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HMS Philomel (1890)
Encyclopedia
HMS Philomel was a Pearl-class
Pearl class cruiser
The Pearl-class cruiser was a class of nine third-class cruisers designed by Sir William White, five of which were paid for by Australia under the terms of the Imperial Defence Act of 1887 to serve in Australian waters.-Design:...
cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
. She was the sixth ship of that name
HMS Philomel
Six ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Philomel, after Philomel, a figure in Greek mythology: was an 18-gun Cruizer class brig-sloop launched in 1806 and sold in 1817. was a 10-gun Cherokee class brig-sloop launched in 1823 and sold in 1833. was an 8-gun brig launched in 1842...
and served with the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
from her commissioning in 1890 until 1914, when she was transferred to the New Zealand Navy with whom she served until 1947. She was scuttled in 1949.
Anglo-Zanzibar War
In 1896 she took part in the Anglo-Zanzibar WarAnglo-Zanzibar War
The Anglo-Zanzibar War was fought between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted 38 minutes and is the shortest war in history. The immediate cause of the war was the death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August 1896 and the subsequent succession...
, the shortest war in history.
Transfer to New Zealand
In 1913 the AdmiraltyAdmiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
agreed to lend HMS Philomel to New Zealand as a seagoing training cruiser to form the nucleus of the newly formed NZ Naval Forces
New Zealand Naval Forces
New Zealand Naval Forces was the name given to a division of the Royal Navy. The division was formed in 1913 and it operated under this name until 1921, when it became the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy....
, which was a new division of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. Philomel was commissioned for New Zealand service on 15 July 1914. She was the country's first warship. According to Sydney D. Walters:
World War I
With the outbreak of war in August 1914 formed part of the ocean escort for the New Zealand Force which occupied German SamoaOccupation of German Samoa
The Occupation of Samoa was the takeover and subsequent administration of the Pacific colony of German Samoa in August 1914 by an expeditionary force from New Zealand called the Samoa Expeditionary Force and New Zealand's first action in World War I...
(now Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
). Following this, the ship helped escort the main body of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force as far as Western Australia. The cruiser then sailed for the Middle East.
In 1915 Philomel operated in the Mediterranean. On 8 February she landed an armed party in Southern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
where a large force of Turkish soldiers were encountered, resulting in three seamen killed and three wounded. Subsequently Philomel was deployed in the Red Sea and in the Persian Gulf. Throughout these operations Philomel was operated as a New Zealand ship, at the cost of the New Zealand Government.
Depot and training ship
In 1917 Philomel returned to New Zealand. Now 28 years old and probably the Navy’s oldest fighting ship. Hall-Thompson advised that she had reached the end of her useful life and the expense of a major refit which might briefly extend her operational life would not be justified. So she was to be retained as a depot and training ship of the local force to be re-introduced after the war. Her armament was removed and fitted on New Zealand merchant ships. In April of the same year Philomel was re-commissioned as a depot ship at Wellington and supported minesweeping operations until May 1919.In March 1921, on the creation of the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy
New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy
The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy was formed in 1921 and remained in existence until 1941. It was the precursor to the Royal New Zealand Navy .Originally the British Royal Navy provided total security for the colony of New Zealand...
, Philomel was re-commissioned as a training base and moored at Admiralty reservation, Devonport Dockyard, Auckland. From 1922, for a while, she was commanded by the noted British naval officer Augustus Agar
Augustus Agar
Captain Augustus Willington Shelton Agar, VC, DSO, RN was a noted Royal Navy officer in both World War I and World War II and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.In...
. In October 1941, on the creation of the Royal New Zealand Navy, HMS Philomel was recommissioned as the training base HMNZS Philomel
HMNZS Philomel
HMNZS Philomel is the main administrative naval baseof the Royal New Zealand Navy. Originally a training base on board the cruiser it takes its name from, it is part of the Devonport Naval Base in North Shore City, Auckland, New Zealand.-History:...
.