23 April 2025 6pm

How the SS Great Britain overcame the Tyranny of Distance

Tim Hatton is Emeritus (Professor of Economic History at the University of Essex and at the Australian National University)

The transition from sail to steam in ocean shipping took decades to complete. It was not until 1880 that steamships displaced sail on most passenger voyages to Australia. But there was one outstanding exception. The SS Great Britain sailed regularly to Australia for 25 years before other passenger steamship services became established. This talk explains the key features of the SS Great Britain, and the company that managed it, that helped to overcome the tyranny of distance a generation before others.

Tim Hatton is Emeritus Professor of Economic History at the University of Essex and at the Australian National University. He has researched extensively on emigration from the UK in the nineteenth century and the role of ocean shipping. His work also includes the determinants and effects of international migration in a wider range of settings as well as the development and impact of immigration and asylum policies.