The vessel is due to arrive in Bermagui this afternoon and will be escorted in by the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol vessel the James T. Lees.

The original Mystery measured just 37 feet in length, had a beam of 11 feet six inches and weighed 16 tons. It travelled 11,800 nautical miles in 116 days with the only break being a week in Cape Town for repairs and replenishment.

She was the smallest boat to complete the passage.

Seven Cornishmen, all related by either blood or marriage and share holders in the Mystery, made the decision to try their luck at the Australian gold rush over a pint in the Star Inn, Newlyn.

Sadly, by the time the original crew of the Mystery reached Williamstown in Victoria, most of the alluvial gold rush was over.

In celebration of their amazing achievement, 154 years later renowned sailor and adventurer Peter Goss built the 'Spirit of Mystery' in Innsworke Mill boat yard at Millbrook in South East Cornwall.

The vessel is as true to the original Mystery as possible and although there are concessions to safety, there is no engine and no modern electrical or navigational systems.

The keel, stem and stern are made from a tough hardwood called ekki. Fallen cornish oak makes up the frames, with larch for the planking and ash for the tiller and sweeps.

Spirit of Mystery was launched on Saturday, June 21 and set sail for Australia on October 20, 2008, arriving on March 9, 2009.

Peter's brother Andy Goss is skippering the lugger as she makes her leisurely way up the south coast to Sydney where she is a star attraction at the Sydney Boat Show in July.

Alongside the skinny wharf on the weekend, the Spirit of Mystery was swamped by eager visitors who gladly accepted the crew's open invitation to come on board and have a look around.

Andy Goss gave impromptu talks about their amazing voyage that saw them ride the trade winds, encountering a storm nearly every week of the voyage, in the boat they affectionately call "the little walnut" because she's rock hard.

"She's a very simple boat to sail", Andy said.