''Pioneer'' was a 19th-century

paddle-steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were w ...

gunboat used in New Zealand. 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 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 in 1863 during the Waikato Campaign of the New Zealand Wars. 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

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

See also

References

Bibliography