![The gunboat pioneer at meremere](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/The_gunboat_pioneer_at_meremere.jpg)
''Pioneer'' was a 19th-century
paddle-steamer gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-steam ...
used in
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 ...
. Built in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
to the order of the New Zealand colonial government by the Australian Steam Navigation Company, she cost £9,500. Launched in 1863, she was towed across the Tasman Sea by
HMS ''Eclipse'', leaving Sydney on 22 September and arriving at
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 ...
on 3 October 1863.
She was a flat-bottomed, stern-wheel paddle-steamer of 304 tons, made of 3/8 inch (9.5 mm) iron. She was 42.6 m long, 6 m beam, and drew only 0.9 m fully laden for travel on the Waikato River. With twin 30 hp engines and a 3.7 m (12 foot) stern wheel she had a speed of 9 knots. She had two iron cupolas or turrets, which were pierced for rifles and 12 pdr guns. The cupolas were 2.4 m (8 feet) high and 3.6 m (12 feet) in diameter.
She was manned by officers and men of the Royal Navy, two companies from
HMS ''Curacoa''; and flew the pendant of Commodore Sir
William Wiseman of ''Curacoa''. She proved of immense service in the skirmishing on the
Waikato River
The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...
in 1863 during the
Waikato Campaign
The Invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federation ...
of the
New Zealand Wars
The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the M ...
.
On 24 December 1866, whilst awaiting repair, she broke her mooring at
Port Waikato
Port Waikato is on the south bank of the Waikato River at its outflow into the Tasman Sea, in northern New Zealand.
Port Waikato is a well-known surfing and whitebaiting destination and a popular holiday spot. Fish can be caught off the rocks ...
, drifted out to sea and, during an attempt to steam her into Manukau Harbour, was wrecked on the
Manukau bar.
The two turrets are on display in Mercer (as part of the war memorial)
and Ngāruawāhia.
There are two engravings of her in action on the Waikato River in Ross and Howard, from the Illustrated London News.
File:The river gunboat pioneer.jpg, ''Pioneer'', 1863–1866, was New Zealand's first purpose-built warship
File:Pioneer gun turret.jpg, A turret on display at Ngāruawāhia
Ngāruawāhia () is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located north-west of Hamilton at the confluence of the Waikato and Waipā Rivers, adjacent to the Hakarimata Range. Ngāruawāhia is in the Hamilton Ur ...
See also
*
Early naval vessels of New Zealand
A range of naval vessels were used in New Zealand from its early settlement years to the formation of the New Zealand Naval Forces in 1913. In the mid-19th century, these vessels included frigates, sloops, schooners, and steam-driven paddlewhe ...
References
Bibliography
*Howard, Grant (1981): ''The Navy in New Zealand'' pages 11–12 (Reed, Wellington)
*Ingram, C. W. N., and Wheatley, P. O., (1936) ''Shipwrecks: New Zealand disasters 1795–1936.'' Dunedin, NZ: Dunedin Book Publishing Association.
*Ross, J O’C (1967): ''The White Ensign in New Zealand'' pages 87–88 (Reed, Wellington)
*Taylor, T D (1948): ''New Zealand’s Naval Story'' pages 108-109 (Reed, Wellington)
Entry in the ''Miramar Index''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pioneer
Naval ships of New Zealand
Ships built in New South Wales
New Zealand Wars
1863 ships
Ngāruawāhia
Maritime incidents in December 1866
Shipwrecks of New Zealand
1866 in New Zealand