HMVS Victoria (1855): Difference between revisions
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In 1860, the colonial government of Victoria decided to send the sloop to New Zealand, to support British colonists fighting in the [[Taranaki Maori War]].<ref name=Frame54/> On 19 April 1860, ''Victoria'' sailed to Hobart, embarked 134 troops from the [[40th Regiment of Foot]], and transported them to New Zealand.<ref name=Frame54/> Prior to her departure, the colonial government passed an Act giving the ship legal status, but this law was overturned by Britain as an attempt to create a naval force independant of the [[Royal Navy]].<ref name=Frame54/> |
In 1860, the colonial government of Victoria decided to send the sloop to New Zealand, to support British colonists fighting in the [[Taranaki Maori War]].<ref name=Frame54/> On 19 April 1860, ''Victoria'' sailed to Hobart, embarked 134 troops from the [[40th Regiment of Foot]], and transported them to New Zealand.<ref name=Frame54/> Prior to her departure, the colonial government passed an Act giving the ship legal status, but this law was overturned by Britain as an attempt to create a naval force independant of the [[Royal Navy]].<ref name=Frame54/> |
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After delivering the solders to [[Auckland]], '' |
After delivering the solders to [[Auckland]], ''Victoria'' performed shore bombardments and coastal patrols, while maintaining supply routes between Auckland and [[New Plymouth]].<ref name=Frame54/> |
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In July, she sailed to Sydney to transport [[Thomas Simson Pratt|General Thomas Pratt]] and his staff to New Zealand.<ref name=Frame54/> ''Victoria'' was used to evacuate women and children from the town of New Plymouth following Maori attacks on the town's fortifications.<ref name=Frame54/> In October, the ship underwent refit in [[Wellington]], and resumed duties by delivering British reinforcements to the combat areas.<ref name=Frame54/> As the Victorial colonial govenrment required the ship for |
In July, she sailed to Sydney to transport [[Thomas Simson Pratt|General Thomas Pratt]] and his staff to New Zealand.<ref name=Frame54/> ''Victoria'' was used to evacuate women and children from the town of [[New Plymouth]], following Maori attacks on the town's fortifications.<ref name=Frame54/> In October, the ship underwent refit in [[Wellington]], and resumed duties by delivering British reinforcements to the combat areas.<ref name=Frame54/> As the Victorial colonial govenrment required the ship for urgent survey work, her return was requested at the end of the year, with ''Victoria'' arriving in Melbourne in March 1861.<ref name=Frame54/> |
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The Maori War deployment was the first time an Australian warship had been deployed to assist in a foreign war.<ref name=gunplot/> The legal hazards of having a colonial warship operating outside her territorial limits was rectified by declaring that all Australian warships in international or foreign waters had to be commissioned into the [[Royal Navy]].<ref name=Frame54/> |
The Maori War deployment was the first time an Australian warship had been deployed to assist in a foreign war.<ref name=gunplot/> The legal hazards of having a colonial warship operating outside her territorial limits was rectified by declaring that all Australian warships in international or foreign waters had to be commissioned into the [[Royal Navy]].<ref name=Frame54/> |
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Revision as of 22:10, 30 August 2008
 Her Majesty's Colonial Steam Sloop Victoria, dressed for the visit of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh in 1867
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Victoria | |
| Launched | 30 June 1855 |
| Acquired | 31 May 1856 |
| Homeport | Melbourne, Victoria |
| Fate | Sold into civilian service |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Sloop-of-war |
| Propulsion | Combined steam/sail |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) In 1860: 8 x 32-pounder guns In 1877: 1 x 10-inch gun 2 x 13-pounder guns 2 x 3-pounder guns |
HMS Victoria (also referred to with the prefix HMVS - Her Majesty's Victorian Ship or HMCSS - Her Majesty's Colonial Steam Sloop) was a 580-ton combined steam/sail sloop-of-war built in England in the 1850s for the colony of Victoria, Australia.[1][2]
She was the second warship to be built for an Australian colonial navy, the first British-built ship to be given to a colony of the British Empire, and the first Australian warship to be deployed overseas.
Construction and acquisition
Victoria was the first warship to be built in England for one of the British colonies.[1][3] She was the second ship ordered for an Australian colonial navy, after the Australian-built gunboat Spitfire for the New South Wales colony.[1] She was launched in London on 30 June 1855.[3]Victoria arrived in her namesake colony on 31 May 1856.[1]
The ship was equipped with eight 32-pounder guns.[4]
Operational history
1856-1860
Victoria’s main duties were to protect the colony of Victoria, conduct hydrological surveys, recover passengers and crew from stricken ships, and serve as a lighthouse tender.[4] During her career, the sloop was involved in the search for the Burke and Wills expedition, and the delivery of the first trout eggs to the colony of Tasmania.[1]
Maori War deployment
In 1860, the colonial government of Victoria decided to send the sloop to New Zealand, to support British colonists fighting in the Taranaki Maori War.[4] On 19 April 1860, Victoria sailed to Hobart, embarked 134 troops from the 40th Regiment of Foot, and transported them to New Zealand.[4] Prior to her departure, the colonial government passed an Act giving the ship legal status, but this law was overturned by Britain as an attempt to create a naval force independant of the Royal Navy.[4]
After delivering the solders to Auckland, Victoria performed shore bombardments and coastal patrols, while maintaining supply routes between Auckland and New Plymouth.[4]
In July, she sailed to Sydney to transport General Thomas Pratt and his staff to New Zealand.[4] Victoria was used to evacuate women and children from the town of New Plymouth, following Maori attacks on the town's fortifications.[4] In October, the ship underwent refit in Wellington, and resumed duties by delivering British reinforcements to the combat areas.[4] As the Victorial colonial govenrment required the ship for urgent survey work, her return was requested at the end of the year, with Victoria arriving in Melbourne in March 1861.[4]
The Maori War deployment was the first time an Australian warship had been deployed to assist in a foreign war.[1] The legal hazards of having a colonial warship operating outside her territorial limits was rectified by declaring that all Australian warships in international or foreign waters had to be commissioned into the Royal Navy.[4]
1861 onwards
In 1867, Victoria was present for the visit of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh—the first member of the British Royal Family to visit Australia.[3]
By 1877, Victoria’s armament had been altered to include one 10-inch gun, two 13-pounders, and two 3-pounders.[2]
In 1885, Victoria was in Malta on a return voyage to Australia when news of General Charles Gordon's death at Khartoum reached the British Empire.[5] Victoria and the Victorian gunboat Albert, which was also in Malta, were immediately offered for service in the Sudan Campaign.[5] Although accepted, by the time the two ships reached their destination at Suakin, the conflict had moved too far inland for warships to be of any assistance.[5]
At the end of her career, Victoria was decommissioned and sold. She was purchased by a civilian firm, who used her as a towing vessel.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Colonial Navies of Early Australia".
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Frame, No Pleasure Cruise, p 60
- ^ a b c "Australian War Memorial Collections Database - 300060". Australian War Memorial.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Frame, No Pleasure Cruise, p 54
- ^ a b c Frame, No Pleasure Cruise, p 67
- ^ Frame, No Pleasure Cruise, p 70
- Frame, Tom (2004). No Pleasure Cruise: the story of the Royal Australian Navy (Google Books). Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1741142334. OCLC 55980812.