SS Great Eastern SS Great Eastern SS "Great Eastern" was an iron sailing steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by J. Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works on the River Thames, London. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her 1858 launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers from England to Australia without refuelling. Her length of was only surpassed in 1899 by the 17,274-gross-ton RMS "Oceanic", her gross tonnage of 18,915 was only surpassed in 1901 by the 21,035-gross-ton RMS "Celtic", and her 4,000-passenger capacity was surpassed in 1913 by
Brunel (opera project) Brunel (opera project) The Brunel opera project is a collaboration between Matthew King (composer), Nye Parry (sound design) and Michael Irwin (libretto) to write a dramatic work based on the life and work of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The opera was the subject of a special feature on BBC Radio 4, broadcast in October 2003, and the project has been documented in detail in the book, "The Reflective Conservatoire". The opera remains a work in progress and has yet to be performed in its entirety. In October 2003, the critic, Martin Hoyle, wrote in the Financial Times: The musical excerpts (from