HMS Mutine (1825)

HMS ''Mutine'' was launched on 19 May 1825 at Plymouth, England as a ''Cherokee''-class brig-sloop. She became a Falmouth packet until the navy sold her in 1841. She then became the whaler ''Aladdin'', sailing first out of England and then out of Hobart. The government in Tasmania purchased her in 1885 to use as a powder hulk. It sold her in 1902 for breaking up.

Career

Falmouth packet: In September 1826 ''Mutine'' was at Devonport being fitted out for the packet trade out of Falmouth. Thereafter she served for many years under the command of Lieutenant Richard Pawle.

In addition to sailing between Falmouth and North America, ''Mutine'' made voyages to the Mediterranean and to the West Indies. On 8 March 1827 '' Lloyd's List'' reported that ''Mutine'' had arrived at Falmouth from the Mediterranean having observed a fleet of Turkish warships off Cephalonia.

In August 1832 ''Mutine'' brought back to England 17,000 dollars salvaged from . ''Thetis'' had wrecked on 5 December 1830 off Cape Frio, Brazil. She had been carrying a cargo of bullion, two-thirds of which had subsequently been salvaged.

Disposal: The "Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" offered ''Mutine'', of 10 guns and 231 tons (bm), for sale on 13 May 1841. She did not sell and they offered her again on 27 May. She was sold on that day, without stores, for £740.

Whaler: Messrs. Bennett of London purchased her and converted her into a whaler they named ''Aladdin''. She first appeared in '' Lloyd's Register'' in 1841 with Bull, master, Bennett, owner, and trade London–South Seas.''Lloyd's Register'' (1841), Supple. pages, "A".
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''Aladdin'' made one voyage for the Bennetts.British Southern Whale Fishery voyages database: ''Aladdin''.
/ref> ''Aladdin'', J. Boon, master, sailed from England on 23 February 1842. The vessel was reported at anchor in a bay near Kupang, Timor in October 1842, with 16 barrels of whale oil aboard, where she had come to obtain provisions, which were "abundant and cheap." She returned to England on 15 June 1846 with 278 casks of sperm oil and two casks of train oil, representing some 116 tons of oil.

In 1846 the Hobart entrepreneur, Charles Seal, sent one of his employees, Captain George McArthur, to London to purchase a replacement for one of his whalers recently lost at sea. McArthur purchased ''Aladdin'' and departed London on 5 September 1846. ''Aladdin'' reached Hobart on 15 January 1847 with 50 barrels of oil, having done a little fishing along the way.

On 18 December 1848. ''Aladdin'' became the stage for an unusual entertainment for the people of Hobart.

''Aladdin'' made 31 whaling voyages out of Hobart. In 1860 Captain McArthur purchased her for £500. She was recoppered in 1867, when a cannonball was discovered embedded in the wood beneath her old copper skins.

Also in 1867 McArthur had forcibly to suppress a mutiny. He died in 1875 but the ship's new owners continued sailing ''Aladdin'' as a whaler. Her owners sold her to the Tasmanian government in 1885 or 1892 (sources differ).

Powder hulk: The Tasmanian Government purchased ''Aladdin'' to use as a powder hulk and anchored her in the River Derwent in Hobart. During the 1898 celebration of the centenary of the Battle of the Nile she was decorated with flags, as it was mistakenly believed that she was the French brig ''La Mutine'', renamed , which had served during that engagement.

Fate

''Aladdin'' was sold for breaking up in 1902.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutine (1825)
1825 ships
Cherokee-class brig-sloops
Ships built in Plymouth, Devon
Whaling ships
Packet boat
Whaling in Australia
Falmouth Packets