Final pleas as deadline looms on the City of Adelaide's fate

CARRYING the hopes and dreams of hundreds of migrants to a new life in colonial South Australia, the City of Adelaide faithfully bore her precious cargoes half way around the world.

Almost 150 years later, the graceful clipper, once the pinnacle of sailing design, lies derelict on a Scottish slipway with the question of her future due to be considered in Britain overnight. Her supporters hope to save the ship from destruction, arguing her heritage as the world's oldest composite clipper and colonial link to Australia are too important to lose.