CUDAL Maritime Artist - Frank Harrington

Cudal has some of the best kept secrets carefully hidden away - many in the delightful historical buildings that have stood the test of time.

Maritime Artist, Frank Harrington lives in one of these buildings - that was once a bakery (with residence) servicing the village and district with ‘real’ home-made breads and warm buns.

The main shopfront is now Frank’s workshop of all things related to his interest in recreating maritime history.

After retiring as a longtime and much-loved nurse at the Molong hospital, Frank now spends his days in his wonderful world of maritime history - meticulously recreating many of the shipping wonders of the world. Both in fine timbers, and on canvas as paintings proudly hung around his walls.

“I started out as a young child with a fascination for maritime history building miniatures, creating drawings and reading books” he said.

In his teenage years, Frank’s interest progressedparticularly when he was able to spend time when living with his family in Sydneyat Clovelly - where he came across a group who took him under their wing.

“They were old friends - sea captains, maritimers etc,” said Frank.

“They came together regularly to talk about their time at sea. I was very lucky that they became my mentors due to my interest in maritime history.”

Frank’s current project is the ‘rebuilding’ of the ‘Thermopylae’ - which was an extreme composite clipper ship built in 1868 by Walter Hood and Co of Aberdeen, to the design of Bernard Waymouth of London.

Designed originally for the China tea trade, the craft set a speed record on her maiden voyage to Melbourne of 63 days - still the fastest trip under sail - winning her the title of the “greyhound of the sea”.

Part of her life was spent in Australia as a wool trade ship - later to transport coal - and finally on 13 October 1907 she was towed out to the mouth of the Tagus by the owners, the Portuguese Navy League at a regatta attended by the Queen of Portugal, and sunk by Whitehead torpedoes. She had served her time and returned to the sea.

Thanks to Frank Harrington, a to-scale, large model of the ‘Thermopylae’ is being re-created (almost finished) due to her life-long beauty, history, purpose and Frank’s love of maritime history and art.