| Name: | BEAUTIFUL STAR |
| Type: | Cargo Ship |
| Launched: | 19/12/1861 |
| Completed: | 20/01/1862 |
| Builder: | J Wigham Richardson & Co |
| Yard: | Neptune, Low Walker |
| Yard Number: | 7 |
| Dimensions: | 156grt, 123nrt, 119.1 x 17.1 x 10.5ft |
| Engines: | 2cyl (18 & 18 x 13ins), 30nhp |
| Engines by: | J Thompson & Co, Newcastle |
| Propulsion: | 1 x Screw, 8.5knots |
| Construction: | Iron |
| Reg Number: | 43602 |
| History: | |
| 22/01/1862 | Broomfield & Whitaker; registered at Newcastle |
| 1862 | Broomfield & Whitaker, Sydney NSW |
| by 1874 | Dunedin Harbour Steam Co, Dunedin, New Zealand |
| 1875 | Union Steamship Co of New Zealand, Dunedin |
| by 1880 | Union Steamship Co of New Zealand Ltd, Dunedin |
| 1900 | Thomas Nichols, Hobart, Tasmania |
| 25/12/1907 | Destroyed by fire |
| Comments: | She cost £3401-3s-1d to build, with the builders loosing £151-3s-1d on the contract. |
| The engines cost £990 | |
| For her delivery voyage she was fitted with a remarkable system of fresh water tanks, for conveying live salmon eggs to Australia, which was not a success | |
| She was the fist screw collier to be employed on the Australian coastal trade, on the 70 mile run between Newcastle & Sydney NSW | |
| 25/12/1907: She was laid up at the Domain Slip, Tasmania, alongside the hulk of the former whaling barque DERWENT HUNTER, when a fire was discovered on board. Both vessels were destroyed. | |
| The hulk was later towed to New Town Bay, beached and abandoned. Its remains were visible for many years until being covered by road works in the 1960s |
Above photo is courtesy of Flotilla Australia