HMS ''Blanche'' was a 1760-ton, 6-gun wooden screw

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in the mid-1860s by

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...

.Bastock, p. 50 She was sent to the

Australia Station The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.Dennis et al. 2008, p.53. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, ...

in January 1868, arriving in April 1868. She undertook a punitive action against

Solomon Island Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

natives in September 1869. During 1870, she joined in the search for the

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''Daphne'', which was unsuccessful. Under the command of Captain Cortland Simpson, she undertook a survey of

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

's Harbour in 1872. Blanche Bay is named after HMS ''Blanche''. She finished service on the Australia Station in 1875. While sailing to England she was almost lost rounding

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

in bad weather. HMS Blanche (1867) AWM 302147

After being refitted and rearmed, she was sent to the

North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the t ...

, where she remained until 1881.

Crew

A memorial to Paymaster James McAvoy and Lieutenant Thomas Thompson Auderton Smith was erected in

St James' Church, Sydney St James' Church, commonly known as St James', King Street, is an Australian heritage-listed Anglican parish church located at 173 King Street, in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales. Consecrated in February 1824 and named ...

by the captain and officers of ''Blanche'' in 1872. In 1871 the crew of ''Blanche'' (and HMS ''Rosario'') were replaced by a new crew that sailed from the UK on HMS ''Megaera''. However, it developed a serious leak in the Indian Ocean and was beached on

Île Saint-Paul Île Saint-Paul (Saint Paul Island) is an island forming part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (''Terres australes et antarctiques françaises'', TAAF) in the Indian Ocean, with an area of . The island is located about south of the la ...

on 19 June 1871. They were marooned there for 3 months before being rescued and conveyed to Sydney on , a P&O steamer hired for the rescue. They arrived on 2 October 1871, and ''Blanche'' was recommissioned on the 12th. On 11 April 1872, ''Blanche'' was driven ashore on

New Hanover Island New Hanover Island, (german: Neuhannover), also called Lavongai, is a large volcanic island in the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. This region is part of the Bismarck Archipelago and lies at . Measuring some , it had a population of 5, ...

. She was subsequently refloated. Repairs cost £2,450.

Fate

She was placed in reserve and in 1886 was sold to Castle for £3,600 for breaking.

Notes

Bibliography

* *Bastock, John (1988), ''Ships on the Australia Station'', Child & Associates Publishing; Frenchs Forest, Australia. * *Rottman, Gordon L. (2001), ''World War II Pacific Island Guide: A Geo-Military Study'', Greenwood Press; Santa Barbara, CA. * Ships built in Chatham Eclipse-class sloops Victorian-era sloops of the United Kingdom Victorian-era corvettes of the United Kingdom 1867 ships Maritime incidents in April 1870 {{UK-mil-ship-stub