List of ships of the Queensland Marine Defence Force, 1884–1901:

Overview

One of the many consequences of the Jervois-Scratchley reports

Jervois-Scratchley reports

The Jervois-Scratchley reports of 1877 concerned the defences of the Australian colonies, and influenced defence policy into the twentieth century. From the time of the first settlement in Australia, the Royal Marines, the New South Wales Corps and a succession of regiments of the British army had...

 was that the Queensland Marine Defence Force was formed. To equip the new force the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat. From this beginning eight further vessels were acquired to give Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 the second largest fleet in the Australian colonies behind Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

. With the federation

Federation

A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...

 of the Australian colonies, those vessels still in service joined the Commonwealth Naval Forces in 1901 and the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

 when it was formed in 1911. No ship ever met the enemy in battle or fell victim to enemy action despite the fact that most went on to long, albeit in some cases humble, careers in both naval and private hands past World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

B

Name	Type	Class	Dates	Notes
Bonito Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboats With the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. To equip the new force the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat. However given the number of ports along the long Queensland coast it was realised that additional ships were required...	Auxiliary Gunboat Gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...	Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboat	1884–unknown
Bream Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboats With the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. To equip the new force the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat. However given the number of ports along the long Queensland coast it was realised that additional ships were required...	Auxiliary Gunboat Gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...	Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboat	1884–unknown	Dive wreck Tangalooma

D

Name	Type	Class	Dates	Notes
Dolphin Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboats With the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. To equip the new force the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat. However given the number of ports along the long Queensland coast it was realised that additional ships were required...	Auxiliary Gunboat Gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...	Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboat	1884–unknown	Dive wreck Tangalooma

G

Name	Type	Class	Dates	Notes
Gayundah HMQS Gayundah HMQS Gayundah was a flat-iron gunboat operated by the Queensland Maritime Defence Force and later the Royal Australian Navy . She entered service in 1884 and was decommissioned and sold in 1921. She then served as sand and gravel barge for Brisbane Gravel Pty Ltd until 1950, when she was scrapped...	Gunboat Gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...	"Gayundah" Class	1884–1918	Breakwater Woody Point Woody Point, Queensland Woody Point is a residential suburb of the Moreton Bay Region at the south-east of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It was formerly a banana plantation.-Attractions and features:...

M

Name	Type	Class	Dates	Notes
Midge HMQS Midge HMQS Midge was a torpedo launch that served with the Queensland Maritime Defence Force, the Commonwealth Naval Forces and the Royal Australian Navy.-Construction:...	Torpedo Launch Torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...		1887–1912
Miner HMQS Miner HMQS Miner was a vessel built for the Queensland Army before being transferred to the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. She was not taken on strength by the Commonwealth Naval Forces at federation in 1901 and subsequently sold....	Mining Tender Minelayer Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...		1887–1901	Breakwater Bishop Island
Mosquito	Torpedo Boat Torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...		1884–1910

O

Name	Type	Class	Dates	Notes
Otter HMQS Otter HMQS Otter was a patrol vessel that served with the Queensland Maritime Defence Force and Commonwealth Naval Forces. She was subsequently requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy in both world wars....	Patrol Vessel		1887–1906 Requisitioned WWI and WWII

P

Name	Type	Class	Dates	Notes
Paluma HMQS Paluma HMQS Paluma was a flat-iron gunboat operated by the Queensland Maritime Defence Force and later the Royal Australian Navy...	Gunboat Gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...	"Gayundah" Class	1884–1916
Pumba Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboats With the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. To equip the new force the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat. However given the number of ports along the long Queensland coast it was realised that additional ships were required...	Auxiliary Gunboat Gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...	Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboat	1884–1901

S

Name	Type	Class	Dates	Notes
Stingaree Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboats With the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. To equip the new force the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat. However given the number of ports along the long Queensland coast it was realised that additional ships were required...	Auxiliary Gunboat Gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...	Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboat	1984–1895	Dive wreck Tangalooma

Vessels in Chronological Order by Class

"Gayundah" Class Gunboats

• Gayundah
  HMQS Gayundah
  HMQS Gayundah was a flat-iron gunboat operated by the Queensland Maritime Defence Force and later the Royal Australian Navy . She entered service in 1884 and was decommissioned and sold in 1921. She then served as sand and gravel barge for Brisbane Gravel Pty Ltd until 1950, when she was scrapped...
  
  
• Paluma
  HMQS Paluma
  HMQS Paluma was a flat-iron gunboat operated by the Queensland Maritime Defence Force and later the Royal Australian Navy...
  
  

Torpedo Boat

• Mosquito

Patrol Vessel

• Otter
  HMQS Otter
  HMQS Otter was a patrol vessel that served with the Queensland Maritime Defence Force and Commonwealth Naval Forces. She was subsequently requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy in both world wars....
  
  

Auxiliary Gunboats

• Bonito
  Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboats
  With the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. To equip the new force the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat. However given the number of ports along the long Queensland coast it was realised that additional ships were required...
  
  
• Bream
  Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboats
  With the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. To equip the new force the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat. However given the number of ports along the long Queensland coast it was realised that additional ships were required...
  
  
• Dolphin
  Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboats
  With the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. To equip the new force the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat. However given the number of ports along the long Queensland coast it was realised that additional ships were required...
  
  
• Pumba
  Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboats
  With the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. To equip the new force the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat. However given the number of ports along the long Queensland coast it was realised that additional ships were required...
  
  
• Stingaree
  Queensland Maritime Defence Force Auxiliary Gunboats
  With the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. To equip the new force the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat. However given the number of ports along the long Queensland coast it was realised that additional ships were required...
  
  

Torpedo Launch

• Midge
  HMQS Midge
  HMQS Midge was a torpedo launch that served with the Queensland Maritime Defence Force, the Commonwealth Naval Forces and the Royal Australian Navy.-Construction:...
  
  

Mining Tender

• Miner
  HMQS Miner
  HMQS Miner was a vessel built for the Queensland Army before being transferred to the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. She was not taken on strength by the Commonwealth Naval Forces at federation in 1901 and subsequently sold....
  
  

See also

• Colonial navies of Australia – Queensland
• List of Royal Australian Navy ships