HMS Porpoise (1799)
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HMS ''Porpoise'' was a 12-gun
sloop-of-war In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...
originally built in Bilbao, Spain, as the
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 ...
''Infanta Amelia''. On 6 August 1799 HMS ''Argo'' captured her off the coast of
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. ''Porpoise'' wrecked in 1803 on the North coast of what was then part of the Colony of
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
, now called
Wreck Reefs The Wreck Reefs are located in the southern part of the Coral Sea Islands approximately east-north-east of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia. Approximately east of the Swain Reefs complex they form a narrow chain of reefs with small cays tha ...
, off the coast of
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.


Service

''Porpoise'' was commissioned in October 1799 under Lieutenant William Scott as a storeship for New South Wales. She sailed in April and arrived on 7 November 1800 in
Port Jackson 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 ...
. She carried a selection of useful European plants, arranged by Sir
Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
and provided by
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
nurseryman
Hugh Ronalds Hugh Ronalds (4 March 1760 – 18 November 1833) was an esteemed nurseryman and horticulturalist in Brentford, who published ''Pyrus Malus Brentfordiensis: or, a Concise Description of Selected Apples'' (1831). His plants were some of the first E ...
, to replace those lost in .
George Suttor George Suttor (11 June 1774 – 5 May 1858) was an Anglo-Scottish farmer and pioneer settler of Australia, who is notable as the founder of a significant Australian family, and also as a supporter of Captain Bligh following the 1808 Rebellion ...
was engaged as gardener to prepare the plants and care for them on the voyage. In return he received free passage for himself and his family. Governor
Philip Gidley King Captain Philip Gidley King (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was a British politician who was the third Governor of New South Wales. When the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, King was detailed to colonise Norfolk Island for defence an ...
appointed himself Captain of ''Porpoise'' on 6 November 1800, but left actual command in Scott's hands. Scott took her to
Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...
on at least two voyages and to Otaheite to bring back salt pork in exchange for arms, among other goods. King had an agreement with King
Pōmare I Pōmare I (c. 1753 – September 3, 1803) (fully in old orthography: Tu-nui-ea-i-te-atua-i-Tarahoi Vaira'atoa Taina Pōmare I; also known as Tu or Tinah or Outu, or more formally as Tu-nui-e-a'a-i-te-atua) was the unifier and first king of T ...
under which Pōmare sought to monopolize the trade in salt pork. In June 1803, ''Porpoise'', with , under the command of Lieutenant George Courtoys, set out from Sydney for the Derwent River in
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 ...
in order to establish the first European occupation of what is now
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
. Bad weather forced both vessels to return to Sydney.


Wreck and loss

On 10 August 1803, ''Porpoise'' left Sydney under the command of Lieutenant Robert Fowler and in the company of '' Cato'', under Captain John Park, and the
East Indiaman East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...
, under Captain Palmer, bound for India. On 17 August the three ships got caught near a sandbank, 157 north and 51 miles east of
Sandy Cape Sandy Cape (also known by the Indigenous name of Woakoh) is the most northern point on Fraser Island (also known as K'gari and Gari) off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The place was named ''Sandy Cape'' for its appearance by James Cook du ...
. With shrinking leeway, both the ''Cato'' and ''Porpoise'' grounded. Both ships beat on the sharp coral, with the result that they sank quickly. ''Bridgewater'' sailed on and later reported both ships lost with no survivors. The crew and passengers of ''Cato'' and ''Porpoise'' were able to land on a sandbank as both ships broke up.
Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...
, who was returning to England as a passenger on ''Porpoise'', together with his charts and logbooks, believed that Captain Palmer sailed on despite knowing that the other two ships had come to grief. Another passenger was the artist
William Westall William Westall (12 October 1781 – 22 January 1850) was a British landscape artist best known as one of the first artists to work in Australia. Early life Westall was born in Hertford and grew up in London, mostly Sydenham and Hampstead. ...
, many of whose works were damaged in the wrecking. On 26 August 1803, with no sign of rescue, Flinders and Park took the largest cutter, which they named ''Hope''. Together with twelve crewmen they headed to Sydney to seek rescue. Through marvelous navigation, ''Hope'' made the 800 mile voyage to
Port Jackson 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 ...
by 8 September. Three lives had been lost in the joint shipwreck but the ship and the schooners and were able to rescue all the remaining passengers. ''Francis'' returned to Sydney with some of the men. ''Cumberland'', with Flinders, went to the
Torres Straits The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...
and on to Île de France, where the French governor imprisoned him for five years and seven months. Lieutenants Fowler, Flinders (Matthew Flinders' brother), and
John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through ...
sailed with ''Rolla'' to China. They then took passage on the East Indiaman under Commodore
Nathaniel Dance Sir Nathaniel Dance (20 June 1748 – 25 March 1827) was an officer of the East India Company who had a long and varied career on merchant vessels, making numerous voyages to India and back with the fleets of East Indiamen. He was already awar ...
. They therefore participated in the
Battle of Pulo Aura The Battle of Pulo Aura was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, fought on 14 February 1804, in which a large convoy of Honourable East India Company (HEIC) East Indiamen, well-armed merchant ships, intimidated, drove off and chase ...
. Fowler took command of the upper deck, where he distinguished himself, and Franklin was in charge of the signals.


Wreck site

In 1965
Ben Cropp Benjamin Cropp AM (born 19 January 1936) is an Australian documentary filmmaker, conservationist and a former six-time Open Australian spearfishing champion. Formerly a shark hunter, Cropp retired from that trade in 1962 to pursue oceanic do ...
found the wreck sites of the ''Cato'' and ''Porpoise'' () at
Wreck Reefs The Wreck Reefs are located in the southern part of the Coral Sea Islands approximately east-north-east of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia. Approximately east of the Swain Reefs complex they form a narrow chain of reefs with small cays tha ...
after extensive research and only fifteen minutes of actual diving. The site is now a protected area with the designation dating to 29 April 1992.


Citations


References

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External links

*, {{DEFAULTSORT:Porpoise (1799) 1799 ships Ships built in Spain 1799 in Spain Maritime exploration of Australia Shipwrecks in the Coral Sea Shipwrecks of Queensland History of New South Wales Maritime incidents in 1803 Captured ships Australian Shipwrecks with protected zone