History of the steam engine This boat could typically make 7 to 8 miles per hour, and traveled more than during its short length of service. The Fitch steamboat was not a commercial success, as this route was adequately covered by relatively good wagon roads. In 1802 William Symington built a practical steamboat, and in 1807 Robert Fulton used a Watt steam engine to power the first commercially successful steamboat. Oliver Evans in his turn was in favour of "strong steam" which he applied to boat engines and to stationary uses. He was a pioneer of cylindrical boilers; however Evans' boilers did suffer several serious
First Four Ships relative luxury of the cabins, included those men and their families who could afford to buy land in the new colony. Some of these settlers' families remain prominent in Christchurch to this day. "Emigrants" included farm workers, labourers and tradesmen, who made the journey in steerage, some having assisted passage. Like their employers, the emigrants included devout Anglicans selected to help build a community founded on religious virtues. Each ship carried a chaplain, a doctor and a schoolmaster, and included in the cargo was a printing press, a library of 2,000 books, a church organ and several pre-fabricated houses in