THE STORY OF ISAMBARD KINGDOM BRUNEL

Born in 1806, Isambard Brunel became one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history and is still considered a revolutionary to this day. Not only did he build dockyards, railways and steamships but some of the most iconic bridges ever seen, the Clifton Suspension Bridge & the Maidenhead Railway Bridge.

Among his most notable designs were the three steam powered, iron hulled ships, which transformed the face of naval transportation, the SS Great Western, the SS Great Britain and the SS Great Eastern. When the SS Great Britain was launched in 1843, she was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic, dubbed ‘the greatest experiment since creation’ and was captioned as “the ship that changed the world”. In 1846, due to a gross navigational error, the SS Great Britain ran aground and was left high and dry in the sands on Dundrum Bay. The story goes that Brunel himself arrived at the coast to oversee the resurrection of the ship from the dangerous tides of Dundrum Bay and whilst staying in the Dundrum Hotel he fell in love with the scenic coastal area and decided to stay for a significant time after the ship was rescued.

The SS Great Britain was returned to service and continued on to spend the next 30 years transporting emigrants to Australia, bulk transportation of coal to the Falkland Islands and then eventually was brought back to her native shores to be restored and can this day be seen in Bristol Floating Harbour and its anchor can be seen proudly on display at the Harbour in Newcastle, Co Down.