HMCS Integrity (1804)

For other ships of the same name, see HMS Integrity.
History
Name: Integrity
Owner: Colony of New South Wales
Builder: Thomas Moore, King's Dockyard, Sydney
Laid down: September 1802
Launched: 13 January 1804
Completed: October 1803
In service: 1804-1805
Fate: Disappeared, 1805
General characteristics
Type: Cutter
Tons burthen: 56 or 59 3⁄4 tons bm[1]
Length: 46 ft (14 m) (keel), 60 ft (18 m) (overall)[1]
Beam: 16 ft 9 in (5.11 m)[1]
Crew: 9[2]

HMCS Integrity was a cutter built by the Colonial Government of New South Wales in 1804. She was the first vessel ever launched from a New South Wales dockyard and carried goods between the colony's coastal settlements of Norfolk Island, Newcastle, Port Jackson, and Van Diemen's Land. She was lost at sea in 1805.

Construction

Port Jackson, where Integrity was constructed and launched from a dockyard (unmarked) on the shore of the cove.

Integrity was laid down in September 1802 at the newly opened King's Dockyard in the colony of New South Wales. Governor Philip Gidley King ordered that construction proceed as swiftly as possible, in order to test the Dockyard's capacity. A team of two shipwrights, two apprentice shipwrights and two sawyers were assigned the task and delivered the finished cutter in thirteen months.[2] During construction shipwright Thomas Moore tested that the hull was watertight by filling it with water from the inside, and repairing any visible leaks.[3] Her hold also incorporated a partition that her crew could move to or away from the forecastle bulkhead to vary her cargo capacity.[3]

Governor King's direction had been for a vessel measuring around 46 tons burthen,[4] but the final vessel was significantly larger at 59 tons.[2] King was impressed with the work despite this variation from the original plans; in a letter to Lord Hobart, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, he praised the speed and quality of Integrity's construction and described her as "extremely well put together and strong."[5]

The newly built vessel was launched on 13 January 1804 as "His Majesty's Armed Colonial Cutter Integrity" under the command of Navy Lieutenant John Houstoun and with a crew of eight men.[6] She was the first seagoing vessel to be launched in the colony of New South Wales, all previous craft having been small enough to be floated off the shore.[3][7] Throughout her active service she remained under the direct control of the colonial government of New South Wales, and was never formally commissioned into the Royal Navy.[8]

Active service

Colonial Governor Philip Gidley King, under whose authority Integrity's voyages took place.

Integrity's first voyage was south along the eastern coastline of Australia, transporting supplies across Bass Strait to the colonial outpost in Van Diemen's Land.[2] The administrator of that outpost, Lieutenant John Bowen, had recently resigned his position and returned to Port Jackson. Governor King now directed that Bowen travel back to Van Diemen's Land aboard Integrity in order to formalise the transfer of colonial authority to his successor. However Bowen refused to go aboard, and Integrity ultimately sailed without him. The voyage was a success, with the cutter completing the round trip to Van Diemen's Land and returning to Port Jackson by 24 April.[9]

On 1 June Governor King issued directions for Integrity's second voyage. With Lieutenant Houstoun again in command, the cutter was to transport Lieutenant-Colonel William Paterson to the north of Van Diemen's Land in order to found a new settlement at Port Dalrymple. To support the settlement, the cutter was also assigned to carry nineteen soldiers of the New South Wales Corps, a ship's surgeon and ten convicts. A further fifteen soldiers and eleven convicts would accompany the expedition aboard a privately owned vessel, the Contest. Once Paterson had disembarked at Port Dalrymple, Integrity was to follow the coastline of Port Phillip Bay so that Houstoun could survey the shore and determine its suitability for future colonisation. The cutter would then proceed to Cape Barren Island, a remote location in Bass Strait, to investigate rumours that a group of American sailors were establishing an unlawful trade in seal skins.[10]

Integrity set sail on 8 June, heading south along the New South Wales coast. A week later she encountered heavy storms and winds while passing Cape Howe and was unable to proceed. Houstoun ordered a return to Port Jackson, which was regained on 19 June.[11][lower-alpha 1] There was no sign of Contest and she was presumed lost at sea. The voyage was re-attempted on 3 July, but Integrity again ran into heavy weather off Cape Howe and was forced to turn towards the shore to seek shelter. The cutter entered what would later be known as Twofold Bay on the New South Wales South Coast, where to her crew's surprise they discovered Contest, undamaged but unable to return to sea in the storm.

The passengers and crew of both vessels consulted on whether to continue southwards or turn back and await better weather. According to one source, missionary W.P. Crook aboard Integrity, there was unanimity for continuing the voyage except for Captain Houstoun, who wished to turn back.[13] As Houstoun was the nominal commander of the voyage, his view prevailed and Integrity and Contest returned to Port Jackson together, arriving on 13 July.[14]

Integrity's repeated failure to reach Port Dalrymple convinced Governor King that larger vessels would be required to make the voyage. The East India Company was approached to provide either the Coromandel or the Experiment, both then in New South Wales waters, but the request was declined.[15] In the interim Integrity was sent north with provisions for the colonial settlement at Norfolk Island, returning in early August.[16] In September she sailed a round trip to the New South Wales colony of Newcastle to ship a cargo of cedar wood back to Port Jackson.[17]

On 1 October Governor King issued orders for a flotilla of vessels to attempt the voyage to Port Dalrymple. On this occasion Integrity was assigned a supporting role, with the expedition to be led by the 12-gun Royal Navy storeship HMS Buffalo and the 6-gun survey vessel HMS Lady Nelson.[15][18] They would be accompanied by the elderly colonial schooner Francis which had been in service since 1792 and was described by King as "much damaged" but still seaworthy.[16] Lieutenant-Colonel Paterson and the principal colonists would travel aboard Buffalo but transfer to Integrity if the Navy vessel was too large to enter the bay where the settlement was proposed to stand.[15]

The flotilla departed Port Jackson on 15 October, proceeding southward down the New South Wales coastline towards Bass Strait. Cape Howe was passed without incident, though the schooner Francis continually fell behind the larger vessels. The weather slowly worsened until on sunset of 18 October the flotilla encountered a heavy gale. Captain Kent of Buffalo signaled for the flotilla to take in their sails and ride out the storm; on the following morning the crew of Integrity discovered that they had lost sight of all three other vessels and were running dangerously close to a lee shore. Houstoun elected to continue southward close to the shore, preferring the risk of running aground to that of braving the gale in deeper water.[19] There was a glimpse of Buffalo far to the east on the morning of 21 October, "laboring much and lurching very deep" among the waves.[20] Other than this sighting Integrity continued her voyage alone through the storm, crossing Bass Strait into clearer weather on around 23 October. The cutter was brought into an uninhabited bay on the northeast coast of Van Diemen's Land where she underwent basic repairs.[19]

After ten days she was returned to sea and reached Port Dalrymple on the morning of 5 November. Buffalo had already arrived, but there was no sign of Lady Nelson or Francis. In recognition of his achievements in the storm, Houstoun was promoted to Lieutenant aboard Buffalo. Command of Integrity transferred to midshipman Charles Robbins.[19]

Fate

In June 1805 Governor King sent Integrity on a diplomatic mission to the Spanish Governor of Chile, carrying letters regarding the seizure of vessels by Captain William Campbell of the privateer Harrington.[21] Campbell had entered the Chilean ports of Caldera and Coquimbo and captured the Spanish ships Extremeña and St Francisco & St Paulo, contrary to his letter of marque as a privateer. The Spanish ships were then sailed to Port Jackson.[22]

King subsequently requested advice from the British Government on the legality of Campbell's actions. That advice indicated that Campbell's seizure of the Spanish ships may have been lawful, but their retention in Port Jackson could give rise to a charge of piracy. In these circumstances, King directed that Integrity should sail to Chile to offer the safe return of the Spanish ships.[23]

Integrity set sail for Valparaíso, Chile on 20 June 1805.[23] For the voyage she was again under the command of Acting Lieutenant Charles Robbins, with a crew of ten men and bearing a flag of truce "in case war should have taken place between England and Spain" before she reached her destination.[21][22][24] She was not seen again. Historian Frank Bladen has conjectured that the cutter foundered en route, or reached South America but been overwhelmed in an attack by an indigenous tribe.[25]

A year after Integrity's departure, on 20 July 1806, King wrote to Viscount Castlereagh expressing concern at the cutter's continued absence and hoping that she had simply been detained by Spanish authorities.[26] She was last mentioned in a report on colonial shipping compiled by Governor King in August 1806, with details of pay owing to her crew and the annotation "Gone to Valparaiso ... Not returned."[27][lower-alpha 2]

Citations

Notes

  1. ↑ In a letter to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Governor King incorrectly records Integrity's return to Port Jackson as occurring on 21 June.[12]
  2. ↑ In this report, King incorrectly records that Integrity set sail for Chile on 26 June 1805 instead of 20 June.[27]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sydney". The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, Sunday 11 December 1803, p.4 (National Library of Australia). Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol.5 , p. 338
  3. 1 2 3 Hawkins, Clifford W. (October 1983). "The Passage of Sail: European Sailing Ship Building in the South West Pacific". The Great Circle (Australian Association of Maritime History) 5 (2): 88. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  4. ↑ Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 4, p. 901
  5. ↑ Governor King to Lord Hobart, 1 March 1804. Cited in Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 5, pp.328-338
  6. ↑ Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 5, p.383
  7. ↑ "Postscript". The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, Sunday 15 January 1804, p.4 (National Library of Australia). Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  8. ↑ Lyon 1993, pp. 284, 287
  9. ↑ Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 5, pp. 381-382
  10. ↑ Correspondence, Governor King to Lieutenant-Colonel Paterson, 1 June 1804. Cited in Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 5, pp.383-384
  11. ↑ Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 5, p. 418
  12. ↑ Correspondence, Governor King to Lord Hobart, 14 August 1804. Cited in Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 5, p. 418
  13. ↑ Correspondence, Missionary W.P. Crook to the London Missionary Society, 1804. Cited in Bladen 1979 Vol. 5, pp. 537-538
  14. ↑ Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 5, p. 385
  15. 1 2 3 Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 5, pp. 420-421
  16. 1 2 Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 5, p. 436
  17. ↑ "Port News". The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (National Library of Australia). 30 September 1804. p. 2. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  18. ↑ Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 5, pp. 473-475
  19. 1 2 3 Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 5, pp.488-492
  20. ↑ Captain Kent to Governor King, 28 November 1804. Cited in Bladen 1979 Vol. 5, p. 489
  21. 1 2 "Ship News". The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (Sydney NSW: National Library of Australia). 30 June 1805. p. 2. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  22. 1 2 Rusden 1883, pp. 410-411
  23. 1 2 Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 6, pp.112-113
  24. ↑ Bateson 1972, p. 40
  25. ↑ Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 6, p. 201
  26. ↑ Correspondence, Governor King to Viscount Castlereagh, 20 July 1806. Cited in Bladen 1979, Vol. 6, pp. 112-113
  27. 1 2 Bladen (ed.) 1979 Vol. 6, p. 127

Bibliography

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