HMS ''Conflict'' was a schooner of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, built by John Cuthbert,

Millers Point, New South Wales Millers Point is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the north-western edge of the Sydney central business district, adjacent to The Rocks, New South Wales, The Rocks and is part of the Local go ...

and launched on 11 February 1873.Bastock, p.59.

Royal Navy service

She commenced service on the

Australia Station The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.Dennis et al. 2008, p.53. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, ...

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 ...

in August 1873 for anti-

blackbirding Blackbirding involves the coercion of people through deception or kidnapping to work as slaves or poorly paid labourers in countries distant from their native land. The term has been most commonly applied to the large-scale taking of people in ...

operations in the South Pacific. She was part of a punitive mission in 1879 in the New Hebrides. In 1880, she sighted the

Conflict Group The Conflict Group is an atoll in Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, ...

, which bears her name. She was paid off in 1882 and sold to Captain Thomas Brown.

''Catalpa'' incident

On 1 April 1876, ''Conflict'' visited the port of Fremantle, remaining there until 10 April. Her presence unwittingly threw into confusion an elaborate conspiracy to free six Irish

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood, secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicated ...

prisoners on 6 April and transport them to America aboard the whaler '' Catalpa''. The escape was postponed and successfully executed after the gunboat's departure.

Mercantile service

''Conflict'' left

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

for

Levuka Levuka () is a town on the eastern coast of the Fijian island of Ovalau, in Lomaiviti Province, in the Eastern Division of Fiji. Prior to 1877, it was the capital of Fiji. At the census in 2007, the last to date, Levuka town had a population ...

on 9 October and was wrecked on a reef midway between the two. There were no casualties and the ship was left stranded upright on the reef, signalling that she needed no assistance. By 12 October Captain Brown had returned to Levuka and reported that ''Conflict'' was a total loss.

Notes

References

*Bastock, John (1988), ''Ships on the Australia Station'', Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia. * 1873 ships Ships built in New South Wales Victorian-era naval ships of the United Kingdom Shipwrecks of Fiji {{UK-mil-ship-stub