The Hecla is a wooden Ketch located at Axel Stenross Maritime museum and it is turning 120-years-old this month.
Built in 1903 at Birkenhead, Port Adelaide to the order of Captain Dale, the vessel was named after his daughter. It is a 60-foot long boat with frames of eucalyptus and a Hull of jarrah/oregon.
Fully rigged, it has a sail area of 1990 square feet.
Captain Dale sold the Hecla to a Port Adelaide master mariner in 1922.
There were about 400 ships of this likeness and they were called the Mosquito Fleet.
Eventually, the ketch sailed into the hands of Port Lincoln fishers Alex Hay and James Williams for work on Eyre Peninsula.
From 1942 the Hecla serviced remote island farms, even having a windmill bilge pump fitted in the 1960s and was used briefly for commercial fishing.
Hecla ended its career as the last working wooden ketch in South Australia in 1980.
The vessel was purchased by the Axel Stenross Maritime Museum in January 1987 and was restored in August 2014 to be placed on show where it remains.
The museum showcases wooden boat building, life in the mid-20th century and the legacy of Axel Stenross, his wife Norma and his friend Frank Laakso.
Opening hours are Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from 9.30am to 4.30pm and Saturday and public holidays 1pm to 4.30pm.
For more information visit axelstenross.com.au
