Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboats

With the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. To equip the new force the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat. However given the number of ports along the long Queensland coast it was realised that additional ships were required. Five ships had already been ordered for the Queensland Department of Harbours and Rivers when the decision was taken to convert them to also serve as Auxiliary Gunboats. This resulted in the fitting of a 5 in gun and the relocation of the boilers below the waterline. The ships were as follows:

Bonito
Bream
Dolphin
Pumba
Stingaree

These ships were built by Walkers at Maryborough

Maryborough, Queensland

Maryborough is a city located on the Mary River in South East Queensland, Australia, approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is serviced by the Bruce Highway, and has a population of approximately 22,000 . It is closely tied to its neighbour city Hervey Bay which is...

and were the largest warships built in the Australian colonies before federation. The depression

Depression (economics)

In economics, a depression is a sustained, long-term downturn in economic activity in one or more economies. It is a more severe downturn than a recession, which is seen by some economists as part of the modern business cycle....

of the 1890s greatly curtailed operations with most of the vessels placed in reserve. Stingaree was listed until 1895 whilst Pumba remained on strength at the time of federation in 1901.

Bream (1963), Dolphin (1963) and Stingaree (1966) were sunk off Tangalooma, Moreton Bay

Moreton Bay

Moreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources...

. One of the others worked in private hands on the Brisbane River

Brisbane River

The Brisbane River is the longest river in south east Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. John Oxley was the first European to explore the river who named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane in 1823...

into the 1990s.

See also