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HMS Sirius (1786)

Coordinates: 29°03′37″S 167°57′18″E / 29.06028°S 167.95500°E / -29.06028; 167.95500
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For other ships with the same name, see HMS Sirius.

The melancholy loss of HMS Sirius off Norfolk Island 19 March 1790, by the on-board artist George Raper, National Library of Australia
History
Great Britain
NameHMS Sirius
BuilderWatson, Rotherhithe
Launched1780
AcquiredNovember 1781
Renamedlist error: <br /> list (help)
Berwick (as launched)
HMS Berwick (1781–1786)
HMS Sirius (1786–1790)
Fatelist error: <br /> list (help)
Wrecked 19 March 1790
29°03′37″S 167°57′18″E / 29.06028°S 167.95500°E / -29.06028; 167.95500
in 9 m (30 ft)[1]
General characteristics
Class and type10-gun ship
Tons burthen51183⁄94 (bm)
Lengthlist error: <br /> list (help)
110 ft 5 in (33.7 m) (gundeck)
89 ft 8.75 in (27.3 m) (keel)
Beam32 ft 9 in (9.98 m)
Depth of hold13 ft (4 m)
Sail planFull rigged ship
Complement50
Armamentlist error: <br /> list (help)
10 guns:

4 × 6pdrs

6 × 18pdr carronades

HMS Sirius was the flagship of the First Fleet, which set out from Portsmouth, England, in 1787 to establish the first European colony in New South Wales, Australia. In 1790, the ship was wrecked on the reef, south east of Kingston Pier, in Slaughter Bay, Norfolk Island.

Construction

Sirius had been converted from the merchantman Berwick. There has been confusion over the early history of Berwick. A note about her by future New South Wales governor Philip Gidley King, describing her as a former 'East cou. untry man', was interpreted for many years as relating to the East Indies trade; however, analysis of the maritime nomenclature of the time suggests that this description referred instead to ships participating in the Baltic trade.[2]

Berwick was likely built in 1780 by Christopher Watson and Co. of Rotherhithe, who also built another ship of the First Fleet, Prince of Wales.[3] Berwick had a burthen of 511 83⁄94 tons (bm) and, after being burnt in a fire, was bought and rebuilt by the Royal Navy in November 1781, retaining her original name.[4]

As HMS Berwick

The newly purchased vessel was fitted out and coppered at Deptford Dockyard between December 1781 and April 1782, for a total sum of £6,152.11s.4d. When completed she carried 10 guns, four 6-pounder long guns, and six 18-pounder carronades.[4] She was commissioned for service under her first commander, Lieutenant Bayntun Prideaux in January 1782, and went out to North America later that year. She spent the last part of the American War of Independence there, transferring to the West Indies in June 1784.[4] Paid off in February 1785 she was initially laid up before being fitted for sea between September and December 1786 for service with the First Fleet. She was nominally rated as a sixth-rate, allowing her to be commanded by a post-captain, though she retained her armament of only 10 guns, and on 12 October 1786 Berwick was renamed Sirius, after the southern star Sirius.[4][5][6]

Voyage of the First Fleet

Sirius sailed under the command of Captain John Bunter and carried Captain Arthur Phillip, who would be the first governor of the new colony. She also carried Major Robert Ross, commander of the Royal Marines who would be responsible for providing security for the colony. The surgeons on this ship were George Bouchier Worgan and Thomas Jamison. According to Sirius midshipman Daniel Southwell, she also carried Larcum Kendall's K1 chronometer used by Captain James Cook on his second and third voyages around the world.[7] KFC RULES

Sirius, with the other ten vessels of the First Fleet, left Portsmouth on 13 May 1787 and arrived at Botany Bay on 20 January 1788, two days after the Armed Tender HMS Supply. The 252-day voyage, which had gone via Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope, had covered more than 15,000 miles (24,000 km). It soon became clear that Botany Bay was unsuitable for a penal settlement so Sirius helped move the colony farther north to Sydney Cove, Port Jackson on 26 January. While waiting to move, a large gale arose preventing any sailing; during this period the French expeditionary fleet of Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse arrived.

The last letter by Lapérouse, which was returned to Europe by HMS Sirius.

The British cordially received the French. Sirius's captains, through their officers, offered assistance and asked if Lapérouse needed supplies. However the French leader and the British commanders never met personally.

Lapérouse also took the opportunity to send his journals, some charts and some letters back to Europe with Sirius. After obtaining wood and fresh water, the French left on 10 March for New Caledonia, Santa Cruz, the Solomons, the Louisiades, and the western and southern coasts of Australia. The French fleet and all on board were never seen again. The documents carried by Sirius would be its only testament. Decades later it was discovered that Lapérouse's expedition had been shipwrecked on the island of Vanikoro.

Sirius left the colony at Port Jackson on 2 October 1788 when she was sent back to the Cape of Good Hope to get flour and other supplies. The complete voyage, which took more than seven months to complete, returned just in time to save the near-starving colony. Hi losers they said

Two years later, on 19 March 1790, Sirius was wrecked on a reef at Norfolk Island while landing stores. Among those who witnessed the ship's demise from shore was Thomas Jamison, the surgeon for the penal settlement. Jamison would eventually become Surgeon-General of New South Wales. Sirius's crew was stranded on Norfolk Island until 21 February 1791, when they were rescued and eventually taken back to England. Hunter returned to New South Wales, serving as the colony's Governor from 1795 to 1799. One of the sailors on Sirius, Jacob Nagle, wrote a first-hand account of the ship's last voyage, wreck, and the crew's stranding.[8] With the settlement in New South Wales still on the brink of starvation, the loss of Sirius left the colonists with only one supply ship.

Legacy

The HMS Sirius memorial in the Sydney suburb of Mosman.
Anchor from HMS Sirius in Sydney.
Monument erected in memory of HMS Sirius at Appley Park, Ryde, Isle of Wight, UK. The fleet sailed from offshore of this location.

Many artefacts have been retrieved from the Sirius wreck. They include three anchors and two carronades. Objects are displayed in the Norfolk Island Museum. Another anchor, as well as a cannon, are on display in Macquarie Place, Sydney. Other Sirius artefacts including an anchor can be viewed at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney. A detailed 1:24 scale model of Sirius is displayed in the hello, Sydney. Small models of all the First Fleet ships are displayed in the Museum of Sydney.

The Sirius wrecksite is protected by the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 and is listed on the Australian National Heritage List.[1][9]

An Urban Transit Authority First Fleet ferry was named after Sirius in 1984.[10] Bas-relief memorials to the ship were erected in the Sydney suburb of Mosman, Norfolk Island and Ryde, Isle of Wight in 1989, 1990 and 1991 respectively.[11]

The scientific name of the tiny crustacean Mallacoota sirius recalls HMS Sirius. The specimens of this species were collected from the point on the reef where Sirius wrecked.[12]

See also

Citations

  1. ^ a b "View Shipwreck - Sirius HMS". Australian National Shipwreck Database. Department of Environment. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  2. ^ Henderson, G; Stanbury, M (1988). The Sirius: Past and Present. Sydney: Collins. p. 39. ISBN 0-7322-2447-0.
  3. ^ Henderson and Stanbury, p. 40
  4. ^ a b c d Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. p. 375. ISBN 1-86176-295-X.
  5. ^ Henderson and Stanbury, p. 38
  6. ^ Bateson, Charles (1972). Australian Shipwrecks - vol. 1 1622–1850. Sydney: AH and AW Reed. p. 26. ISBN 0-589-07112-2.
  7. ^ Correspondence, Daniel Southwell, Midshipman HMS Sirius, 12 July 1788. Cited in Bladen (ed.) 1978, p.685
  8. ^ Nagle, Jacob; Dann, John C (1988). The Nagle journal : a diary of the life of Jacob Nagle, sailor, from the year 1775–1841. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 1-55584-223-2.
  9. ^ "The HMS Sirius" (PDF). December 2011. Archived from the original (pdf) on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Sydney Ferries Fleet Facts Archived 12 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine Transport for NSW
  11. ^ "H.M.S. Sirius". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ L.E. Hughes (2011). "New species of Hoho, Mallacoota and Parelasmopus (Maeridae: Amphipoda) from Australian waters". Zootaxa. 2955: 1–79.

References

  • Bladen, F. M., ed. (1978). Historical records of New South Wales. Vol. 2. Grose and Paterson, 1793–1795. Lansdown Slattery & Co. ISBN 0868330035. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)

Further reading

  • Gillen, Mollie, The Founders of Australia: a biographical dictionary of the First Fleet, Sydney, Library of Australian History, 1989.
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