Steel was used for the hull, and like the earlier iron-hulled corvettes, Calliope was cased with timber and coppered below the waterline, in the same manner as wooden ships.

[4] Calliope was known for "one of the most famous episodes of seamanship in the 19th century", when the vessel was the only ship present to avoid being sunk or stranded in the tropical cyclone that struck Apia, Samoa in 1889.

[7] Calypso and Calliope differed from their nine predecessors of the Comus class in armament; they were also slightly longer, had a deeper draught, and displaced 390 tons more.

This was 50% more powerful than the predecessor class, which gave the corvette one more knot of speed, a difference that would be crucial in the disaster that made Calliope famous.

The German Empire, invigorated by its victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War and by its unification under the Prussian monarchy, had newfound imperial ambitions that stretched beyond Europe.

[19] In March 1889, the new corvette Calliope—sent to keep the peace and protect Britain's interests in Samoa—joined the competing squadrons of the Imperial German and United States navies at Apia.

Operating their engines at full speed to resist the wind and waves, ships nevertheless dragged their anchors and were inexorably driven landward.

[25] To relieve the strain on the five anchor cables, Calliope's boilers were producing maximum pressure; the engines were being worked "red hot", and the propeller was making 74 revolutions per minute, sufficient for 15 knots (28 km/h) in calmer waters.

In spite of this titanic effort, the ship was barely able to make headway against the winds and the seas in the harbour, and anchor cables began to part.

[27] Hemmed in by these obstacles and with the rudder at times within 6 feet (2 m) of the reef, Calliope manoeuvred while still attached to the anchor cables, which began to give way.

[28] Avoiding the helpless Vandalia, he approached the sinking Trenton, coming so close that Calliope's fore yard-arm passed over the American's deck.

The British ship's drive for the open sea was called by the American commander on the scene "one of the grandest sights a seaman or anyone else ever saw; the lives of 250 souls depended on the hazardous adventure.

"[29] Making for the harbour mouth, Calliope's bow and stern alternately rose and plunged into the incoming waves; the propeller at times was spinning in air, requiring a careful hand on the throttle to keep the shaft from running away to destruction.

[32] Unable to find the anchor amidst the wreckage,[33] and his ship having sustained significant damage, Captain Kane decided to return to Australia.

[40] That same year Calliope became a tender to HMS Northampton, an older and larger armoured cruiser used as seagoing training ship for boys.

[43] During the summer of 1902 it was employed on a training cruise in home waters, visiting Campbeltown, Belfast Lough, Portishead, Dartmouth, Lyme Regis and Guernsey.

From February to April 1903 she was on a training cruise in the Mediterranean, visiting Vigo, Gibraltar, Malaga, Cartagena, Barcelona and Arosa Bay.

[34] The mahogany panelling from the officers' wardroom was reclaimed in 1953 and now forms the wings to the 18th century organ in the west gallery of Christ Church, North Shields, Tyne and Wear.