HMS Unicorn just got featured in an Australian magazine as the ship marks 50 years as a museum

Picture: Wikimedia Commons

HMS Unicorn, has been featured in an Australian magazine, The Western Australian, and it looks at the past and future of the iconic Dundee ship.

Reporter Steve McKenna wrote the piece, which explores the unique experience of going aboard the 201-year-old warship, commenting on its historic significance, style of architecture, and position on Dundee's evolving waterfront.

Refer to as "the most original old ship in the world," HMS Unicorn has dominated the Dundee skyline since 1873 when it was taken into the city from Woolwich to serve as a training vessel for the Royal Navy.

Saved from potential scrap in 1975, the ship was then transformed into a museum by the Unicorn Preservation Society, making 2025 a significant anniversary of its preservation process.

McKenna's article graphically relates life aboard the Unicorn, noting the issues that its low ceilings pose—quite acceptable for the height of the mid-Georgian sailor but challenging for the tall tourist of today.

He also notes the position that HMS Unicorn holds within Dundee's broader maritime heritage, along with the RRS Discovery.

The attraction is revealed as part of a boosted investment in the future of HMS Unicorn. The keepers of the vessel recently received a grant worth £1.5 million in order to make essential repairs, with the long-term aim of moving it to a dry dock as part of a proposed £50 million maritime heritage centre.

With its latest worldwide recognition, the HMS Unicorn is further cementing its status as a major historical landmark, bringing to the fore not just its own rich history but also that of Dundee's own deep connection to the sea.