Pandora in 1861, painted by Thomas Lyde Hornbrook
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Pandora
Ordered11 December 1831
BuilderWoolwich Dockyard
Cost£7,821
Laid downAugust 1832
Launched5 July 1833
Commissioned1 June 1836
ReclassifiedConverted to survey ship 1845.
FateSold January 1862
General characteristics
Class and typePandora-class brig
Tons burthen318 68⁄94 tons bm
Length
  • 90 ft (27.4 m) (overall)
  • 71 ft 3 in (21.7 m) (keel)
Beam29 ft 3 in (8.9 m)
Depth of hold13 ft 10 in (4.22 m)
PropulsionSails
Complement50 (later 60)
Armament

HMS Pandora was a 3-gun brig of the Royal Navy, in service from 1833 to 1862.

Map of the Cape of Good Hope with soundings made by Pandora in 1851

Between 1845 and 1848 Pandora, under the command of James Wood, was used as a tender to HMS Herald.[1] During this time she was involved in survey work on the west Coast of the Americas from Colombia to Vancouver Island.[2]

From 20 December 1850 to 5 June 1856[3] her captain was Commander Byron Drury,[4] under whose command she spent four and a half years surveying the New Zealand coast.[5]

  • Soundings made off the Cape of Good Hope at the Agulhas Bank in 1851.
  • Took part in the survey work of New Zealand, between 1851 and 1855. This work, together with that of HMS Acheron between 1848 and 1851, led to the publication of the New Zealand Pilot.[6] . On 8 February 1853, Pandora ran aground at Manukau whilst departing for Onehunga.[7]
  • In December 1854, surveyed Sumner Bay, including the bar and mouth of the Avon-Heathcote Estuary for the Canterbury Provincial Council. Drury wrote a report and produced a detailed chart of the area, with soundings.[8]

Thomas Kerr her Master.

Notes

  1. ↑ Rice, A. L. (1986). British Oceanographic Vessels, 1800-1950. Ray Society. pp. 114–115. ISBN 978-0-903874-19-9.
  2. ↑ Dawson, Llewellyn Styles (1885). "Commander James Wood, R.N.". Memoirs of hydrography, including brief biographies of the principal officers who have served in H.M. Naval Surveying Service between the years 1750 and 1885. Part 2. - 1830-1885. Eastbourne: Henry W. Keay. p. 57.
  3. ↑ Davis, Paul. "Pandora Byron Drury R.N." www.pdavis.nl. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  4. ↑ Davis, Paul. "Byron Drury R.N." www.pdavis.nl. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  5. ↑ The Times newspaper (9 November 1888). "Obituary: Admiral Byron Drury". Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via www.pdavis.nl.
  6. ↑ Richards, G.H.; Evans, F.J. (1875). The New Zealand Pilot (Fourth ed.). London: Hydrographic Office, Admiralty.
  7. ↑ "Ship News". The Morning Post. No. 24858. London. 23 August 1853. p. 8.
  8. ↑ Amodeo, Colin (1998). Rescue: The Sumner community and its lifeboat. Sumner, Christchurch, New Zealand: Sumner Lifeboat Institution Incorporated. p. 2. ISBN 0-473-05164-8.

References

  • Day, Jean D. The Search for Thomas Kerr, Mariner, Mapmaker, Missionary, Meteorologist, 1825 - 1875. Create Space, 2015.
  • Lyon, David and Rif Winfield. The Sail and Steam Navy List: All of the Ships of the Royal Navy, 1815-1889. London: Chatham Publishing. 2004, p. 126.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.