By . Jill Reilly . PUBLISHED: . 09:00 EST, 19 March 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 15:18 EST, 19 March 2012 . It is the oldest surviving clipper ship in the world, being five years older than the Cutty Sark, and in better days took emigrants from Scotland to Australia, where an estimated 250,000 people's ancestors were among its passengers. For years, the City of Adelaide lay rotting on a Scottish slipway. Now, nearly 150 years after she was built, preparations are under way for one last voyage – back to Australia, where the vessel will undergo restoration. A giant steel cradle has been assembled in Irvine, North Ayrshire, so the vessel can be transported to become the centrepiece of a maritime heritage display in Port Adelaide. Saved: For years it lay rotting on a slipway at the Scottish Maritime Museum, with the cost of repairs put in excess of £10m . Named The City of Adelaide, the vessel . was built in Sunderland in 1864 and an estimated 250,000 people can . trace their origins to its passengers when it carried emigrants from . Scotland to Australia. For years it lay rotting on a slipway at the Scottish Maritime Museum, with the cost of repairs put in excess of £10million. Some . experts even suggested breaking it up as the restoration required was . so extensive, it almost required building a new vessel. The City of Adelaide travelled 10,000 mile trips between the two countries for 23 years, but her sailing days ended in 1893. The 176ft (53 metre) ship was purchased by Southampton Corporation following a cholera outbreak for use as a floating isolation hospital. Legacy: The City of Adelaide was built in Sunderland in 1864 and an estimated 250,000 people can trace their origins to its passengers when it carried emigrants from Scotland to Australia . In 1924 it was converted into a training ship at Irvine, and renamed HMS Carrick, but in 1991 the ship sank at the Princes Dock, Glasgow, and lay on the bottom of the River Clyde for a year. It was then raised by the Scottish Maritime Museum and later moved to its site in Irvine, Ayrshire. Like the other surviving clipper, Cutty Sark, it combines an iron frame with a wooden hull. In 2010 the Scottish government named a group from Australia as the preferred option to move and restore the ship. Announcement: Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop (far left) said the vessel would be returning to the city after which she was named in 2010 after the Scottish government named a group from Australia as the preferred option to move and restore the ship . Some campaigners wanted it returned to Sunderland, and one former councillor even staged a sit-in on the boat, but they lost out to the Australian bid. After announcing the decision, Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Culture and External Affairs . Ms Hyslop said: 'The City of Adelaide has an illustrious past shared by two nations, Scotland and Australia . This bid gives us the opportunity to save the ship build on that link and open up the potential for both countries to recognise partnerships and shared heritage on an international scale. 'We can now have a link between Scotland and Australia which allows both nations to share the vessel’s historical, cultural and social significance through tourism, interpretation and education.' Engineers in Australia constructed a special 100-tonne cradle, costing £680,000, from prefabricated sections which has now arrived in Irvine. Once this is assembled and checked, the hull will be jacked up to allow the cradle to slide underneath. Jim Tildesley, the project co-ordinator for the Scottish museum's . trustees, said the cradle was being assembled in Irvine under the . supervision of one of its Australian designers. He added: 'The initial . assembly is a test assembly to ensure that everything fits as it was . made in 20 different locations in South Australia and so is coming . together in Irvine for the first time. It is then subject to loading . tests to meet Lloyd's [of London] and insurance requirements before . being disassembled prior to fitting around the vessel. 'No date has been fixed as there are a number of stages and conditions . still to be met and, having cleared each of those stages, any movement . has to await an appropriate tide,' he told the Guardian.
For years it lay rotting on a slipway at .
the Scottish Maritime Museum, with the cost of repairs in excess of .
£10m and experts suggested breaking it up .
Giant steel cradle has been assembled in Irvine, North Ayrshire, so the vessel can be transported to a display in Port Adelaide .
By . Jill Reilly . PUBLISHED: . 09:00 EST, 19 March 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 15:18 EST, 19 March 2012 . It is the oldest surviving clipper ship in the world, being five years older than the Cutty Sark, and in better days took emigrants from Scotland to Australia, where an estimated 250,000 people's ancestors were among its passengers. For years, the City of Adelaide lay rotting on a Scottish slipway. Now, nearly 150 years after she was built, preparations are under way for one last voyage – back to Australia, where the vessel will undergo restoration. A giant steel cradle has been assembled in Irvine, North Ayrshire, so the vessel can be transported to become the centrepiece of a maritime heritage display in Port Adelaide. Saved: For years it lay rotting on a slipway at the Scottish Maritime Museum, with the cost of repairs put in excess of £10m . Named The City of Adelaide, the vessel . was built in Sunderland in 1864 and an estimated 250,000 people can . trace their origins to its passengers when it carried emigrants from . Scotland to Australia. For years it lay rotting on a slipway at the Scottish Maritime Museum, with the cost of repairs put in excess of £10million. Some . experts even suggested breaking it up as the restoration required was . so extensive, it almost required building a new vessel. The City of Adelaide travelled 10,000 mile trips between the two countries for 23 years, but her sailing days ended in 1893. The 176ft (53 metre) ship was purchased by Southampton Corporation following a cholera outbreak for use as a floating isolation hospital. Legacy: The City of Adelaide was built in Sunderland in 1864 and an estimated 250,000 people can trace their origins to its passengers when it carried emigrants from Scotland to Australia . In 1924 it was converted into a training ship at Irvine, and renamed HMS Carrick, but in 1991 the ship sank at the Princes Dock, Glasgow, and lay on the bottom of the River Clyde for a year. It was then raised by the Scottish Maritime Museum and later moved to its site in Irvine, Ayrshire. Like the other surviving clipper, Cutty Sark, it combines an iron frame with a wooden hull. In 2010 the Scottish government named a group from Australia as the preferred option to move and restore the ship. Announcement: Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop (far left) said the vessel would be returning to the city after which she was named in 2010 after the Scottish government named a group from Australia as the preferred option to move and restore the ship . Some campaigners wanted it returned to Sunderland, and one former councillor even staged a sit-in on the boat, but they lost out to the Australian bid. After announcing the decision, Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Culture and External Affairs . Ms Hyslop said: 'The City of Adelaide has an illustrious past shared by two nations, Scotland and Australia . This bid gives us the opportunity to save the ship build on that link and open up the potential for both countries to recognise partnerships and shared heritage on an international scale. 'We can now have a link between Scotland and Australia which allows both nations to share the vessel’s historical, cultural and social significance through tourism, interpretation and education.' Engineers in Australia constructed a special 100-tonne cradle, costing £680,000, from prefabricated sections which has now arrived in Irvine. Once this is assembled and checked, the hull will be jacked up to allow the cradle to slide underneath. Jim Tildesley, the project co-ordinator for the Scottish museum's . trustees, said the cradle was being assembled in Irvine under the . supervision of one of its Australian designers. He added: 'The initial . assembly is a test assembly to ensure that everything fits as it was . made in 20 different locations in South Australia and so is coming . together in Irvine for the first time. It is then subject to loading . tests to meet Lloyd's [of London] and insurance requirements before . being disassembled prior to fitting around the vessel. 'No date has been fixed as there are a number of stages and conditions . still to be met and, having cleared each of those stages, any movement . has to await an appropriate tide,' he told the Guardian.
has been assembled in Irvine, North Ayrshire, so the vessel can be transported to become the Port Adelaide. Saved: For years it lay rotting on a slipway at the Scottish Maritime Museum, with the cost of repairs put in excess of £10m . Named on a slipway at the Scottish Maritime Museum, with the cost of repairs put in excess of