HMS Lady Nelson

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Lady Nelson, built 1799 (on the Thames)

The 6-gun brig HMS Lady Nelson (His Majesty's Armed Survey Vessel Lady Nelson ), built in 1799, was an armed reconnaissance ship of the British Navy between 1800 and 1825 in Australian waters. Two replicas were built in the 20th century.

HMS Lady Nelson from 1799

The construction of the brig on behalf of the Admiralty began in Deptford on the Thames in 1799 . Your task should be to explore the Australian coast, which had not been properly mapped until then. The ship was over 16.15 m long, 5.38 m wide and had a 3.7 m draft, she was equipped with six 3- and 4-pounder cannons, the tonnage was 61 t.

In 1800 the ship Lady Nelson was put into service and left Portsmouth on March 18, 1800 under the command of James Grant. After circumnavigating Cabo Verde and the Cape of Good Hope , the Lady Nelson reached New South Wales on December 3, 1800 near what is now Mount Gambier . After a short landing and the passage of Bass Strait between Australia and Tasmania , she docked in Port Jackson on December 16, 1800, as planned .

In the next few years, the ship undertook numerous exploratory trips around the Australian continent. In 1801 and 1802 the Lady Nelson sailed into Port Phillip Bay . In 1803 their destination was the Derwent River in Tasmania (then Van Diemen's Land). On the way there she visited Norfolk Island , Port Macquarie and Newcastle . In 1804 the ship sailed along the Tamar River along with three others to establish new settlements. The Cataract Gorge was also discovered. From 1805 to 1808 and 1813, the ship visited New Zealand and several times again the Norfolk Island, from where she evacuated many residents on the occasion of the dissolution of the convict colony. The brig spent the later years on several exploratory trips along the east and north Australian coast.

In 1824 the Lady Nelson was sent together with the HMS Tamar to Melville Island on the Australian north coast, with the task of building the first British settlements there. On October 21, 1824, Fort Dundas was officially founded as the first settlement. To provide them and others with food, Lady Nelson took a trip to the Dutch settlements on Timor and returned with 30 pigs. She did not return from the third trip there, which began on February 19, 1825. It is believed that it was attacked and sunk by pirates near the island of Babar (also known as Baba or Babber in older sources). The crew was believed to have been killed.

Lady Nelson (replica 1988) in Hobart in 2017

Replicas

Mount Gambier Museum (1986 replica)

The Lady Nelson Visitor & Discovery Center in Mount Gambier had a replica of Lady Nelson built in 1896 . Not far from the present-day town of Mount Gambier, Lady Nelson briefly docked in Australia for the first time in 1800. The replica of the ship is in a museum and is not seaworthy. In 2011, the model had to be thoroughly overhauled due to rot. The museum is visited by around 80,000 people annually.

Excursion boat in Hobart (replica 1988)

In 1983 the Tasmanian Sail Association Ltd. to have a replica of Lady Nelson made, which was completed in 1988. It was a seaworthy, almost 1: 1 replica of the original ship. It differed only marginally in dimensions (however, it was equipped with a Gardiner engine with 118 hp).

The replica is based in Hobart . From there it goes on small trips and can also be rented. In addition, the replica drove to places that the original ship visited, took part in various races (such as the Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race ) and took part in various anniversary celebrations in Tasmania and Australia.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Irene Schaffer (compiled by): A Short History of the Lady Nelson (1799 - 1825) , online at: ladynelson.org.au / ...
  2. ↑ a b The Ship , online at: ladynelson.org.au/ship
  3. ↑ a b c d Timeline , chronological overview of the history of HMS Lady Nelson, online at: ladynelson.org.au/.../timeline
  4. ↑ A History of the Lady Nelson , Tasmanian Geographic website, online at: tasmaniangeographic.com / ...
  5. ↑ "THE NEWLY FORMED BRITISH SETTLEMENT ON THE NORTH WEST COAST OF AUSTRALIAN", in: The Australian (New South Wales, Australia), March 10 1825 3. (National Library of Australia), online at: trove.nla. gov.au / ...
  6. ↑ Lady Nelson (1799); Passenger vessel; Brig , Royal Museums Greenwich, online at: collections.rmg.co.uk / ...
  7. ↑ Ida Lee: The Logbooks of the Lady Nelson , Library of Alexandria, especially Chapter 13: THE LADY NELSON ACCOMPANIES HMS TAMAR TO MELVILLE ISLAND , online at: books.google.de / ...
  8. ↑ Crowd welcomes replica ship to Mount Gambier , message from December 4, 2012, news server ABC, online at: abc.net.au / ...
  9. ↑ Maritime project may launch fresh boat building industry , The Standard (The Warrnambool Standard), December 25, 2011, online at: standard.net.au / ...
  10. ↑ Lady Nelson Visitor Center , online at: mountgambierpoint.com.au / ...
  11. ↑ a b Lady Nelson Replica , online at: ladynelson.org.au/...replica

Web links

  • Ida Lee: The Logbooks of the Lady Nelson , Library of Alexandria, online (partially accessible): books.google.de / ...