The Lady Mary Wood was a 49-metre-long wooden paddle steamer launched on 16 September 1841 and registered in January 1842. It is said to be named after the wife of Charles Wood, who was England’s secretary to the Admiralty. The steamer had a gross tonnage of 556 ...

Ben Line Steamers Ltd. has been associated with Singapore since the 1860s. Its ships, bearing names prefixed by “Ben”, used to ply the Europe–Far East route, calling at Singapore and other ports in the region. However, an inability to compete with larger carriers ...

The opening of Singapore as a British free port in 1819 attracted trade from the Bugis, a group of seafarers from the southern Celebes (today’s Indonesian island of Sulawesi). Travelling on their distinctive boats known as prahus, they brought with them specialised ...