The long and troubled history of the "Great Eastern" stems from one man's attempt to build a vessel large enough to make a round trip voyage from England to Australia without refueling. The engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, first drew up plans for the liner, originally called the "Leviathan", in 1852, but it wasn't until 1860, after various financial mishaps, fatal explosions, and much public derision, that the rechristened "Great Eastern" made its first transatlantic voyage. In 1862 an unchartered rock off Montauk Point, Long Island appeared in the liner's path and tore a large hole in her hull, but she was saved by her reinforced double bottom. The reef was later named in her honor. After many years of laying underwater telegraph cables around the world, the immense iron ship was sold for scrap and her contents auctioned off in 1887.