Builders: Port Glasgow 1878
Propulsion type: Paddle,
Owner: Louisa A Freeman, Southsea & Ventnor Steamship Co (owned by F M Coldwell), Algeciras (Gibraltar) Railway Co
Service dates: 1878 - 1???
Tonnage: Gross 97
Comments:
This little paddler was built in 1878 but not completed or sold until 1882, when she was named Island Queen. It is believed this was a speculative construction and no immediate buyer could be found until purchased by Mrs L A Freeman of Southsea. Island Queen appears to have been profitable enough to have been purchased in 1892 by Mr Coldwell who ran her in conjunction with PS Bembridge until 1896 when he sold out to a Mr S Wheeler. After two years she was sold abroad for service from Gibraltar to Algeciras, although I do not have a record of her final fate.
In 1864 the Bembridge Railway, Tramway and Pier Act was passed by Parliament, authorising the construction of land-reclamation works and the building of a pier. By 1878 over 800 acres of land were reclaimed, and the pier was built. Bembridge Harbour Pier was only 250 feet long, and quite narrow too. It is likely that this is the location of the above picture as after the harbour had been dredged to allow larger ships, the 125-foot Island Queen in 1878, and in 1892 the 104-ton, 137-foot paddle-steamer Bembridge are recorded as using it regularly.
My thanks go to George Robinson and Richard Cox for supplying this picture.