HMS Wolverine (1863)

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HMS Wolverine (1863) AWM 300012.jpeg
HMS Wolverine, Sydney, July 1881.
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg
NameHMS Wolverine(also HMS Wolverene)
Builder Woolwich Dockyard
Laid down14 April 1859
Launched29 August 1863
FateGiven to Colony of New South Wales.
Flag of New South Wales.svg
NameWolverine
Owner Colony of New South Wales
HomeportSydney
FateSold to Peter Ellison, Sydney for £2200.
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg
NameWolverine
FateScrapped and hulk burnt.
General characteristics [1]
Type Jason-class corvette
Displacement2,416 tons (as completed)
Tons burthen1,703 bm
Length
  • 225 ft 0 in (68.6 m) (gundeck)
  • 196 ft 8+1⁄2 in (60.0 m) (keel)
Beam40 ft 8 in (12.4 m) (overall)
Draught
  • 17 ft 11 in (5.5 m) (forward)
  • 20 ft 4 in (6.2 m) (aft)
Depth of hold24 ft 2 in (7.4 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
  • 2-cylinder horizontal single-expansion engine
  • 4 × boilers
  • 4 × furnaces
  • Single screw
Sail plan Full-rigged ship
Speed11.3 knots (20.9 km/h)
Complementc.250
Armament

HMS Wolverine (also HMS Wolverene) was a Jason-class three-masted wooden screw corvette, of the Royal Navy. Later she became flagship of the Australia Station, eventually being presented to the Colony of New South Wales as a training ship for the New South Wales Naval Brigade and New South Wales Naval Artillery Volunteers.

Contents

History

HMS Wolverine was built at the Woolwich Dockyard and launched at Woolwich on 29 August 1863. [2] She served in the North America and West Indies Station in the 1860s and early 1870s. [2] In June and July 1872, Wolverine assisted in the refloating the Sultan of Zanzibar's warship El Majidi, which had been blown ashore at Zanzibar in a cyclone. [3] She was commissioned as the flagship of the Australia Station on 7 September 1875, under the command of Commodore Anthony Hoskins. [2] In 1880, Francis Pringle Taylor was appointed lieutenant in command, a position he held until 1884. [4] In late May 1880, Wolverie ran aground in the River Tamar. She was refloated. [5]

Gun deck of HMS Wolverine, 1881 StateLibQld 1 16146 Gun deck of H.M.S. Wolverene, 1881.jpg
Gun deck of HMS Wolverine, 1881

During her service Wolverine was present for the Royal Navy's Detached Squadron world cruise in 1881 when the princes Albert and George undertook naval training. [6] The Wolverine left Sydney Harbour at the same time as the Detached Squadron on 10 August 1881, with Commodore John Wilson, Commander-in-Chief of the Australia Station, her destination being Brisbane and then New Guinea. The scientist Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay travelled to New Guinea on this voyage where, aided by the Rev. James Chalmers, he intervened with the Commodore to stop the destruction of the entire native village of Kalo in reprisal for the recent murder of some missionaries there. [7] [8] [9]

A cutlass drill on HMS Wolverine, 1882 HMS Wolverine (1863) cutlass drill.jpg
A cutlass drill on HMS Wolverine, 1882

Wolverine's service came to an end and was replaced by HMS Nelson and paid off in 1882 at Sydney. She was presented to the Colony of New South Wales as a training ship for the New South Wales Naval Brigade and New South Wales Naval Artillery Volunteers – challenging "enemy" ships at Sydney heads and "attacking" coastal and harbour fortifications. [6]

The ship was decommissioned in 1892, sold to a private firm (Peter Ellison, Sydney) for £2,200 in August 1893 and with the engines removed was used as a hulk. [6]

After refit and conversion to a barque, she commenced service as a merchant vessel. On a voyage from Sydney to Liverpool, England she sprung leaks and returned to Auckland for repairs, however upon docking she was found to be unfit. [2] She was sold to G. Niccol, Auckland, for £1,000.

Fate

She was partly scrapped and her hull was burnt. [2]

Notes

  1. ↑ Wolverine's engine was never satisfactory and was replaced in 1876 by Ravenhill with another 400 nominal horsepower unit, but with an indicated horsepower of 1,493.

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References

  1. ↑ Winfield (2004), p. 210
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Bastock, John (1988), Ships on the Australia Station, Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia. pp. 69–70. ISBN   0-86777-348-0
  3. ↑ "A Zanibar War Steamer". The Times. No. 27555. London. 9 December 1872. col B, p. 6.
  4. ↑ "Personal News". Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld). Trove. 17 April 1913. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  5. ↑ "Naval Notes and News". Hampshire Telegraph. No. 4991. Portsmouth. 2 June 1880.
  6. 1 2 3 "HMS Wolverene". 1988. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  7. ↑ Paton, Wendy (2002). Nikolai and Australian connections: a brief history of the life and achievements of Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay. Woollahra Municipal Library. p. 77. ISBN   0949648973.
  8. ↑ "The Detached Squadron". The Sydney Morning Herald . Sydney. 11 August 1881. p. 5. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  9. ↑ "News of the Day". The Sydney Morning Herald . Sydney. 5 September 1881. p. 5. Retrieved 13 August 2013.

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