Colonial History

AUSTRALIAN COLONIAL NAVIES

 

 Introduction

From the time of the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 the naval defence of the Australian colonies was the sole responsibility of the Royal Navy. However, during the mid-1800s some of the colonies, notably New South Wales and Victoria, were concerned about the apparent lack of strength of the Royal Navy in Australian waters. This concern, coupled with a general desire to assist in the providing of their own defences, resulted in New South Wales and Victoria both acquiring a warship named Spitfire and Victoria respectively.

The acquisition of warships by the two colonies caused concern within the Colonial Office and the Admiralty, even more so after the Victorian steam sloop Victoria saw active service in New Zealand waters during the Maori Wars of 1860-61. The reason for this concern was that both the Admiralty and Colonial Office doubted that the colonial warships would be recognised by any foreign power should they be operating outside colonial waters. At the same time two other related topics were being hotly debated within the corridors of Whitehall. These were the high cost of maintaining naval forces on foreign naval stations and the Victorian Government’s continued requests for a more modern and powerful warship. The Imperial Government’s solution to both these problems was to pass the Colonial Naval Defence Act in 1865.

The basic provisions of the act allowed self-governing colonies to acquire, operate and maintain warships which were under the direct control of the colonial authorities. In time of war these vessels could be commissioned into the Royal Navy. In a single stroke the Imperial Government not only legalised the position of cob-nial warships but also found a cheaper method of ensuring the presence of warships in the various colonies.

The passing of the Colonial Naval Defence Act marked the starting point for events that were to lead to the formation of the Royal Australian Navy. The next milestone after the passing of the Colonial Naval Defence Act was the establishment, by several of the colonies, of their own naval forces. The size and complexity of these naval forces depended on the wealth of the colony and the degree to which the colony felt threatened. The colonies of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland established the largest of the colonial naval forces while South Australia maintained only one warship, the light cruiser Protector. Neither Tasmania nor Western Australia established true naval forces of their own, though both had military units with a naval flavour.

 New South Wales

As Sydney was the major base for the Royal Navy in Australia, the New South Wales Government had no incentive to acquire their own naval forces. However during the Crimean War this sense of security vanished and in 1854 the government called for tenders for the construction of a gunboat to help in the defence of Sydney. The gunboat, named Spitfire was not only the first warship ordered by an Australian government but also the first warship built in Australia. After the launch of Spitfire in 1855 no further steps were taken by the New South Wales Government in establishing a naval force until 1863 when the formation of a Naval Brigade of 120 men was announced. Support for the Naval Brigade was so great that by 1864 it consisted of five companies, four in Sydney and one in Newcastle, with an overall strength of 200 men. Headquarters for the Naval Brigade was established at Fort Macquarie, where the Opera House stands today. Unfortunately the Naval Brigade had no ships of its own, Spitfire having been given to Queensland in 1859.

The disadvantage of not having any vessels for the Naval Brigade was recognised during the late 1870s when the government ordered the construction of two second class torpedo boats, Avernus and Acheron. These vessels were built in Sydney by the Atlas Engineering Company of Pyrmont. The torpedo boats were later followed by the acquisition, as a gift from the Imperial Government, of HMS Wolverene in 1882. The naval forces of the colony were further augmented by arming a number of government vessels.

The Wolverene was paid off and then sold in 1893 and the other naval auxiliaries were used with less and less frequency as the perceived threats of the early 1880s diminished. Even though the number of vessels operated as part of the defences of New South Wales decreased, the membership of the Naval Brigade continued to increase until it reached a strength of 614 at Federation.

At the time of Federation the entire assets of the naval forces of New South Wales were transferred to the Commonwealth. This included the men of the Naval Brigade that were serving as part of the International Force in China during the Boxer Rebellion.

 Victoria

Following the lead taken by New South Wales, the Victorian Government ordered a composite sail-steam sloop, named Victoria from England. This ship arrived in the colony on the 31 May 1856. During her career Victoria carried out a large variety of tasks, including assisting in the search for Burke and Wills and delivering the first trout eggs to Tasmania. The highlight of Victoria’s career was when the vessel was dispatched to New Zealand during the Maori Wars. This was the first occasion that Australian military or naval forces had been deployed overseas as part of an imperial force.

Following their experience with Victoria the Colonial Government applied to the Imperial Government for assistance in the acquisition of an ironclad warship. As a result of these requests the Victorian Government was given assistance in the purchase of Cerberus as well as the loan of a composite steam-sail warship, HMS Nelson. Supporting the permanent naval forces which manned the ships was an active and well-trained Naval Brigade. This Brigade was organised into two divisions of approximately 150 men each. One of these divisions was stationed at Port Melbourne and the other was based at the Williamstown Naval Depot.

During the 1880s further warships, including first and second class torpedo boats and two gunboats, were added to the Victorian Naval Forces. As well as these regular warships there was also a large number of government vessels which were earmarked for naval service in times of tension. By the end of the 1880s Victoria had by far the most powerful of all the colonial naval forces. These forces, acting in concert with the fortifications located at the heads and other sites around Port Phillip Bay, made Melbourne the most heavily defended city in Australia and possibly the Empire.

As with the other colonies expenditure on the naval forces and defence in general fluctuated with the interest and concern shown by the government. By the early 1890s expenditure on defence had been reduced to such an amount that the naval force was considerably reduced and the two gunboats were also paid off. The final act of the Victorian Naval Forces was to dispatch to China a force to fight the Boxers and to serve as part of the international group.

 Queensland

The Queensland Marine Defence Force was established during the early 1880s to help provide for the defence of Queensland’s extensive coastline. To enable this force to carry out its assigned tasks, two gunboats were ordered from the shipyards of Armstrong Mitchell & Company. The gunboats, named Paluma and Gayundah were shallow draft vessels capable of operating in the many bays and estuaries along the coast. Shortly after her arrival in the colony Paluma was lent to the Royal Navy for use as a survey ship along the Australian east coast. Supporting these ships were torpedo boats and a number of government vessels modified to act as naval auxiliaries. The Queensland Government also established Naval Brigade companies in the major ports along the Queensland coast.

Of all of the colonial naval forces the Queensland Marine Defence Force was the only one not to become involved in a foreign adventure. This did not mean however that it had an uneventful existence. In September 1888, after a disagreement with the Queensland Government over certain conditions of service, Captain H.T. Wright RN, commanding officer of Gayundah, coaled and provisioned her and threatened to sail her to Sydney. On hearing of this the government ordered a squad of police to relieve Captain Wright of his command. The problem was eventually resolved but not before Captain Wright had enquired from his gunner as to the best line of fire for his guns in order to hit Parliament House. The second incident of interest occurred in 1893 during a flood in the Brisbane River when the gunboat Paluma broke its moorings. When the flood waters receded Paluma was left high and dry in the Botanical Gardens. While officials were arguing as to the best means of refloating Paluma another flood struck and refloated the ship. She was then towed to her moorings and made secure.

 South Australia

In South Australia, as in the other colonies, the early 1880s saw the initial moves towards the establishment of a naval force. The major push for the establishment of a naval force came from the then governor, Sir William Jervois. As a consequence of the pressures applied by Sir William and the general concern over the lack of adequate naval defences, the South Australian Government ordered the light cruiser Protector. This 920-ton ship arrived in Adelaide in September 1884 and remained in active service with the South Australian Naval Forces until she was transferred to the Commonwealth in 1901. During the later stages of her career as a colonial warship Protector saw active service in China during the Boxer Rebellion. At the time of her acquisition Protector was the most powerful and modern warship in service with a colonial navy.

To support Protector the Government also established a Naval Brigade. Also purchased were a number of Whitehead torpedoes, though there was no torpedo boat available to fire them. This situation remained unchanged until the South Australian Government negotiated the purchase of TB 191 from Tasmania, transfer of which occurred during 1905.

 Tasmania

During the mid-1830s the colony of Van Diemans Land built and operated the armed schooner Eliza. This vessel, built at Port Arthur, was operated by the Convict Marine Service and carried out anti-piracy patrols as well as helping to maintain the security of penal establishments. Though she was an armed vessel Eliza’s function was mainly that of a coast guard vessel and not a warship.

Tasmania’s first and only warship was purchased in 1883. This was a second-class torpedo boat known simply as TB 191. The ship arrived in Hobart on 1 May 1884 and remained in the colony until she was transferred to South Australia.

TB 191’s career was very uneventful and consisted mainly of occasional practice runs and long periods of inactivity. During one of these occasions TB 191 was used to help carry out a survey of Ralph’s Bay. Finally, during the early 1900s, plans were made for the disposal of TB 191 to South Australia.

 Western Australia

The provisions of the Colonial Naval Defence Act of 1865 were not applicable to Western Australia until after that colony achieved the status of a self-governing colony, and until that time she could not legally operate warships of her own. However, in 1879 a militia unit, known as the Fremantle Naval Artillery, was formed to assist in the defence of Fremantle Harbour. Personnel for the Fremantle Naval Artillery were recruited solely from ex-Royal Navy personnel or merchant seamen of good character.

The primary function of the Naval Artillery was to provide a mobile shore battery for the defence of Fremantle Harbour. To this end the unit was equipped with two brass 6-pounder field guns. Unfortunately there were no limbers for these weapons so they were very restricted in their mobility. In 1889 these guns were replaced by two 9-pounder RML guns complete with limbers and wagons. However, by this stage the Fremantle Naval Artillery had been disbanded and reformed as the Fremantle Artillery Volunteers.

 Federation

At Federation, the men and assets of the various colonial naval forces, including those of the New South Wales and Victoria Naval contingents and the crew of Protector who were serving in China, were combined into the Commonwealth Naval Forces.

The Commonwealth Naval Forces were formed into the Royal Australian Navy in 1911.