HMS Curacoa (1878)
HMS Curacoa was a Comus-class corvette of the Royal Navy, built by John Elder & Co., Govan, launched in 1878, and sold in 1904 to be broken up.[2] She served on the Cape of Good Hope and West Africa Station, the Australia Station and as a training cruiser in the Atlantic.
 HMS Curacoa drydocked in Sydney Harbour c.1890. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name: | Curacoa |
| Builder: | John Elder & Co., Govan |
| Yard number: | 210 |
| Launched: | 18 April 1878 |
| Fate: | Sold 1904 for breaking up. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Comus-class corvette |
| Displacement: | 2,380 tons |
| Length: | 225 ft (69 m) |
| Beam: | 44 ft (13 m) |
| Draught: | 19 ft (6 m) |
| Propulsion: | Single screw driven by compound engines of 2,590 ihp ( MW) |
| Sail plan: | Barque or ship rig |
| Speed: | 13.75 kt (25.5 km/h) powered; 14.75 kt (27.3 km/h) |
| Armament: |
|
| Armour: | Deck: 1.5 in (38 mm) over engines |
Service history
HMS Curacoa was built by John Elder & Co., Govan, and launched on 18 April 1878.
The corvette commenced service on the Cape of Good Hope and West Africa Station before being transferred to the Australia Station arriving on 5 August 1890. She left the Australia Station in December 1894.[2]
Recently discovered log books from descendants of Mr.(Cptn) J.P. Shipton, record the journey to Australia. Daily logs show Curacoa leaving port in the UK on 1 April 1889, with stops at Perth, Albany, Adelaide, Launceston, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch / Lyttleton, and the final entry shows 31 December 1890, in port at Lyttleton (near Christchurch), New Zealand.
Curacoa was sent to the Ellice Islands and between 9 and 16 October 1892 Captain Gibson visited each of the islands to make a formal declaration that the islands were to be a British Protectorate.[3] In June 1893 Captain Gibson visited the southern Solomon islands and made the formal declaration of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate.[4]
Her later years were spent as a training cruiser. In February–March 1900 she visited Madeira, Las Palmas and Sao Vicente, Cape Verde, Commander Herbert Lyon in command.[5][6]
She was sold in May 1904 to King of Garston for breaking up.[2]
Citations
- Winfield (2004) p.272
- Bastock, p.107.
- Noatia P. Teo, Hugh Larcy (ed) (1983). "Chapter 17, Colonial Rule". Tuvalu: A History. University of the South Pacific/Government of Tuvalu. pp. 127–139.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
- Commonwealth and Colonial Law by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. P. 897
- "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times (36056). London. 3 February 1900. p. 14.
- "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times (36083). London. 7 March 1900. p. 10.
References
- Bastock, John (1988), Ships on the Australia Station, Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia. ISBN 0-86777-348-0
- Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6.
