Ferret

The Ferret was a Scottish-built steamer whose dramatic history included legitimate passenger service, an extraordinary maritime theft, and finally a long career in Australian coastal trade. Launched in 1871 on the Clyde, she began life as a passenger and cargo vessel operating across the Firth of Forth in Scotland.

Early Scottish Service

The vessel served reliably on the Firth of Forth route until 1880, when the completion of the Railway Bridge rendered her services redundant. She was subsequently laid up at Greenock.

The "Smith" Incident

In 1880, a mysterious individual known only as "Smith" chartered the vessel for what was claimed to be a Mediterranean cruise. This began an extraordinary sequence of maritime fraud. After departing Greenock, "Smith" bypassed the scheduled stop at Cardiff and proceeded down the Bristol Channel. Near Gibraltar, he staged the vessel's apparent loss by jettisoning a lifeboat and lifebelts, which later washed up on the Spanish shore.

The vessel was repainted at sea and renamed Bantam, then sailed to South America where a valuable coffee cargo was loaded. Learning that the owners were advertising for the missing vessel, "Smith" again repainted the ship, renamed her India, and sailed to Cape Town. After selling the coffee cargo for £15,000, he attempted unsuccessfully to sell the vessel before sailing to Albany, Western Australia, and then to Melbourne, arriving on April 20, 1881.

The scheme unraveled when Constable Davidson, described in contemporary accounts as an "ignorant colonial policeman," recognized the vessel's profile despite attempts to disguise her identity, including filing off the ship's bell markings. "Smith" fled to Seymour but was arrested and received a lengthy prison sentence.

Australian Service

The Vice-Admiralty sold the vessel to Mount Gambier Shipping Co. Ltd., which operated her in the South Australian gulf trade for nearly four decades. In 1904, she reported the grounding of the barque Ethel near Cape Spencer, a wreck that remained visible on the beach for many years.

Final Fate

In an ironic twist, the Ferret ultimately met her end as a wreck on the same beach where she had reported the Ethel's grounding years before.

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Type	Screw Steamer
Gross Tonnage	347 tons
Launch Year	1871
Builder	Clyde Shipyard, Scotland