HMS Rosario (1860)
Encyclopedia
HMS Rosario was an 11-gun Rosario-class
screw sloop
of the Royal Navy
, launched in 1860 at Deptford Dockyard. She served two commissions, including eight years on the Australia Station during which she fought to reduce illegal kidnappings of South Sea Islanders for the Queensland labour market
. She was decommissioned in 1875, finally being sold for breaking nine years later. A team from Rosario played the first ever New Zealand International Rugby Union match against a Wellington side in 1870. She was the fifth Royal Navy ship to bear the name, which was first used for the galleon Del Rosario, captured from the Spanish in 1588.
. They were built of wood, were rated for 11 guns and were built with a full ship rig of sails (this was reduced to a barque rig
by about 1869). With a length overall of 160 feet (48.8 m) and a beam of 30 in 4 in (9.25 m), they had a displacement of 913 tonnes. These were the last sloops constructed for the Royal Navy to retain all-wooden construction; their successors, the Amazon class
, incorporated iron cross beams.
and Fort Monroe
in Virginia. The strained relationship between the Union and Britain
during the American Civil War
did not prevent visits to American ports, but ships of the North America Station would also have used Bermuda
and the Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax
as bases. The Lyons–Seward Treaty of 1862 allowed for greater co-operation between the US Navy and the Royal Navy in combating slavery, and it is probable that anti-slavery formed part of her employment, particularly in the Caribbean.
In 1866 she was ordered from Quebec
to Montreal
to provide protection to the harbour during the Fenian Raid of 1866
. Sixteen members of her ship's company were awarded the "Fenian Raid 1866" clasp to the Canada General Service Medal 1866-70
, possibly while serving as members of a Naval Brigade
.
After four years on the North America and West Indies Station she paid off at Chatham
on 13 October 1866.
Rosario recommissioned at Woolwich on 28 September 1867 under her previous captain, Commander Louis Venturne. Commander George Palmer then took command in October 1867 and under him she sailed for the Australia Station
. In 1869 Rosario detained the schooner Daphne on suspicion of "blackbirding
", or the illegal recruitment (including enslavement) of the indigenous populations of nearby Pacific islands or northern Queensland. Commander Palmer brought charges at the Vice Admiralty Court of New South Wales
, but the charges were dismissed by the Chief Justice of New South Wales, Sir Alfred Stephen
, on the grounds that the British Slave Trade Act 1839 did not apply to the South Pacific Ocean.
In 1870 a team from Rosario played the first New Zealand International Rugby Union match against a side from Wellington
.
It was intended to recommission her in Sydney in 1871, with a new crew being brought out from England in HMS Megaera
, but with Commander Challis remaining in command. In the event Megaera became a total loss at the isolated St Paul Island
, and her passengers were rescued by HMS Rinaldo and SS Malacca. There were no fatalities, and the new crews eventually reached their intended ships.
Albert Hastings Markham
became acting commander of Rosario between October 1871 and 10 February 1872, during a voyage to the New Hebrides
for the suppression of the South Seas labour trade. He published an account of the cruise under the title The cruise of the Rosario amongst the New Hebrides and Santa Cruz Islands, exposing the recent atrocities connected with the kidnapping of natives in the South Seas. The cruise included a visit to the island of Nukapu
to inquire into the murder of Bishop Patteson
, but little of value was found until they came to the south-east side of the Island, where the bishop had been killed. In the words of the contemporary newspaper report:
The ill feeling against white men in Nukapu is easily understood; one of the vessels stopped by Rosario during the November 1871 cruise was the brig Carl, which had been the scene of a particularly brutal massacre. Markham was too late to find any evidence of the murder of up to 50 islanders on board (that came later when one of the crew turned King's evidence), but the activities of the ship in the area explain the aggressive attacks of the local population, and probably also explain the murder of the bishop. The measures taken by Rosario became the subject of questions in the House of Commons, and Markham's book on the subject may well have been prompted by them. The book itself makes clear that Markham clearly understood the cycle of violence and deplored both the murderous activities of the Blackbirders, and the apparent need for further violence in restoring order.
In April 1872, once again under Commander Challis, she visited Wellington
, Otago
and Auckland
in New Zealand. Her cruise of the later part of the year took her to the Solomon Islands
, and was conducted entirely under canvas. The summer of 1874 was spent visiting Fiji
, the Marshall Islands
, the Ellis Islands and the Gilbert Islands
, in part searching for William "Bully" Hayes
, who was notorious for his slaving and piracy. Rosario picked up a number of his shipwrecked crew from Kosrae
, but Hayes evaded the search.
In 1874 she was employed as a prison hulk for young criminals,This can only have been for a short period - she cruised during the summer of 1874 and by October 1875 she had returned to Sheerness and decommissioned and on 12 October 1875 Rosario paid off at Sheerness after an eight-year commission.
.
Rosario class sloop
The Rosario class was a class of seven screw-sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy between 1860 and 1862. A further six vessels were ordered and laid down, but were cancelled in 1863 before launch...
screw sloop
Screw sloop
A screw sloop is a propeller-driven sloop-of-war. In the 19th century, during the introduction of the steam engine, ships driven by propellers were differentiated from those driven by paddle-wheels by referring to the ship's screws...
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...
, launched in 1860 at Deptford Dockyard. She served two commissions, including eight years on the Australia Station during which she fought to reduce illegal kidnappings of South Sea Islanders for the Queensland labour market
Blackbirding
Blackbirding is a term that refers to recruitment of people through trickery and kidnappings to work as labourers. From the 1860s blackbirding ships were engaged in seeking workers to mine the guano deposits on the Chincha Islands in Peru...
. She was decommissioned in 1875, finally being sold for breaking nine years later. A team from Rosario played the first ever New Zealand International Rugby Union match against a Wellington side in 1870. She was the fifth Royal Navy ship to bear the name, which was first used for the galleon Del Rosario, captured from the Spanish in 1588.
Design
The Rosario class was designed in 1858 by Issac Watts, the Director of Naval ConstructionDirector of Naval Construction
The Director of Naval Construction was a senior British civil servant post in the Admiralty, that part of the British Civil Service that oversaw the Royal Navy. The post existed from 1860 to 1966....
. They were built of wood, were rated for 11 guns and were built with a full ship rig of sails (this was reduced to a barque rig
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
by about 1869). With a length overall of 160 feet (48.8 m) and a beam of 30 in 4 in (9.25 m), they had a displacement of 913 tonnes. These were the last sloops constructed for the Royal Navy to retain all-wooden construction; their successors, the Amazon class
Amazon class sloop
The Amazon class was a class of six screw sloops of wooden construction built for the Royal Navy between 1865 and 1866.-Design:Designed by Edward Reed, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction, they were equipped with a ram bow...
, incorporated iron cross beams.
Propulsion
Rosario was fitted with a Greenock Foundry Company two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine driving a single screw. With an indicated horsepower of 436 hp she was capable of 9.2 knots (18 km/h) under steam.Armament
As designed, ships of the class carried a single slide-mounted 40-pounder Armstrong breech-loading gun, six 32-pounder muzzle-loading smooth-bore guns and four pivot-mounted 20-pounder Armstrong breech loaders. By 1869 the armament had been reduced to a single 7 inches (177.8 mm) muzzle-loading gun and two 40-pounders.Construction
Rosario was ordered from Deptford Dockyard on 1 April 1857 and laid down on 13 June 1859. She was the first of her class to be launched, on 17 October 1860 and she was commissioned under Commander James Stanley Graham on 20 June 1862First Commission (1862 - 1866)
From June to October 1862 she was employed in fishery protection duties in the North Sea. In October she was transferred to the North America and West Indies Station, and cases of fever and small pox were recorded in her in 1864 after visits to Kingston, JamaicaKingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
and Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe was a military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula...
in Virginia. The strained relationship between the Union and Britain
Britain in the American Civil War
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was officially neutral throughout the American Civil War, 1861-65. The Confederate strategy for securing independence was largely based on British and French military intervention, which never happened; intervention would have meant war with the...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
did not prevent visits to American ports, but ships of the North America Station would also have used Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and the Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax
Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax
Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax was a British Royal Navy base in Halifax, Nova Scotia from 1759 to 1905. The Halifax Yard was the main year round base of the Royal Navy's North American Station when first established in 1759 during the Seven Years' War....
as bases. The Lyons–Seward Treaty of 1862 allowed for greater co-operation between the US Navy and the Royal Navy in combating slavery, and it is probable that anti-slavery formed part of her employment, particularly in the Caribbean.
In 1866 she was ordered from Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to provide protection to the harbour during the Fenian Raid of 1866
Fenian raids
Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood who were based in the United States; on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They divided many Catholic Irish-Canadians, many of whom were...
. Sixteen members of her ship's company were awarded the "Fenian Raid 1866" clasp to the Canada General Service Medal 1866-70
Canada General Service Medal
The Canada General Service Medal was a Canadian campaign medal awarded to both Imperial and Canadian forces for duties related to the Fenian raids between 1866 and 1871...
, possibly while serving as members of a Naval Brigade
Naval Brigade
A Naval Brigade is a body of sailors serving in a ground combat role to augment land forces.-Royal Navy:Within the Royal Navy, a Naval Brigade is a large temporary detachment of Royal Marines and of seamen from the Royal Navy formed to undertake operations on shore, particularly during the mid- to...
.
After four years on the North America and West Indies Station she paid off at Chatham
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
on 13 October 1866.
Second Commission (1867 - 1875)
Australia Station
The Australia Station was the British—and later Australian—naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.-History:In the early years following the establishment of the colony of New South Wales, ships based in Australian waters came under the control of the East Indies...
. In 1869 Rosario detained the schooner Daphne on suspicion of "blackbirding
Blackbirding
Blackbirding is a term that refers to recruitment of people through trickery and kidnappings to work as labourers. From the 1860s blackbirding ships were engaged in seeking workers to mine the guano deposits on the Chincha Islands in Peru...
", or the illegal recruitment (including enslavement) of the indigenous populations of nearby Pacific islands or northern Queensland. Commander Palmer brought charges at the Vice Admiralty Court of New South Wales
Vice Admiralty Court (New South Wales)
The Vice Admiralty Court was a prerogative court established in the early 18th century in the colony of New South Wales, which was to become a state of Australia. A vice admiralty court is in effect an admiralty court. The word “vice” in the name of the court denoted that the court represented...
, but the charges were dismissed by the Chief Justice of New South Wales, Sir Alfred Stephen
Alfred Stephen
Sir Alfred Stephen was an Australian judge and chief justice of New South Wales.Stephen was born at St Christopher in the West Indies. His father, John Stephen , was related to Henry John Stephen, Sir James Stephen and Sir James FitzJames Stephen, all men of great distinction in England...
, on the grounds that the British Slave Trade Act 1839 did not apply to the South Pacific Ocean.
In 1870 a team from Rosario played the first New Zealand International Rugby Union match against a side from Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
.
It was intended to recommission her in Sydney in 1871, with a new crew being brought out from England in HMS Megaera
HMS Megaera (1849)
HMS Megaera was originally constructed as an iron screw frigate for the Royal Navy, and was one of the last and largest ships built by William Fairbairn's Millwall shipyard....
, but with Commander Challis remaining in command. In the event Megaera became a total loss at the isolated St Paul Island
Île Saint-Paul
Île Saint-Paul is an island forming part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean, with an area of . It is located about southwest of the larger Île Amsterdam, and south of Réunion...
, and her passengers were rescued by HMS Rinaldo and SS Malacca. There were no fatalities, and the new crews eventually reached their intended ships.
Albert Hastings Markham
Albert Hastings Markham
Admiral Sir Albert Hastings Markham, KCB was a British explorer, author, and officer in the Royal Navy. In 1903 he was made Knight Commander in the Order of the Bath...
became acting commander of Rosario between October 1871 and 10 February 1872, during a voyage to the New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
for the suppression of the South Seas labour trade. He published an account of the cruise under the title The cruise of the Rosario amongst the New Hebrides and Santa Cruz Islands, exposing the recent atrocities connected with the kidnapping of natives in the South Seas. The cruise included a visit to the island of Nukapu
Nukapu
Nukapu is one of the islands of the nation of Solomon Islands. It is in the Reef Islands group in Temotu Province; the easternmost province of the Solomons.The island contains a memorial to Bishop John Patteson who was murdered on Nukapu in 1871....
to inquire into the murder of Bishop Patteson
John Coleridge Patteson
John Coleridge Patteson was an Anglican bishop and martyr.Patteson was educated at The King's School, Ottery St Mary, Eton and then Balliol College, Oxford. He was ordained in 1853 in the Church of England...
, but little of value was found until they came to the south-east side of the Island, where the bishop had been killed. In the words of the contemporary newspaper report:
The ill feeling against white men in Nukapu is easily understood; one of the vessels stopped by Rosario during the November 1871 cruise was the brig Carl, which had been the scene of a particularly brutal massacre. Markham was too late to find any evidence of the murder of up to 50 islanders on board (that came later when one of the crew turned King's evidence), but the activities of the ship in the area explain the aggressive attacks of the local population, and probably also explain the murder of the bishop. The measures taken by Rosario became the subject of questions in the House of Commons, and Markham's book on the subject may well have been prompted by them. The book itself makes clear that Markham clearly understood the cycle of violence and deplored both the murderous activities of the Blackbirders, and the apparent need for further violence in restoring order.
In April 1872, once again under Commander Challis, she visited Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
and Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
in New Zealand. Her cruise of the later part of the year took her to the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, and was conducted entirely under canvas. The summer of 1874 was spent visiting Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
, the Ellis Islands and the Gilbert Islands
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...
, in part searching for William "Bully" Hayes
Bully Hayes
William Henry "Bully" Hayes has been described as a South Sea pirate and "the last of the Buccaneers", who together with Ben Pease, engaged in blackbirding in the 1860s and 1870s. Hayes operated across the breadth of the Pacific in the 1850s until his murder on 31 March 1877 by his cook Peter...
, who was notorious for his slaving and piracy. Rosario picked up a number of his shipwrecked crew from Kosrae
Kosrae
Kosrae , formerly known as Kusaie, is an island in Micronesia. The State of Kosrae is one of four states of the Federated States of Micronesia, and includes, besides the island of Kosrae, about a dozen satellite islands and islets, the most significant of which is Lelu Island.-Geography:With a...
, but Hayes evaded the search.
In 1874 she was employed as a prison hulk for young criminals,This can only have been for a short period - she cruised during the summer of 1874 and by October 1875 she had returned to Sheerness and decommissioned and on 12 October 1875 Rosario paid off at Sheerness after an eight-year commission.
Fate
She is listed at Chatham in 1880, and on 31 January 1884 she was sold to Castle for breaking up at CharltonCharlton, London
Charlton is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Greenwich. It is located east-southeast of Charing Cross. Charlton next Woolwich was an ancient parish in the county of Kent, which became part of the metropolitan area of London in 1855. It is home to Charlton...
.
Commanding officers
| From | To | Captain |
|---|---|---|
| 20 June 1862 | 1863 | Commander James Stanley Graham |
| 14 May 1863 | 30 September 1864 | Commander Henry Duncan Grant |
| 1866 | 4 October 1867 | Commander Louis Hutton Venturne |
| 4 October 1867 | 8 April 1870 | Commander George Palmer |
| 8 April 1870 | 22 January 1874 | Commander Henry Joseph Challis |
| 22 January 1874 | 12 October 1875 | Commander Arthur Edward Dupuis |