Tag Archives: #Royal Navy

The Mystery of the Peri

In February 1872 the crew of HMS Basilisk found fourteen men barely clinging to life on a derelict schooner adrift off the far north Queensland coast. The vessel’s name was not immediately apparent and none of the survivors spoke English. It was a mystery as to how the vessel came to be in those northernContinue reading “The Mystery of the Peri”

Bligh’s Epic Open-Boat Voyage

On 28 April 1789 Lt William Bligh was startled awake by the presence in his cabin of his first mate, Fletcher Christian, and several other HMS Bounty sailors threatening his life if he did not do as they ordered.   He along with 18 members of his crew who wanted nothing to do with the unfoldingContinue reading “Bligh’s Epic Open-Boat Voyage”

HMS Torch and the rescue of the Ningpo castaways

While Lieutenant William Chimmo was preparing HMS Torch to return to survey work in the South Seas, he was unexpectedly tasked with an urgent mission.     Word had just reached Sydney that nearly 20 people had been marooned for two months on a remote island far out in the Coral Sea.   By chance, his paddle steamerContinue reading “HMS Torch and the rescue of the Ningpo castaways”

HMS Guardian: All Hands to the Pumps

In September 1789 H.M.S. Guardian sailed from Portsmouth, England with much needed supplies for the newly established penal settlement in New South Wales.    But its voyage was cut short when it struck an iceberg in the Southern Ocean and began filling with water. After an uneventful passage south, the Guardian had stopped at Table BayContinue reading “HMS Guardian: All Hands to the Pumps”