The EDWIN FOX built in India the year of 1853. Duncan Dunbar (in 1854) purchased the Edwin Fox that immediately went into service as a troop ship for the British Government during the Crimean War. It is said that Florence Nightingale sailed her tending to the wounded soldiers.

Sitting in dry dock the Edwin Fox is the only merchant ship of her type in the world, a historic maritime artifact belonging to New Zealand in Picton the gate-way to the South Island.

Preservation is the target, opposing restoration. Preserved in her natural state is a monumental effort/goodwill by many volunteers and workers. Restoration de-values the workmanship of the Indian builders and her Teak, Saul the latter wood now extinct. The Edwin Fox future is being questioned. Who is, in a world of financial constraints, for future generations care for the Edwin Fox?

Her voyages and recorded history entwined with many settlers to New Zealand, convicts and settlers to Australia.

The Heritage Trust or the New Zealand Government being offered her as a gift to be in trust for perpetuity an opportunity not to be missed but seized on as ownership of the rarest resplendent ship in existence of European settling in New Zealand.

Managed as a tourist going concern the small staff are to be admired for the upkeep of the museum, maintenance, however capital plus awarding the Edwin Fox a secure future she surely has not only earned but deserves

Visiting the web site http://www.edwinfoxsociety.com/visit-edwin-fox.html or the historic site http://www.nzmaritime.co.nz/edwinfox.htm portray her stunning life, a life that continues today with huge effort by those that love her desiring to secure her a future for generations to come.

The Edwin Fox offers education, maritime education, craftsmanship in wood, the experience to walk on board, go below deck, or walk down a ramp and walk around her hull brings about an awe of the immense size of her: the simple construction of her rudder and how the sailors steered her through the ages, to view this in reality is a unforgettable experience.

The New Zealand people, the government, or Heritage Trusts aware of her, now is the time for real action to secure her everlasting future as part of this great country, reminding us all the corner stone’s that built this country.

Images: a) Edwin Fox Rudder, b) Propped up in Dry dock, c)a view on deck