''Eure'' was a ''Meurthe''-class

aviso An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication. The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an ...

of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

. She was launched in 1886. She is notable as having claimed territories of the Southern Indian Ocean for France, including the

Kerguelen Islands The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a group of islands in the subantarctic, sub-Antarctic region. They are among the Extremes on Earth#Remoteness, most i ...

in 1893. She continued to serve in the Pacific until 1901.

Career

Construction of ''Eure'' began in

1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...

at the

Ateliers et chantiers du Havre An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or vis ...

. She was part of a 1885 order comprising six other avisos of the same class (''Meurthe'', ''Drôme'', ''Aube'', ''Durance'', ''Rance'' and ''Manche''), designed as mixed sail and steam ships. ''Eure'' was launched on 5 April 1886, and commissioned on 14 August 1890 at

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the G ...

, where she was based. President Sadi Carnot sent ''Eure'' on a mission to claim the

French Southern and Antarctic Lands The French Southern and Antarctic Lands (, TAAF) is an overseas territory ( or ) of France. It consists of: * Adélie Land (), the French claim on the continent of Antarctica. * Crozet Islands (), a group in the southern Indian Ocean, south ...

for France. On 1 January 1893, ''Eure'' entered

Baie de l'Oiseau Baie de l'Oiseau (Bird Bay) is a natural harbour in the Loranchet Peninsula, in the North-Western part of the island Grande Terre, part of the Kerguelen Islands. It was the landing site of the expedition under Yves de Kerguelen in 1772, and ...

, North of

. Commander Lieutard, the commanding officer, held a ceremony at Port-Christmas the next day, where a copper plaque inscribed « EURE - 1893 » was set. He repeated this in various locations of the archipelago in the following 15 days. ''Eure'' continued her claims at île Saint-Paul on 22 January 1893, and at

île Amsterdam (), also known as Amsterdam Island or New Amsterdam (), is an island of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the southern Indian Ocean that together with neighbouring Île Saint-Paul to the south forms one of the five districts of the t ...

on 24 January, before returning to

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. In 1897, under Alphonse Lecuve, ''Eure'' toured

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, finally arriving at

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French Sui generis collectivity, special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest Francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main i ...

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

. From then on, she was attached to the French Pacific Fleet. Eure was decommissioned on 8 March 1901. Eure_in_Auckland_Harbour_in_1913

Use as a coal hulk

In 1911 ''Eure'' was stripped at Nouméa to become a

hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

and sent to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, where she was sold to the

Northern Steamship Company The Northern Steam Ship Company Ltd (NSS) served the northern half of the North Island of New Zealand from 1881 to 1974. Its headquarters, the Northern Steam Ship Company Building, remains in use on Quay Street, Auckland, Quay Street, Auckland ...

in 1912. On 26 January 1913 she arrived at

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, towed by the steamer '' Ihumata''. The hulk held up to 2,000 tons of coal. In 1939 she was towed to nearby Sulphur Beach and sold for breaking up, which was done by 1942. Masts from the ship still lay on the beach in the 1960s.

Citations

References

* (1870-2006)

External links

''Forces maritimes 1718-1920''

Service historique de la Défense In France, the Defence Historical Service (''Service historique de la défense''; SHD) is the archives centre of Ministry of Defence and its armed forces. It was set up by decree in 2005. The SHD consists of the "Centre historique des archive ...

, p. 65 {{DEFAULTSORT:Eure Ships built in France 1886 ships