HMS ''Pandora'' was a 3-gun

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

of 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 service from 1833 to 1862. Between 1845 and 1848 ''Pandora'', under the command of James Wood, was used as a tender to . During this time she was involved in survey work on the west Coast of the Americas from

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

. From 20 December 1850 to 5 June 1856 her captain was Commander

Byron Drury Admiral Byron Drury (1815–1888) was a British naval officer. Biography Drury was born in Harrow on the Hill, the son of Rev. Henry Drury, of Harrow School; at which place he, and his father, Dr. Drury, were masters for about 70 years. Byron ...

, under whose command she spent four and a half years surveying the New Zealand coast. *Soundings made off the Cape of Good Hope at the Agulhas Bank in 1851. *Took part in the survey work of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, between 1851 and 1855. This work, together with that of between 1848 and 1851, led to the publication of the ''New Zealand Pilot''. . On 8 February 1853, ''Pandora'' ran aground at

Manukau Manukau (), or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, so ...

whilst departing for

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the Auckland CBD, city centre, close to the volcano, volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree ...

. *In December 1854, surveyed Sumner Bay, including the bar and mouth of the

Avon-Heathcote Estuary The Estuary of the Heathcote and Avon Rivers / Ihutai is the largest semi-enclosed shallow estuary in Canterbury and remains one of New Zealand’s most important coastal wetlands. It is well known as an internationally important habitat for migra ...

for the

Canterbury Provincial Council The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential Eng ...

. Drury wrote a report and produced a detailed chart of the area, with soundings. Thomas Kerr her Master.

Notes

References

* Day, Jean D. ''The Search for Thomas Kerr, Mariner, Mapmaker, Missionary, Meteorologist, 1825 - 1875.'' Create Space, 2015. * Lyon, David and Rif Winfield. ''The Sail and Steam Navy List: All of the Ships of the Royal Navy, 1815-1889.'' London: Chatham Publishing. 2004, p. 126.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pandora (1833), HMS Brigs of the Royal Navy Exploration ships of the United Kingdom 1833 ships Ships built in Woolwich Maritime incidents in February 1853