HMVS Cerberus
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HMVS ''Cerberus'' (Her Majesty's Victorian Ship) is a
breastwork monitor A breastwork monitor was a modification of the monitor, a warship which was first built in the United States in 1861, designed by John Ericsson and distinguished by the first rotating gun turret, designed by Theodore Timby. The modified desig ...
that served in the Victoria Naval Forces, the Commonwealth Naval Forces (CNF), 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 ...
(RAN) between 1871 and 1924. Built in Jarrow, UK, at Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company for the colony 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 ...
, Australia, under the supervision of
Charles Pasley General Sir Charles William Pasley (8 September 1780 – 19 April 1861) was a British soldier and military engineer who wrote the defining text on the role of the post-American Revolution British Empire: ''An Essay on the Military Policy and Ins ...
, ''Cerberus'' was completed in 1870, and arrived in
Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...
, the port of Melbourne on the SW coast of Australia in 1871, where she spent the rest of her career. The monitor was absorbed into the CNF following
Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
in 1901, and was renamed HMAS ''Cerberus'' when the navy became the RAN in 1911. By World War I, ''Cerberus'' weapons and boilers were inoperable; the ship served as a guardship and munitions store, while carrying the personnel of the fledgling
Royal Australian Naval College The Royal Australian Naval College (RANC), commonly known as HMAS Creswell, is the naval academy of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It consists of the RAN School of Survivability and Ship's Safety, Kalkara Flight, the Beecroft Weapons Range an ...
on her paybooks. In 1921, the ship was renamed HMAS ''Platypus II'', and tasked as a
submarine tender A submarine tender is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and ...
for the RAN's six J-class submarines. In 1924, the monitor was sold for scrap, and was sunk as a breakwater off
Half Moon Bay Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 as of the 2020 census. Immediately at the north of Half Moon Bay is Pillar Point Harbor and the un ...
. The wreck became a popular site for scuba diving and picnics over the years, but there was a structural collapse in 1993. There have been several campaigns to preserve the ship (one of which is ongoing), as she is one of the last
monitors Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West Vir ...
, the only surviving ship of the Australian colonial navies, and one of only two surviving ships in the world with Coles turrets.Gould, ''Archaeology and the social history of ships'', pp. 279–80


Design

Named for
Cerberus In Greek mythology, Cerberus (; grc-gre, Κέρβερος ''Kérberos'' ), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring of the mo ...
, the three-headed guard dog of
Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...
from Greek mythology, ''Cerberus'' was the first of the
breastwork monitor A breastwork monitor was a modification of the monitor, a warship which was first built in the United States in 1861, designed by John Ericsson and distinguished by the first rotating gun turret, designed by Theodore Timby. The modified desig ...
s, which differed from previous ironclad warships by the fitting of a central superstructure containing rotating turrets.Gould, ''Archaeology and the social history of ships'', p. 277 The ship was designed by
Edward James Reed Sir Edward James Reed, KCB, FRS (20 September 1830 – 30 November 1906) was a British naval architect, author, politician, and railroad magnate. He was the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1863 until 1870. He was a Liberal politician ...
, Chief Constructor to the Royal Navy. ''Cerberus'' had one
sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
, , and an additional five ships of similar design ( and the four ''Cyclops'' class monitors) were constructed for
coastal defence Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...
around the British Empire.Paine, ''Warships of the World to 1900'', p. 33Gould, ''Archaeology and the social history of ships'', p. 279 These seven vessels were unofficially referred to as the 'Monster class'. The monitor was long, wide, and with a draught of . ''Cerberus'' had a
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 ...
of , while her breastwork extended above the deck, and was long. She had a standard ship's company of 12 officers and 84 sailors, with an additional 40 to man the ship in wartime. ''Cerberus'' had a maximum speed of , with an economical speed of . Her twin screws were driven by two horizontal twin-cylinder, double-acting, simple
steam engines A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
made by Maudslay Son & Field. They had bore, stroke, and were provided with steam produced by five coal-fired boilers with 13 furnaces. The steam engines generated on trials and drove two propellers with a diameter of ''Cerberus'' was the first British warship to be solely steam-powered. The monitor had a bunkerage of 240 tons of coal; this would last just under five days at maximum speed (50 tons consumed per day), and ten days at economical speed (24 tons per day). The monitor was not suited to ocean travel. The main armament was four 10-inch guns, mounted in two turrets. The four guns weighed each, were muzzle-loaded, had to be withdrawn completely inside the turret to be reloaded, and could fire a shell up to once every three minutes.Stevens, ''The Royal Australian Navy'', p. 16 The turrets were mounted fore and aft; each had a crew of 33, had a 270°
field of fire The field of fire of a weapon (or group of weapons) is the area around it that can easily and effectively be reached by gunfire. The term 'field of fire' is mostly used in reference to machine guns. Their fields of fire incorporate the beaten zon ...
, and had to be hand-cranked into position. The turrets were of a design created by
Cowper Phipps Coles Captain Cowper Phipps Coles, C.B., R.N. (1819 – 7 September 1870), was an English naval captain with the Royal Navy. Coles was also an inventor; in 1859, he was the first to patent a design for a revolving gun turret. Upon appealing for publi ...
.Gould, ''Archaeology and the social history of ships'', pp. 280-81 The ship had armour plating ranging from in thickness for the waterline
armoured belt Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated onto or within the outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and aircraft carriers. The belt armor is designed to prevent projectiles from penetrating to t ...
on her hull, which was backed by of
teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...
. The citadel armour protecting the breastwork ranged in thickness from , and gun turrets had faces and sides. ''Cerberus'' was protected by an armored deck that was thick.Gardiner, Chesneau, & Kolesnik, ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships'' p. 21Gould, ''Archaeology and the social history of ships'', pp. 278-79 For added protection, ''Cerberus'' could take water into ballast tanks, decreasing her already 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 ...
until only the turrets and breastwork were visible.Paine, ''Warships of the World to 1900'', p. 34 ''Cerberus'' and ships of her type were described by Admiral
George Alexander Ballard Admiral George Alexander Ballard (7 March 1862 – 16 September 1948) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a historian. Biography Ballard was the eldest son of General John Archibald Ballard (1829–1880), and his wife Joanna, the daughter of R ...
as being like "full-armoured knights riding on donkeys, easy to avoid but bad to close with." Robert Gardiner, Roger Chesneau, and Eugene M. Kolesnik, the editors of ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905'', pointed out that " 'Cerberus'' representsthe beginnings of practical turret ship design in Britain, having no sail power and being fitted with fore and aft turrets with almost uninterrupted arcs of fire." When she entered service, the monitor was considered superior to any other warship operating in the
Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
n region. The design of ''Cerberus'' was upscaled by Sir Edward Reed for in 1871, the first Royal Navy turreted ironclad battleship without sails, and so had a lasting influence on
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
design until the dreadnoughts appeared in the early 1900s.


Construction

In 1866, the Victorian government ordered a ship to supplement the shore-based fortifications of
Port Philip 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 comp ...
, and to defend the colony in the event of a Russian attack. ''Cerberus'' was ordered on the understanding that if she operated in any role other than the defence of Victoria, she would revert to
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
control.Gillett, ''Warships of Australia'', p. 22 The monitor was constructed by Palmers Shipbuilding at their
Jarrow-on-Tyne Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyn ...
shipyard. She was laid down on 1 August 1867, launched on 2 December 1868, and completed in August 1870.Gillett, ''Warships of Australia'', p. 113 ''Cerberus'' cost £117,556 to build, with the British Admiralty meeting 80% of the cost.


Operational history

On completion, ''Cerberus'' was registered as a merchant vessel for the voyage to Australia.Gillett, ''Warships of Australia'', p. 23 For the journey, the sides of the hull were built up to the height of the breastwork and along the length of the ship, to improve
seakeeping Seakeeping ability or seaworthiness is a measure of how well-suited a watercraft is to conditions when underway. A ship or boat which has good seakeeping ability is said to be very seaworthy and is able to operate effectively even in high sea stat ...
.Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 24 She first attempted to sail from Chatham for Melbourne on 29 October 1870, but returned within days because of
gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...
; this was to provide redundancy to the steam engines, and maximise her range before recoaling was required. ''Cerberus'' departed for a second time on 7 November, and despite similar conditions, was able to persevere. The ship travelled via the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
(during which she flew the flag of Victoria instead of the Red Ensign so reduced transit rates for warships could be claimed), with frequent stops to refuel wherever possible because of her ten-day bunker capacity. Her flat bottom and shallow draught meant that the monitor could
roll Roll or Rolls may refer to: Movement about the longitudinal axis * Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff body (for example a vehicle), describing motion about the longitudinal axis ** Roll (aviation), ...
up to 40° from the centreline in bad weather. Her ship's company nearly mutinied on several occasions. The monitor reached Melbourne on the morning of 9 April 1871. Following her arrival, she was designated
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of the Victorian Navy. At the time of her arrival, public opinion of the ship was low, and she quickly attracted the nickname of 'Floating
Gasometer A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas is stored near atmospheric pressure at ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows the quantity of stored gas, with pressu ...
'. On 5 March 1881, five men from ''Cerberus'' were killed when their boat was destroyed by a
mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...
during exercises. These were the only personnel from the ship to be killed during her operational history. Following the flooding of the New Australasian Gold Mine at
Creswick, Victoria Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia, 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 122 kilometres northwest of Melbourne, in the Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2016 census, Creswick had a populatio ...
in December 1882, two
divers Diver or divers may refer to: *Diving (sport), the sport of performing acrobatics while jumping or falling into water *Practitioner of underwater diving, including: **scuba diving, **freediving, **surface-supplied diving, **saturation diving, a ...
from ''Cerberus'' were sent to help find miners trapped in air pockets deep in the mine. They arrived on 14 December, two days after the flooding, but could not assist because incorrectly fitting dive suits had been sent with them, and only of air hose was available, despite the miners being at least from the mine's entrance. The ship was fitted with
torpedo netting Torpedo nets were a passive ship defensive device against torpedoes. They were in common use from the 1890s until the Second World War. They were superseded by the anti-torpedo bulge and torpedo belts. Origins With the introduction of the Whitehe ...
and spars in 1887. At some point in the 1890s, ''Cerberus'' was retasked as a storeship. In May 1900, one of the ship's company began to show the symptoms of the
bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...
.Laws & Stewart, ''It doesn't end there'', p. 296 Consequently, all of ''Cerberus'' personnel were quarantined at
Point Nepean Point Nepean (Boonwurrung: ''Boona-djalang'') marks the southern point of The Rip (the entrance to Port Phillip) and the most westerly point of the Mornington Peninsula, in Victoria, Australia. It was named in 1802 after the British politician ...
. Following the
Federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Western A ...
in 1901, ''Cerberus'', like all other colonial naval ships, was transferred to the Commonwealth Naval Forces. This organisation was renamed 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 ...
in 1911, at which point, ''Cerberus'' was given the prefix HMAS. By 1909, ''Cerberus'' could not generate enough steam to propel herself. She was used as a guard ship and munitions storeship during World War I. When the
Royal Australian Naval College The Royal Australian Naval College (RANC), commonly known as HMAS Creswell, is the naval academy of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It consists of the RAN School of Survivability and Ship's Safety, Kalkara Flight, the Beecroft Weapons Range an ...
was founded in 1913, its personnel were initially listed on the paybooks of ''Cerberus'', as the college was not a commissioned establishment. By 1914, the monitor's main guns were inoperable, and she was reliant on her light weapons for defence.Gillett, ''Australian and New Zealand Warships, 1914-1945'', p. 55 Following the transfer of six J class submarines to the RAN, ''Cerberus'' was renamed HMAS ''Platypus II'' on 1 April 1921 (taking her name from the
submarine tender A submarine tender is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and ...
) and reclassified as a secondary submarine tender. For this role, she was towed to Geelong.Bastock, ''Australia's Ships of War'', p. 25 Between this date and the monitor's departure from service in 1924, took the name ''Cerberus'' and was attached to the training base at
Western Port Bay Western Port, (Boonwurrung: ''Warn Marin'') commonly but unofficially known as Western Port Bay, is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia, opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in the state. Geographically, it is do ...
; the base in turn took the name in 1921.


Decommissioning and fate

''Cerberus'' was sold to the Melbourne Salvage Company for £409 on 23 April 1924, with the buyer to break her up for scrap. The warship was towed from Corio Bay to Williamstown Naval Dockyard on 14 May for disassembly. After the salvage company removed what they could, she was then sold on to the
Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places * Sandringham, New South Wales, Australia * Sandringham, Queensland, Australia * Sandringham, Victoria, Australia **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station **Electoral district of Sandringham * Sand ...
council for £150.Heritage Division, ''Australia's National Heritage'', p. 21 The monitor was scuttled on 26 September 1926 at Half Moon Bay to serve as a
breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island Breakwater Island () is a small island in the Palme ...
for the Black Rock Yacht Club.Quarstein, ''A history of ironclads'', p. 234 During her life, ''Cerberus'' never left Port Philip Bay, and never