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HMS ''Nelson'' was a 126-gun first rate
/ref> She was converted into a screw ship in 1860, being cut down to a two-decker and fitted with an engine of for a speed of . In 1865, ''Nelson'' was given to the colony of Victoria as a training ship, and she was finally outfitted and rigged for £42,000 and sailed for Australia in October 1867. Travelling via the Cape of Good Hope, she arrived in February 1868. She was the first ship to dock in the newly constructed
During 1879–1882, ''Nelson'' was further cut down to a single deck and her rig reduced to the main mast only, the ship being reclassified as a frigate. Her old armament was partly replaced by modern breech-loaders. She was laid up at Willamstown in 1891, her boilers being removed in 1893. On 28 April 1898 she was put up for auction and sold to Bernard Einerson of Sydney for £2,400.
In 1900 ''Nelson'' was cut down yet again to create a coal lighter that kept the name ''Nelson'', the upper timbers being used to build a drogher named ''Oceanic''.
In 1908 ''Nelson'' was sold to the Union Steamship Co. of New Zealand, and in July was towed from Sydney to Beauty Point on the Tamar River, Tasmania, for use as a coal storage hulk. She later foundered there with 1,400 tons of coal on board and remained submerged for forty days until finally refloated.
In January 1915 she was towed to Hobart for further service as a coal hulk, until sold in August 1920 to Mr. H Gray for £500 and towed an up river to Shag Bay. for gradual breaking up, work continuing into the 1930s, although some of her timbers still survive.
The ship's figurehead was preserved by the NSW Naval Brigade, then the
HMVS Nelson SlideShow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson (1814) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Nelson-class ships of the line Coal hulks 1814 ships Maritime incidents in 1908
ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...
of the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
, launched on 4 July 1814 at Woolwich Dockyard
Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich in north-west Kent, where many ships were built from the early 16th century until ...
, but then laid up incomplete at Portsmouth until 1854, when work began with a view to commissioning her for service in the Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...
, but this ended before much work had been done, and the ship returned to reserve.Irene Schaffer's HMS Nelson Webpage/ref> She was converted into a screw ship in 1860, being cut down to a two-decker and fitted with an engine of for a speed of . In 1865, ''Nelson'' was given to the colony of Victoria as a training ship, and she was finally outfitted and rigged for £42,000 and sailed for Australia in October 1867. Travelling via the Cape of Good Hope, she arrived in February 1868. She was the first ship to dock in the newly constructed
Alfred Graving Dock
Williamstown Dockyard was one of Australia's principal ship building yards at Williamstown, Victoria, Australia.
The Colony of Victoria decided to construct a large slipway at Williamstown to provide ship repair facilities in 1856 and the Governm ...
. Her armament in 1874 was listed as two 7-in RML, twenty 64 lb guns, twenty 32 lb guns and six 12 lb howitzers.
During 1879–1882, ''Nelson'' was further cut down to a single deck and her rig reduced to the main mast only, the ship being reclassified as a frigate. Her old armament was partly replaced by modern breech-loaders. She was laid up at Willamstown in 1891, her boilers being removed in 1893. On 28 April 1898 she was put up for auction and sold to Bernard Einerson of Sydney for £2,400.
In 1900 ''Nelson'' was cut down yet again to create a coal lighter that kept the name ''Nelson'', the upper timbers being used to build a drogher named ''Oceanic''.
In 1908 ''Nelson'' was sold to the Union Steamship Co. of New Zealand, and in July was towed from Sydney to Beauty Point on the Tamar River, Tasmania, for use as a coal storage hulk. She later foundered there with 1,400 tons of coal on board and remained submerged for forty days until finally refloated.
In January 1915 she was towed to Hobart for further service as a coal hulk, until sold in August 1920 to Mr. H Gray for £500 and towed an up river to Shag Bay. for gradual breaking up, work continuing into the 1930s, although some of her timbers still survive.
The ship's figurehead was preserved by the NSW Naval Brigade, then the Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
, before it was presented to the Australian National Maritime Museum
The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) is a federally operated maritime museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney. After considering the idea of establishing a maritime museum, the federal government announced that a national maritime museum wou ...
for display.
Several RML 64-pounder 58 cwt guns (Rifled Muzzle Loader, converted 32-pounder smoothbores) from ''Nelson'' can be found scattered around the State of Victoria, Australia in public areas, as well as two on military premises at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne, and one at Fort Queenscliff
Fort Queenscliff, in Victoria, Australia, dates from 1860 when an open battery was constructed on Shortland's Bluff to defend the entrance to Port Phillip. The Fort, which underwent major redevelopment in the late 1870s and 1880s, became the he ...
.
Notes
References
*Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *Jones, Colin (1986) ''Australian Colonial Navies'' Australian War Memorial,External links
*HMVS Nelson SlideShow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson (1814) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Nelson-class ships of the line Coal hulks 1814 ships Maritime incidents in 1908