Designed by the brilliant British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel the SS Great Britiain was the first iron hulled screw driven vessel designed for trans oceanic passenger trade and was the largest ship of her time with twice the tonnage of any previous vessel. Launched in 1843 she made her maiden crossing of the Atlantic to New York in 1845 in 14 days 21 hours. After four more transatlantic voyages she began the Australian run with a first journey to Melbourne in 1852. This began the most successful period in her history. For a quarter of a century she sailed to and from Australia carrying emigrants from all Europe to a new life in the colonies and more particularly to Victoria where gold had been discovered in 1850. The Australian run was interrupted when the ship was chartered by the Government for war service in the Crimea in 1855. She then resumed her Australian service and by 1876 had completed 32 round trips, a remarkable achievement.
After 1876 when she failed to get a full Lloyd's classification, she was laid up and then converted into the world's largest sailing cargo vessel. In May 1886 she arrived in Port Stanley in The Falklands in a virtually wrecked condition and was expected to end her days as a storage hulk. In the 1960's, however, a group of enthusiasts proposed her salvage. She was transported by barge back to England and finally floated into the same dock at Bristol where she had been built 118 years ago. Since then she has undergone restoration and is now a splendid ship to visit.
The painting is owned by the SS Great Britain Project and was exhaustively researched with their cooperation. It is considered to be the most accurate representation of the ship at that period of her career.