SS William Mackinnon was a steamboat on Lake Victoria in East Africa.

She was named after Sir William Mackinnon, founder of the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC).

The kit was brought out of storage and taken to Kisumu on the shore of Lake Victoria, where assembly began in 1898.

The engineers cut the ship into 3000 loads with most not exceeding 27 kg which were transported by humans walking on foot for a distance of approx 933 km, carrying pieces of a 70- tonne cargo through the man eaters of Tsavo, the Nyika plains teeming with wild animals and native warriors.

A new engineer one Mr. Barton Wright was the final person to deliver the cargo to the lake in 1900. the SS William Mackinnon was loved and almost hated in equal measure.