HMS Sirius (1786)
 The unveiling of Sirius' anchor at Macquarie Place, Sydney, in 1907. |
|
| Career (Great Britain) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Sirius |
| Builder: | Watson, Rotherhithe |
| Launched: | 1780 |
| Acquired: | November 1781 |
| Renamed: | Berwick (as launched) HMS Berwick (1781-1786) HMS Sirius (1786-1790) |
| Fate: | Wrecked on 19 March 1790 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 10-gun ship |
| Tons burthen: | 51183⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: | 110 ft 5 in (33.66 m) (gundeck) 89 ft 8.75 in (27.3495 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 32 ft 9 in (9.98 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 13 ft (4.0 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Complement: | 50 |
| Armament: |
10 guns: |
HMS Sirius was the flagship of the First Fleet, which set out from Portsmouth, England, in 1787 to establish the first European colony in New South Wales, Australia. Sirius was wrecked off the coast of Norfolk Island in the Pacific Ocean in 1790.
Contents |
[edit] Construction
Sirius had been converted from a merchantman, the Berwick. There has been confusion over the early history of the Berwick. A note about her by future New South Wales governor Philip Gidley King, describing her as a former 'East country man', was interpreted for many years as relating to the East Indies trade; however, analysis of the maritime nomenclature of the time suggests that this description referred instead to ships participating in the Baltic trade.[1]
Berwick was likely built in 1780 by Christopher Watson and Co. of Rotherhithe, who also built another ship of the first fleet, the Prince of Wales.[2] She had a burthen of 511 83/94 tons and, after being burnt in a fire, was bought and rebuilt by the Royal Navy in November 1781, retaining her original name.[3]
[edit] As HMS Berwick
The newly purchased vessel was fitted out and coppered at Deptford Dockyard between December 1781 and April 1782, for a total sum of £6,152.11s.4d. When completed she carried 10 guns, four 6-pounder long guns, and six 18-pounder carronades.[3] She was commissioned for service under her first commander, Lieutenant Bayntun Prideaux in January 1782, and went out to North America later that year. She spent the last part of the American War of Independence there, transferring to the West Indies in June 1784.[3] Paid off in February 1785 she was initially laid up before being fitted for sea between September and December 1786 for service with the First Fleet. She was nominally rated as a sixth-rate, allowing her to be commanded by a post-captain, though she retained her armament of only 10 guns, and on 12 October 1786 Berwick was renamed Sirius, after the southern star Sirius.[4][3][5]
[edit] Voyage to Australia
Sirius sailed under the command of Captain John Hunter and carried Captain Arthur Phillip, who would be the first governor of the new colony. She also carried Major Robert Ross, commander of the Royal Marines who would be responsible for providing security for the colony. The surgeons on this ship were George Bouchier Worgan and Thomas Jamison.
Sirius, with the other ten vessels of the First Fleet, left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787 and arrived at Port Jackson on 26 January 1788. The voyage, first to Rio de Janiero and then around the Cape of Good Hope, had taken 252 days, covering more than 15,000 miles (24,000 km). Sirius remained in the colony until 2 October 1788, when she was sent from Port Jackson back to the Cape of Good Hope to get flour and other supplies for the almost starving colony, a voyage that took over seven months.
On 19 March 1790 Sirius was wrecked on the reef at Norfolk Island while landing stores. Among those who witnessed the ship's demise from shore was Thomas Jamison, by then surgeon to the settlement on Norfolk Island (he would eventually become Surgeon-General of New South Wales).
With the settlement in New South Wales still on the brink of starvation, the loss of Sirius was a catastrophe as it left the colonists with only one ship. The crew of Sirius were stranded on Norfolk Island until 21 February 1791, when they were rescued and eventually taken back to England. Hunter returned to New South Wales, serving as the colony's Governor from 1795 to 1799.
One of the sailors on Sirius, Jacob Nagle, wrote a first-hand account of the ship's last voyage and wreck, and the crew's stranding.[6]
Many artefacts retrieved from the wreck of Sirius, including three anchors and two carronades, are displayed in the Norfolk Island Museum. Another anchor, as well as a cannon, are on display in Macquarie Place, Sydney. Other Sirius artefacts can be viewed at the Sydney Maritime Museum. A detailed 1:24 scale model of Sirius is displayed in the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Small models of all the First Fleet ships are displayed in the Museum of Sydney.
HMS Sirius is listed on the Australian National Heritage List.[7]
[edit] Affiliations
- TS Sirius, Australian Navy Cadets
[edit] Notes
- ^ Henderson G, Stanbury M (1988). The Sirius: Past and Present. Sydney: Collins. p. 39. ISBN 0-7322-2447-0.
- ^ Henderson and Stanbury, p. 40
- ^ a b c d Winfield. British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792. p. 375.
- ^ Henderson and Stanbury, p. 38
- ^ Bateson, Charles (1972). Australian Shipwrecks - vol. 1 1622-1850. Sydney: AH and AW Reed. p. 26. ISBN 0-5890-7112-2.
- ^ Nagle, Jacob; Dann, John C (1988), The Nagle journal : a diary of the life of Jacob Nagle, sailor, from the year 1775-1841 (1st ed.), Weidenfeld and Nicolson, ISBN 1555842232
- ^ The HMAS Sirius, December 2011, http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national/sirius/pubs/hms-sirius-factsheet.pdf, retrieved 2012-01-21
[edit] References
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1-86176-295-X.
[edit] Further reading
- Gillen, Mollie, The Founders of Australia: a biographical dictionary of the First Fleet, Sydney, Library of Australian History, 1989.
[edit] External links
- HMS Sirius, Norfolk Island Museum Retrieved 2011-08-27
- Anchor and cannon in Macquarie Place, Sydney Retrieved 2011-08-27
- Picture of Sirius, First Fleet Fellowship Retrieved 2011-08-27
- Model of Sirius, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Retrieved 2011-08-27
- Crew and others on board, ancestry.com Retrieved 2011-08-27
