HMS ''Herald'' was an 28-gun

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works an ...

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

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 ...

. She was launched in 1822 as HMS ''Termagant'', commissioned in 1824 as HMS ''Herald'' and converted to a survey ship in 1845. After serving as a chapel ship from 1861, she was sold for breaking in 1862.

Construction and career

''Termagant'' was launched at the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

dockyard at

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

on 15 November 1822. Lieutenant Robert Wallace Dunlop commissioned on 30 July 1822 to sail her to the United Kingdom. She arrived at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

on 7 July 1823. In July Captain Lord Henry Frederick Thynne took command, though he had nominally been appointed about a year earlier, on 30 July 1822.

Atlantic service

The vessel was renamed ''Herald'' on 15 May 1824, and commissioned on 16 July 1824. At this time she was rated a

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

. Commander Henry John Leeke recommissioned her on 31 May 1824. He sailed her to St Petersburg, the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, back to England from

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, and finally to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. Captain Sir Augustus William James Clifford recommissioned ''Herald'' on 27 May 1826 to carry the

Duke of Devonshire Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has b ...

on an embassy to Russia. Commander Henry Eden replaced Clifford in November 1826, only to hand over command to Commander Edward William Curry Astley in April 1827. On 7 April 1829 Commander George Berkeley Maxwell replaced Astley. Maxwell sailed ''Herald'' to St Petersburg, Cartagena, Quebec, and home. ''Herald'' was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship i ...

in 1830. She then underwent fitting for sea between April and July 1830. On 20 November 1830 Captain Robert Godon took command at Portsmouth. He paid her off in January 1831. ''Herald'' then underwent fitting for sea again between November 1837 and August 1838.

Pacific service

Captain Joseph Nias recommissioned ''Herald'' on 24 May 1838 for the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

and China. On 26 August 1839, ''Herald'' and attempted to scuttle the British merchant ship ''Lucretia'', which had caught fire off Kyardbilly's point,

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 ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. The attempt was unsuccessful and the ship exploded and sank. On 29 April 1840 Nias sailed ''Herald'', with Major Thomas Bunbury of the 80th Regiment (appointed by Governor

William Hobson Captain William Hobson (26 September 1792 – 10 September 1842) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Royal Navy, who served as the first Governor of New Zealand. He was a co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi. Hobson was dispatched f ...

as Commissioner) and Edward Marsh Williams as interpreter, to take a copy of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

(known as the "Herald-Bunbury" copy) to the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

to obtain signatures from Māori chiefs as part the process of claiming British sovereignty over New Zealand. During the period 1841–1842 she was involved in actions off Canton in the fleet commanded by Sir William Parker in the First Anglo-Chinese War (1839–1842), known popularly as the

First Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...

. ''Herald'' was paid off at Chatham in 1842.

Survey and scientific work

''Herald'' was converted at Sheerness to a

survey ship A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the pu ...

between July 1844 and June 1845. At that time her armament was reduced to eight guns.

Henry Kellett Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kellett, (2 November 1806 – 1 March 1875) was an Irish naval officer and explorer. Career Born at Clonacody in Tipperary County, Ireland, on 2 November 1806, Kellett joined the Royal Navy in 1822. He spent three years ...

recommissioned ''Herald'' 8 February 1845 for surveying in the Pacific. She left Plymouth on 26 June 1845 and sailed first via

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

to the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

where she arrived in September. They then rounded

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

into the Pacific. Together with under Lieutenant-Commander James Wood she spent three years surveying the coast of British Columbia after the

Oregon boundary dispute The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in ...

with the United States., and on the Pacific coast of South America. ''Herald'' was assigned in 1848 to join the search for Sir

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Northern Canada, Canadia ...

, whose ships had disappeared exploring the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...

. ''Herald'' sailed three times through the

Bering Strait The Bering Strait ( , ; ) is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. The present Russia–United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' ...

, in 1848, 1849 and 1850. No trace of Franklin was found. During this period she discovered Herald Island, in the

Chukchi Sea The Chukchi Sea (, ), sometimes referred to as the Chuuk Sea, Chukotsk Sea or the Sea of Chukotsk, is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, ...

, which Kellett named after his ship. In 1848 and 1849 ''Herald'' returned south in the months of the northern winter to continue surveying work in Panama,

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, and the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...

. In October 1850, ''Herald'' left the Arctic, and sailed for home via

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

, arriving at Spithead on 6 June 1851, thus completing a six-year circumnavigation of the globe. Berthold Seemann was the naturalist for most of this voyage, and wrote the main account of the expedition in two volumes as well as an illustrated volume on the botany. Samson (1998) has provided a modern overview of his work, relating it to the political and economic context of the period.

Edward Forbes Edward Forbes FRS, FGS (12 February 1815 – 18 November 1854) was a Manx naturalist. In 1846, he proposed that the distributions of montane plants and animals had been compressed downslope, and some oceanic islands connected to the mainland ...

subsequently published on the zoology of the expedition. From 1852 to 1861, under the command of Captain Henry Mangles Denham, ''Herald'' carried out a survey of the Australian coast and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Islands, continuing the mission of . The naturalists on the voyage were

John MacGillivray John MacGillivray (18 December 1821 – 6 June 1867) was a Scottish naturalist, active in Australia between 1842 and 1867. MacGillivray was born in Aberdeen, the son of ornithologist William MacGillivray. He took part in three of the Royal Nav ...

(1821–1867), William Milne (botanist) and Denis Macdonald as Assistant Surgeon-zoologist. James Glen Wilson was the ship's artist. ''Herald'', with her tender , a paddle steamer' left

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

on 10 June 1852. They travelled via Madeira and the

Cape Verde Islands Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Tristan de Cunha,

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

and St Paul Island, arriving at

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

(Sydney Harbour) on 18 February 1853. Throughout the journey, surveying work was carried out, including deep-sea soundings, locating shoals, magnetic observations, establishing an accurate meridian distance between Rio and Cape Town, and a complete survey of St Paul Island. Many natural history onservations were made. The rset of the year 1853 was spent surveying

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...

and the nearby

Ball's Pyramid Ball's Pyramid is an uninhabited islet in the Pacific Ocean located southeast of Lord Howe Island, between Australia and New Zealand. The steep rocky basalt outcrop is the eroded plug of a shield volcano and caldera that formed 6.4million ye ...

and in

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 ...

and

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

. Surveys were carried out of the sle of Pines, Maré and

Aneityum Aneityum (also known as Anatom or Keamu) is the southernmost island of Vanuatu, in the province of Tafea. Geography Aneityum is the southernmost island of Vanuatu (not counting the Matthew and Hunter Islands, which are disputed with New Caledo ...

. These islands are close to the route between Sydney and Fiji, so it was important to chart their accurate positions. On 27 May 1854, ''Herald'' sailed for

via

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 ...

and

Raoul Island Raoul Island (''Sunday Island''; ) is the largest and northernmost of the main Kermadec Islands, south south-west of 'Ata Island of Tonga and north north-east of New Zealand's North Island. It has been the source of vigorous volcanic activit ...

. ''Herald'' surveyed in the south of Fiji, and obtained accurate positions for the

Minerva Reefs The Minerva Reefs () are a group of two submerged atolls located in the Pacific Ocean between Fiji and Tonga. The islands are the subject of a territorial dispute between Fiji and Tonga, and in addition were briefly claimed by American Libertaria ...

, and also enabled numerous doubtful hazards to be removed from the charts. Between 1854 and 1857, ''Herald'' made three surveying trips to Fiji, greatly adding to the small-scale survey that had been carried out by

Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and List of explorers, explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865 ...

in 1840. During this period, ''Herald'' also surveyed

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

and assisted in the resettlement of the

Pitcairn Islanders Pitcairn Islanders, also referred to as Pitkerners and Pitcairnese, are the native inhabitants of the Pitcairn Islands, a British Overseas Territory including people whose families were previously inhabitants and maintaining cultural connecti ...

to Norfolk Island. In April 1855, following diagreements about publication and allegations of financial irregularities, MacGillivray was dismissed from his post on the ''Herald''. On 26 February 1857, ''Herald'' returned to Sydney. Denham and ''Herald'' then made a survey of Port Jackson, which was completed in November 1857. This included a large-scale plan of Cockatoo Island. ''Herald'' was the first sailing ship to enter the Fitzroy Dock, on Cockatoo Island.Gillett, p. 12. ''Herald'' then surveyed the southern and western coasts of Australia as far as

Shark Bay Shark Bay () is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The area is located approximately north of Perth, on the westernmost point of the Australian continent. UNESCO's listing of Shark Bay as a World Heritage S ...

, returning to Sydney on 29 June 1858. On 3 September, they set sail for the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...

, an area with many reefs most of which had not been charted accurately. The survey of the Coral sea would involve three cruises, and continue until May 1860. The result was to greatly improve the safety of the outer approach to the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...

, to the east of the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

. In 1859, ''Herald'' erected the first beacon on Mellish Reef and Cay, using wreckage from the French

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 ...

‘Duroc’, which had wrecked on the reef in 1857. ''Herald'' left Sydney on 17 August 1860 to chart reefs and take deep-sea soundings in preparation for telegraphic cable-laying.

Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...

was reached on 20 November, and

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

in England on 16 May 1861, and was decommissioned on 1 July, nine years after setting out. There was no published contemporary account of the voyage. David (1995) gives a very detailed account of the voyage, and reproduces many of the drawings and paintings produced by James Glen Wilson. ''Herald'' was converted to a chapel ship and was used as a floating church in Shoreham in September 1861. She was sold to Castle for breaking on 28 April 1862.

Citations

References

* *

(1815–1854), ''The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Herald under the command of Captain Henry Kellett, ... during the years 1845-51.'' (London, 1854). *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herald (1824) Survey vessels of the Royal Navy Atholl-class corvettes 1822 ships First Opium War ships of the United Kingdom