The first four cruisers of the class were propelled by two shafts powered by steam from 30 Belleville boilers driving a four-cylinder triple expansion engine that created 16,500 indicated horsepower (12,300 kW).

[1] She was part of the Channel Squadron at the outbreak of the Boer War (1899–1900), and was sent to Gibraltar to escort troop transports ferrying reinforcements to the Cape.

Niobe saw further action in the Boer War, escorting troops to Cape Town, and the Queen's South Africa Medal was subsequently awarded to the crew.

[4] In March 1901 Niobe was one of two cruisers to escort HMS Ophir, commissioned as royal yacht for the world tour of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V and Queen Mary), from Spithead to Gibraltar,[5] and in September the same year she again escorted the royal yacht from St Vincent to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

She took part in the fleet review held at Spithead on 16 August 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII,[6] and the following month visited Souda Bay, Crete for combined manoeuvres with other ships of the Channel and Mediterranean stations.

The purchase was arranged in January 1910, and to make room for the cost of Niobe, £215,000, a flotilla leader was dropped from the list of requests.

[12] The governing Liberal Party of Canada held the majority of the seats in the Parliament however, and pushed ahead with the initiative to create a Canadian navy.

Once terms of purchase were settled, the newly renamed HMCS (His Majesty's Canadian Ship) Niobe was transferred to Canada on 6 September 1910, commissioning at Devonport Dockyard.

[13] Before departing Great Britain, Niobe and Rainbow were altered in order to meet the requirement as training vessels for the nascent Canadian navy.

This required the installation of new heating systems to operate in colder waters, an up-to-date galley and the latest in Marconi wireless.

[14] Niobe reached Halifax, Nova Scotia on 21 October that year, her entry into the harbour timed to coincide with Trafalgar Day.

[15] After commissioning, the status of the new Canadian vessels and their ability to operate independently of the Royal Navy arose and prevented the ships from leaving coastal waters until the matter was settled.

[16] After departing on a training cruise, Niobe ran aground in fog off Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, on the night of 30–31 July 1911.

Following that from 11–13 September 1914, she escorted The Royal Canadian Regiment, aboard the transport Canada, to Bermuda, where they took up garrison duties.

[25] On 6 October 1914, Niobe joined the Royal Navy's 4th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station.

[22] While Niobe's operational life was coming to an end, Vice-Admiral Kingsmill attempted to swap her back to the Royal Navy for a newer cruiser.

Warrant Officer Albert Mattison and six men sailed to Mont-Blanc in Niobe's pinnace and boarded the ammunition ship in an effort to scuttle her.

There is also a Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps located in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia that carries her name as RCSCC 62 NIOBE.