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Story: Shipping

Aldinga speeding for Bluff, 1865

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<em>Aldinga</em> speeding for Bluff, 1865

The gold rushes provided welcome business for the primitive early steamers travelling between New Zealand and Australia. In the early 1860s the 515-ton Aldinga was known as the flyer, especially when ‘Hell Fire Jack’ McLean was on the bridge. The ship was owned by leading Melbourne merchants James McMeckan and J. H. Blackwood.

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Toitū Otago Settlers Museum

by Captain Thomas Robertson

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How to cite this page

Gavin McLean, Shipping – The era of steam, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/5887/aldinga-speeding-for-bluff-1865 (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Gavin McLean, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 January 2016.