It was the fastest ship in the world, the most famous built in Saint John.
The Marco Polo set sail from the Port City in April 1851 quickly became an important part of the city’s history.
Now, after years of efforts, a monument to the vessel has finally been erected.
The man who spearheaded the project is still a little uncertain the one-third-size replica is finally real.
“I’m not sure it’s hit home yet,” Barry Ogden, president of the Marco Polo Project, said.
The project began 40 years ago with the intent to tell the story of the Marco Polo and the so-called Golden Age of Sail, Ogden said.
“Which was probably the greatest economic time in Saint John’s history,” he added. “All the buildings we have the today, the 19th-century buildings and Victorian homes are all the result of that.”
Ogden said the period from the 1840s to the 1890s was a booming one for products and the movement of people, and Saint John was a big part of that.
“Our port is still very strategically placed, as it was then,” he said.
A truly community project
It’s been a long journey for the replica to its new home at Long Wharf.
“We did so many things,” Ogden said, referring to the work that’s been done through the years.
The Marco Polo was declared to be of national historical significance. The group went to the National Film Board, which put $1 million into a film called Marco Polo: Queen of the Seas. Stamps and coins have been made.
“We just kept working and we did about $1 million of design work on a full-size Marco Polo then realized that wasn’t in the realm of possibility,” Odgen said.
It was at that point the project shifted to the smaller replica, and Ogden praised the community involvement that was vital to the success.
“We hired a guy to work with volunteers to create the hull,” Ogden said. “We hired iron workers. Ocean Steel built the cradle. The Wolastoqiyik people built the cabins. Saint John Energy helped us with the mast and yardarms.”
Thanks to the Port of Saint John, the replica also has a home Ogden described as perfect.
“It overlooks the harbour, it’s on Harbour Passage, it’s well seen on the (Saint John) Throughway,” he said. “I don’t think you could pick a better spot.”
The work isn’t done yet. Ogden said there are still details to be added, including anchors and rigging.
“Right now, most of all, we’re looking for donations,” he said.
The Marco Polo was built in the shipyard of James Smith, situated on Courtenay Bay. She earned the title “Fastest Ship in the World” after cutting a week off the previous record run between England and Australia, completing the round trip in less than six months. The ship remained in the Australian trade for 15 years before being purchased by Norwegian owners for the use in the Quebec timber trade. She ran aground at Cape Cavendish, P.E.I., in 1883.
