HMCS ''Spitfire'' was a 65-ton sail gunboat built at Cuthberts Shipyard,

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

, Australia and launched on 3 April 1855 for the

Colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...

.Gillett, p.12 Her hull was sheathed with 22-ounce copper. She was the first warship built in Australia for a Colonial government. ''Spitfire'' was given to the

Colony of Queensland The Colony of Queensland was a colony of the British Empire from 1859 to 1901, when it became a State in the federal Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. At its greatest extent, the colony included the present-day State of Queensland, t ...

in 1859 and she was used as the pilot cutter on

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

. In 1860, she was used as part of an expedition to find the mouth of the

Burdekin River The Burdekin River is a river located in North and Far North Queensland, Australia. The river rises on the northern slopes of Boulder Mountain at Valley of Lagoons, part of the western slope of the Seaview Range, and flows into the Coral Sea at ...

. She was to become the pilot boat for

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs ...

, until sold out of service in 1885 and purchased by Captain Alex Mathewson, for use as a fishing vessel. She was sold in 1892 to Dan Moynahan and S.B. Andreassen and during a cyclone in 1896 she was damaged off Hinchinbrook Island.

Fate

''Spitfire'' was sunk during a cyclone off Piper Island Light on 21st August 1898.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spitfire (1855) 1855 ships Ships built in New South Wales Gunboats of the New South Wales Naval Brigade