Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s SS Great Britain is one of the most important historic ships in the world. When she was launched in 1843, she was called the greatest experiment since the creation .

No one had ever designed so vast a ship, nor had the vision to build it of iron. Brunel fitted her with a 1000 hp steam engine, the most powerful yet used at sea. He also gave her a screw propeller, the newest invention in maritime technology.

SS was originally designed for the Great Western Steamship Company’s transatlantic service between Bristol and New York. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic, which she did in 1845, in the time of 14 days, and from 1845 to 1854 was the longest passenger ship in the world.

In 1852, Gibbs, Bright & Co purchased the SS Great Britain to use for carrying emigrants to Australia. On the Australia run the ship was to rely more on sail power than on her steam engine – this would save money. An extra upper deck was built, so that the ship could carry up to 700 passengers.

On her first voyage to Melbourne, she carried 630 emigrants. She excited great interest there, with 4,000 people paying a shilling each to inspect her. She operated on the England-Australia route for almost 30 years, interrupted only by two relatively brief sojourns as a troopship during the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny.

On one typical voyage, leaving Liverpool on 21 October 1861, she carried a crew of 143, 544 passengers (including the first English cricket team to visit Australia), a cow, 36 sheep, 140 pigs, 96 goats and 1,114 chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys. The journey took 64 days.

In 1872 the SS Great Britain’s long-standing captain, John Gray, disappeared in mysterious circumstances which have never been fully explained. After 30 years as a passenger ship, SS Great Britain was converted to carry cargo. Between 1882 and 1886 she carried a variety of exports such as coal and wheat between England and the West Coast of America.

Her long working life finally ended in 1933, and she was abandoned to rust. Eventually, an expert salvage team managed to refloat the SS Great Britain on 13 April 1970. She crossed the Atlantic sitting on a huge floating pontoon pulled by tugs. This amazing salvage brought her 8,000 miles home to her birth place in Bristol, where she remains as a museum.

Part of Brunel’s vision, when he watched the SS Great Britain launch into Bristol docks in 1843, was to connect people and families from around the world. 170 years on his magnificent ship is still achieving that goal, but with a modern twist. The maritime curators at the Brunel Institute are able to very quickly establish whether somebody travelled on the ship, which voyage they were on and what happened while they were at sea. Already they have been able to help many people, from as far away as Australia, to track down their relatives.

People can unveil all sorts of information about their family history with a free visit to the Brunel Institute. This is situated next to the SS Great Britain on Bristol’s Great Western Dockyard and is home to an extensive archive of documents and artefacts relating to the ship and her history, including passenger and crew lists which can be used to track ancestors.

With thanks to Dominic Rowe and colleagues at the SS Great Britain Trust and Brunel Institute.