Edwin Fox

The Edwin Fox was built of teak at Sulkeali near Calcutta in 1853, and the reason she matters is longevity and range of use: she carried cargo, served as a troopship in the Crimean War, transported convicts to Western Australia in 1858 - one of the last such voyages - brought migrants to New Zealand in the 1870s, then ended as a coal hulk and a freezer ship at Picton, which is how she survived when contemporaries were broken up. She is usually described as the ninth-oldest surviving ship in the world and the only surviving ship that carried convicts to Australia. What is left is the hull, heavily decayed, held in a dry berth under cover with a museum alongside holding fittings, documents and passenger accounts. It is not a restored vessel you walk around admiring - it is a wreck being conserved, and visitors expecting a tall ship are often taken aback.

What you actually see

• The 1853 teak hull - decayed, in a covered dry berth.
• The convict voyage record - the only surviving ship that made one.
• The museum - fittings, documents and migrant accounts.
• The conservation work - the ongoing effort to hold her together.

When to go

Any season; it is under cover. It sits beside the ferry terminal, so it fits easily into a wait for a Cook Strait sailing.

Honest expectations

This is a decaying hull under conservation, not a restored sailing ship - manage expectations accordingly. Ticketed. An hour is enough for most visitors.

Nearby

The Picton waterfront and ferry terminal are adjacent; the Queen Charlotte Track starts nearby.