Colonial navies of Australia
[1] (This unit was completely unrelated, except for its name, to the New South Wales Marine Corps, which accompanied the First Fleet and served between 1788 and 1791.)
In November 1839 the USS Vincennes was able to slip into Sydney Harbour un-noticed under the cover of darkness, much to the surprise of Sydney-siders the following morning.
[2] As Sydney was the major base for the Royal Navy in Australia, the New South Wales Government had no incentive to create their own naval force.
This sense of security ended with the outbreak of the Crimean War and in 1854 the government asked for tenders for the construction of a gunboat to assist in the defence of Sydney.
That year the New South Wales Naval Artillery Volunteers were formed as a citizen's auxiliary which would operated the guns on board any warship of the colony when required.
[4] HMS Wolverine was paid off in 1893 and the total number of vessels used by the Navy decreased over time as any perceived threat diminished.
To equip the new force the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat whilst port facilities and headquarters were established at Kangaroo Point, Brisbane.
The gunboats Paluma and Gayundah were ordered from the shipyards of Armstrong, Mitchell and Company and featured a shallow draft capable of operating in the many bays and estuaries along the coast.
In October 1888, after a disagreement with the Queensland Government over conditions of service, Captain Henry Townley Wright, RN, commanding officer of Gayundah, was ordered to hand over to his second-in-command, Francis Pringle Taylor.
During the incident Captain Wright enquired from his gunner as to the best line of fire for his guns to hit Queensland Parliament House.
As locals considered how to return one of the colony's most powerful and most expensive assets to the Brisbane River another major flood just two weeks later refloated the gunboat and she was pulled clear.
Whilst these incidents may have been a source of mirth for those in the southern colonies it is important to note that Queensland officers went on to provide the backbone of the Commonwealth Naval Forces.
The vessel was built at Port Arthur and was operated by the Convict Marine Service, carrying out anti-piracy patrols as well as helping to maintain the security of the penal settlement.
The ship arrived in Hobart on 1 May 1884 and remained in Tasmania, operated by the Tasmanian Torpedo Corps,[6] until it was transferred to South Australia in 1905.
Following the success of Victoria, the Victorian colonial government ordered an ironclad ship, HMVS Cerberus and was gifted the composite steam-sail warship, Nelson.
To supplement the ships of the permanent force a number of government vessels were modified so as to serve as gunboats or torpedo boats.
These guns hindered the primary function of the naval artillery, which was to provide a mobile shore battery for the defence of Fremantle Harbour.
Over the next 20 years the vessels based on Port Jackson included the sixth rates Alligator, Caroline, Conway, Imogene, and Rattlesnake, and the sloops Hyacinth, Pelorus and Zebra.
On 25 March 1859 Captain William Loring of Iris was authorised to hoist a commodore's blue pennant and to assume command as senior officer of Her Majesty's Ships on the Australia Station.
In 1909, Prime Minister Alfred Deakin, while attending the Imperial Conference in London, sought the British Government's agreement to end the subsidy system and develop an Australian navy.
The surge in German naval construction prompted the Admiralty to change their position in 1909[8] and the Royal Australian Navy was subsequently formed in 1911.
On 4 October 1913, the new fleet steamed through Sydney Heads, consisting of the battlecruiser HMAS Australia, three light cruisers, and three destroyers, while several other ships were still under construction.
