In the 19th century maritime defence of the Australian colonies was provided by the assignment of a few old and outdated man-of-war steam-assisted second-rate broadside ships by the British Navy. These were stationed in the ports of Melbourne and Sydney. The other colonies, such as Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland were left to make do with lightly armed merchantmen, gunboats and sloops in a maritime policing role. There was no Australian navy or unified command at this time and each colony acted as independent states.
In the late 1870s, as tensions increased between Britain and Russia, the colonies began clamouring about an illusory threat of Russian invasion and demanded a greater naval presence in Australian waters. The Royal Navy was not particularly interested in sending more old ships to the far off Australia station to counter the non-existent Russian threat, so the Colonial Office responded by passing a law enabling the colonies to purchase and crew their own warships. The British government would subsidize some of the costs and, in return, any warships acquired under the scheme could be commandeered by the Royal Navy in times of war. One of the first warships purchased under this scheme was the pioneering breastwork monitor, HMVS Cerberus in 1872. For more on the Cerberus, see my post here:
https://militarymuseum.blogspot.com/2019/10/hm-victorian-ship-cerberus-melbourne.html
In 1882 the colonies of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria all ordered a series of flat-iron gunboats from Armstrong Whitworth shipyards. All of these ships were built to a similar pattern, with the exception of the Victorian gunboat HMVS Protector, which was a much larger and more capable warship. Queensland's gunboats, the Gayundah and Paluma, were typical of the class. They were small ships of only 37 metres length, but were heavily armed with a 8 inch breech loading gun mounted in a casemate forward and a 6 inch gun with shield on the rear. They also carried four quick-firing / machine guns. The ships had a low freeboard forward, which gave the 8 inch gun a wide field of fire.
The HMQS Gayundah was launched in May 1884 and set sail for Australia. For the voyage she was given an additional barque rig to assist her engines, arriving in Brisbane in October 1884 where she was immediately commissioned into the colonial Queensland navy. Her career in Australia was relatively uneventful and by 1890 she was primarily being used as a training ship. After a period in reserve, the Gayundah went in for a refit in 1899. Some minor changes were made to the main deck and the rear 6 inch gun was replaced by a quick firing 4 inch gun.
In 1903, the Gayundah was the first Australian warship to transmit to shore by Marconi wireless. The ship recieved an extended mainmast for the wireless antenna (photo above).
After this 'excitement' the Gayundah reverted to her usual routine of occasional patrols from her berth in the Brisbane river around Morton Bay. Her sister, Paluma, had been disarmed after a relatively short career and coverted into a survey ship.
In 1911 the Gayundah (now incorporated into the Royal Australian Navy as the HMAS Gayundah) sailed from Brisbane through the Torres Straight to Broome in Western Australia as part of an anti-poaching patrol, arresting and driving off a number of Dutch East Indies fishing boats that were poaching in Australian waters.
In 1914 the Gayundah underwent another significant refit. The 8 inch gun was replaced with a modern 6 inch gun, which was mounted on a completely new, raised foredeck. This significantly improved her seakeeping and made her truly ocean-going. During the First World War she spent patrolling off the east coast of Australia looking for the German Pacific Squadron.
After the war she was paid off and in 1921 sold into civilian service, where she was used as a gravel hauler. She continued in this role until 1950. In 1958 she was sold for scrap and was purchased by the Redcliffe City Council, who sunk her as a breakwater at Woody Point, where she remains to this day.
The wreck has deteriorated considerably in recent years. It's bow, which was standing upright only a few years ago has now completely collapsed. It will not be long before the wreck has completely disappeared. We visited the wreck in October 2022.
The wreck is easily viewed from a pathway running along the beach.
The wreck is almost completely collapsed now.
One additional artefact from the Gayundah has survived - her original 6 inch gun. After it was removed at the turn of the century it was used as a shore battery gun. It escaped scrapping and was eventually put on display at the National War Memorial in Canberra as part of a naval exhibit outside the building. When we visited the museum at the end of October 2022 we noted that the gun is no longer on display as this area is currently being redeveloped.
A post on the excellent National War Memorial will follow soon.
