zealand, bringing the journey down to about six weeks. The Edwin Fox was repurposed as a freezing plant for lamb meat.

Initially located near Dunedin on New Zealand’s South Island, the Edwin Fox was later relocated to Picton, a town at the northern tip of the island.

A new freezing plant was built, and the ship was repurposed once more, this time as a coal storage facility—until advancing technology rendered that use obsolete.

Ultimately, the ship was rescued by the Edwin Fox Society, entrusted to the Marlborough Heritage Trust, and today it resides in a museum bearing its name in Picton.

McLeod notes that while the museum has traditionally attracted more international visitors, the ongoing border restrictions have led to an increasing number of New Zealanders discovering the story of the Fox.

The Edwin Fox is far more than just a historical artifact. As Shubert and Cothran explain, understanding the ship’s role in 19th and early 20th-century globalization—where both winners and losers were involved, and where unexpected connections and outcomes emerged—offers valuable insights as we navigate the complexities of today’s globalized world.

“The tale of the Edwin Fox is a story that resonates with our times.”