HMVS ''Nepean'' was a second-class

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

constructed for the

Victorian Naval Forces Before Federation in 1901 five of the six separate colonies maintained their own naval forces for defence. The colonial navies were supported by the ships of the Royal Navy's Australian Station which was established in 1859. The separate colonie ...

and later operated by the Commonwealth Naval Forces and the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

. She was sunk on mud flats on Swan Island in

Port Phillip Bay Port Phillip (Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is completel ...

in 1912 after being stripped of equipment and machinery.

Design and construction

''Nepean'' was one of several torpedo boats ordered by the government of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1882 to protect the colony from a possible Russian or French attack, and was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company,

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

. ''Nepean'' was long, with a draught of , and a displacement of 12.5 tons.HMVS ''Lonsdale'' & HMVS ''Nepean''
/ref> She was designed with a low

freeboard In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...

, to minimise her profile. The boat had a maximum speed of , which she would use to close rapidly with enemy vessels before attacking.

Operational history

Fate

She was sunk on mud flats on Swan Island in

in 1912 after being stripped of equipment and machinery.

References

Lonsdale-class torpedo boats 1882 ships Ships built in Chiswick Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company {{australia-mil-ship-stub