Childers, a first-class torpedo boat, was constructed for the colony of Victoria by John I. Thornycroft & Company on the River Thames at Chiswick, England, as Yard No.

[1] Childers was powered by a two-cylinder compound steam engine of 679 bhp (506 kW) giving a service speed of 19–20 knots (35–37 km/h; 22–23 mph).

[1] For the delivery voyage to Melbourne the boat was fitted with three masts and 1,000 square feet of canvas to supplement her limited coal capacity,[4] and her trials were made on 16 November.

[8] Nevertheless, Childers pressed on ahead, and on 19 March reached Suakin, Sudan, as did the two gunboats, meeting for the first time, and confirming that assistance was not required locally.

[9] Thereafter the flotilla steamed more generally in concert, though the tow from Aden to Batavia, Dutch East Indies via Colombo by Victoria was uncomfortable, and they reached Thursday Island on 18 May.