HMS ''Egeria'' was a 4-gun screw sloop of the launched at Pembroke on 1 November 1873. She was named after Egeria, a water

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

, and was the second ship of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

to bear the name. After a busy career in the East Indies, Pacific, Australia and Canada, she was sold for breaking in 1914 and was burnt at Burrard Inlet in British Columbia.

Construction

''Egeria'' was constructed of an iron frame sheathed with teak and copper (hence 'composite'), and powered by a two-cylinder horizontal compound-expansion steam engine. This engine, provided by Humphrys, Tennant & Co., drove a single diameter screw and generated an indicated . Steam was provided by three cylindrical boilers working at .

Perak War

In 1875, ''Egeria'', commanded by Commander Ralph Lancelot Turton, proceeded to

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

(in modern

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

), as one of a squadron of six ships under Captain Alexander Buller with his senior officer's pennant in HMS ''Modeste'', to take part in an expedition against the murderers of Mr James Birch, the British Resident in

. While the troops and a naval brigade advanced on the upper reaches of the Perak River simultaneously from two points, ''Egeria'' blockaded the Perak Littoral, and sent her boats up the Kurow River. These boats destroyed or carried off some guns, arms, and ammunition which might have been useful to the enemy. Severe punishment was inflicted on the natives, but the murderers were not brought to account for some time afterwards.

Intelligence gathering in the Russian Far East

During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, ''Egeria'', commanded by Commander Archibald Douglas, was sent on an intelligence gathering mission to Petropavlovsk in

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...

. It was found to have been abandoned by its Russian garrison.

Survey of Australia

From 1886, under the command of Captain Pelham Aldrich, ''Egeria'' was engaged in survey around Australia. In 1887 she called at Christmas Island, and, in 1889, she cruised the Union and

Phoenix Islands The Phoenix Islands, or Rawaki, are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs that lie east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. They are part of the Kiribati, Republic ...

to declare a British protectorate over the region. The expedition raised a British flag on

Atafu Atafu, formerly known as the Duke of York Group, is a group of 52 coral islets within Tokelau in the south Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. With a land area of , it is the smallest of the three islands that constitute Tokelau. It is an atoll and s ...

, Hull, Phoenix, and Sydney Islands, but encountered Americans on several other islands, including Swains. In 1890

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...

records that

Survey of British Columbia

In 1898, ''Egeria'' arrived in British Columbia where she was engaged in coastal surveys for the Royal Navy until 1910, by which time coast surveying responsibilities had been transferred to the Canadian Hydrographic Service. The previous surveying ship, the steamship ''Beaver'', had been paid off 28 years earlier in 1870. Commander John Franklin Parry assumed command on 25 February 1903. ''Egeria'' was primarily involved in resurveying settled areas of the British Columbia coast to create modern charts on a larger scale. The last survey it conducted was of Welcome Pass off the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. A representation of ''Egeria'' is included on a commemorative tile at the Marine Building at 355 Burrard St. in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is one of eight historic ships of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

so honored by this

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

building which opened in 1930. There is also an inscription carved into the rockface of a cliff overlooking Poets Cove on Pender Island, British Columbia. It says "1905 HMSEGERIA" The galley and mess of HMCS Quadra at Goose Spit Site of 19 Wing Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Comox is named Egeria Hall after HMS ''Egeria''. It was constructed in 1995.

Decommissioning and sale

After many years in the Surveying Service, in November 1911 she was put up to public auction at Esquimalt, and sold to the

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

branch of the Navy League for £1,416.

Fate

She was sold for breaking up in 1914. Her hulk was beached at Burrard Inlet, she was soaked in oil and set afire. The explosion killed three men.Bastock 1988, p. 90.

Legacy

HMS ''Egeria'' is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of lizard, '' Cryptoblepharus egeriae''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Egeria", p. 81).

Notes

Bibliography

* *Bastock, John (1988), ''Ships on the Australia Station'', Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia. * * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Egeria (1873) Fantome-class sloops Ships built in Pembroke Dock 1873 ships Victorian-era sloops of the United Kingdom Survey vessels of the Royal Navy History of Perak History of British Columbia History of Vancouver