.gif)
HMS Investigator (1798)
Encyclopedia
{|Flinders left the now decommissioned Investigator as a hulk at Port Jackson
and attempted to return to England as a passenger aboard HMS Porpoise
.
of Sydney ordered a survey, which found that the Investigator could be repaired and returned to service. The work involved cutting down the front deck and re-rigging the ship, to prepare her for another voyage.
In 1805 Investigator sailed back to England, carrying two of Flinders' botanists, Robert Brown
and Ferdinand Bauer
and their collections. The ship endured several fierce storms enroute but arrived safely. She continued in naval service for another few years, but was eventually sold to be broken up in November 1810, a "noble, hard-working ship which did not deserve this fate".
In fact, the Investigator was not broken up, but rebuilt as a commercial sailing vessel, brig or snow rigged, and reverted to her former naval name Xenophon. As such she continued to sail extensively around the globe until putting into Geelong on 30 July 1853 during the Australian gold rushes
with a cargo of timber and other goods from Liverpool
. The vessel later continued on to Melbourne
, where she was sold and was converted into a storage hulk. Reregistered in Melbourne in 1861 as a hulk of 367 tons, 101.5 x 28.2 x 18.9 ft. depth of hold, the last change of ownership was in 1868 and the register was closed with the comment 'broken up' in 1872.
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
and attempted to return to England as a passenger aboard HMS Porpoise
HMS Porpoise (1799)
HMS Porpoise was a 10-gun sloop originally built in Bilbao, Spain, as the packet ship Infanta Amelia. She was 308 tons, 93ft long on the gun deck and a beam of 27ft, 11 inches. On 6 August 1799 HMS Argo captured her off the coast of Portugal...
.
Later years (1804 - 1872)
In 1804, Governor KingPhilip Gidley King
Captain Philip Gidley King RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He is best known as the official founder of the first European settlement on Norfolk Island and as the third Governor of New South Wales.-Early years and establishment of Norfolk Island settlement:King was born...
of Sydney ordered a survey, which found that the Investigator could be repaired and returned to service. The work involved cutting down the front deck and re-rigging the ship, to prepare her for another voyage.
In 1805 Investigator sailed back to England, carrying two of Flinders' botanists, Robert Brown
Robert Brown (botanist)
Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
and Ferdinand Bauer
Ferdinand Bauer
Ferdinand Lucas Bauer was an Austrian botanical illustrator who travelled on Matthew Flinders' expedition to Australia.-Biography:...
and their collections. The ship endured several fierce storms enroute but arrived safely. She continued in naval service for another few years, but was eventually sold to be broken up in November 1810, a "noble, hard-working ship which did not deserve this fate".
In fact, the Investigator was not broken up, but rebuilt as a commercial sailing vessel, brig or snow rigged, and reverted to her former naval name Xenophon. As such she continued to sail extensively around the globe until putting into Geelong on 30 July 1853 during the Australian gold rushes
Australian gold rushes
The Australian gold rush started in 1851 when prospector Edward Hammond Hargraves claimed the discovery of payable gold near Bathurst, New South Wales, at a site Edward Hargraves called Ophir.Eight months later, gold was found in Victoria...
with a cargo of timber and other goods from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. The vessel later continued on to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, where she was sold and was converted into a storage hulk. Reregistered in Melbourne in 1861 as a hulk of 367 tons, 101.5 x 28.2 x 18.9 ft. depth of hold, the last change of ownership was in 1868 and the register was closed with the comment 'broken up' in 1872.
External links
- Digitised copies of the original logs of HMS Investigator, British Atmospheric Data Centre/The National Archives as part of the CORRAL project