HMS ''Porpoise'' was the former mercantile quarter-decked sloop ''Lord Melville'', which 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 ...

purchased in 1804 to use as a store-ship. She sailed to 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 ...

in January 1806, arriving seven months later. She was the flagship of

William Bligh Vice-Admiral William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. The mutiny on the HMS ''Bounty'' occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command; after being set adrift i ...

when he was governor of New South Wales and played a prominent role in the

Rum Rebellion The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was a ''coup d'état'' in the then-British penal colony of New South Wales, staged by the New South Wales Corps in order to depose Governor William Bligh. Australia's first and only military coup, the name derives from ...

. In May 1810 ''Porpoise'' sailed from Sydney; after arriving in Britain she underwent a major refit. After voyages to the West Indies, the Cape of Good Hope and North America she served as a harbour ship at Woolwich and Sheerness. She was laid up in 1814 and sold in January 1816. She then returned to mercantile service under her original name and made one voyage transporting

convicts A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

to New South Wales, and a second to

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

. She was last listed in 1820.

Naval service

''Lord Melville'' was built at South Shields, England. The Royal Navy purchased her in September 1804 and fitted her out at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

between March and July 1805 for service as a storeship. She was renamed ''Porpoise'' and commissioned in April 1805 under Commander Joseph Short as a flagship for Commodore William Bligh. Bligh was formally appointed captain of ''Porpoise'' on 13 November 1805.

Voyage to Australia

On 28 January 1806 she left Portsmouth for New South Wales, escorting the transports ''Lady Madeleine'' ''

Sinclair Sinclair may refer to: Places * Lake Sinclair, near Milledgeville, Georgia * Sinclair, Iowa * Sinclair, West Virginia * Sinclair, Wyoming * Sinclair Mills, British Columbia * Sinclair Township, Minnesota * Sinclair, Manitoba People * Sin ...

'', , , ''Elizabeth'', and ''Justina''. ''Lady Madeleine Sinclair'' was also carrying Bligh, who was sailing to the colony to assume the governorship. Unfortunately, the Admiralty's orders were ambiguous as to whether Bligh or Short was in command of the convoy. At one point Bligh ignored a signal from Short to return ''Lady Madeleine Sinclair'' to her course, after Bligh had ordered a change in direction. Short responded by ordering his

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

, John Putland, to fire one shot across her bows, and then a second across her stern; Bligh ignored both. Short considered ordering Putland to fire a third shot into her, but decided against it. This was fortunate as Bligh was Putland's father-in-law, and Putland's wife

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

was accompanying her father on ''Lady Madeleine Sinclair''.Mary Bligh O'Connel

– accessed 8 February 2014. The convoy passed

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on 25 February and were reported all well on 5 March. On 14 May ''Porpoise'', the storeship , and the brig ''Rolla'' detained and sent into the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

the Danish

packet ship Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

''Trende Sostre'' (''Three Sisters'').

Service in Australia

''Porpoise'' arrived in

Sydney Harbour 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 ...

on 6 August. Bligh assumed the governorship of the colony and retained ''Porpoise'' to act as its principal naval unit. In January 1807 Short returned to Britain on . In his absence Bligh appointed Putland to command ''Porpoise''. Putland died of tuberculosis on 4 January 1808. ''Porpoise'' then came under the command of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

James S.G. Symons James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(acting). In April 1808 Lieutenant William George Carlile Kent (acting), replaced Symons, who had discharged himself (that is, deserted) from the vessel and returned to Britain. Later, Bligh pressed charges against Kent for Kent's actions during the

while Bligh was under arrest. The court martial exonerated Kent, saying that he had tried to carry out his duty for "the good of His Majesty's service" under "extreme and extraordinary difficulties". In 1808, Lieutenant John Porteous, formerly captain of the royal yacht, was appointed to the rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

and sent out to New South Wales to assume command of ''Porpoise''. He took command in January 1809. On 29 February 1809 Bligh boarded ''Porpoise'' after being held under house arrest for over a year following a revolt by the

New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps (sometimes called The Rum Corps) was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment of the British Army to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia, in fortifying the ...

, known as the Rum Rebellion. For a little while he blockaded the port with the idea of capturing the convict transport , but changed his mind and sailed for Hobart.

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie se ...

of the 73rd Regiment of Foot arrived in Sydney with and HMS ''Dromedary'' on 28 December 1809 and assumed the governorship. ''Porpoise'' and Bligh returned to Sydney on 17 January 1810. In May ''Porpoise'', ''Hindostan'', and ''Dromedary'' sailed for Britain.

Further service

After returning to Britain ''Porpoise'' refitted at Woolwich between May and August 1811. Between 1811 and 1812 she was under the command of

T. Stokes T is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet. (For the same letterform in the Cyrillic and Greek alphabets, see Te and Tau respectively). T may also refer to: Codes and units * T, Tera- as in one trillion * T, the symbol for "True" in lo ...

, master. She made voyages to the West Indies, the Cape of Good Hope, and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Peter Rye, who had been posted captain in 1812 from the hired armed ship commanded ''Porpoise'' from April 1813 until October 1814. Between December 1813 and February 1814 she was at Deptford fitting out to serve as a receiving ship at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

. She then served as a 16-gun guardship at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

Disposal

''Porpoise'' was laid up in

ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (Every Little Thing album) (2011) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016) * "Ordinary" (Wayne Brady song) (2008) * ...

in 1815. The "Principal Officers and Commissioners" of the Royal Navy offered ''Porpoise'' for sale in November 1815. She sold on 16 January 1816 for £1,600.

''Lord Melville'' again

''Lord Melville'', built at Shields and of 400 tons (bm), reappears in the ''Register of Shipping'' for 1816 with Weatherall, master, Bell & Co., owner, and trade London–

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

.''Register of Shipping'' (1816), "L" supple. pages.
/ref> On 15 September 1816, Captain Thackray Weatherall sailed her from England. ''Lord Melville'' arrived at Sydney on 24 February 1817. She had embarked 103 female prisoners, two of whom died en route On 1 May she sailed for Batavia. In July 1818 Weatherall again sailed with convicts for Australia; this was the first voyage direct from England to Hobart. ''Lord Melville'' arrived on 17 December.Bateson (1959), pp.306–7. This time she carried 149 male convicts, one of whom died on the voyage.

Fate

''Lord Melville''s fate after 1820 is currently obscure.

Citations

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Porpoise (1804) 1804 ships Ships built by Temple shipbuilders Sloops of the Royal Navy Storeships of the Royal Navy Convict ships to New South Wales Convict ships to Tasmania