HMCS Protector

Built by William Armstrong & Co of Newcastle on Tyne, England, arrived Port Adelaide 30 Sep 1884 to guard the colony against possible invasion by foreign nations. In 1900 she sailed to China as part of the Imperial Government’s fleet to assist in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion. There, with her shallow draught, she was used as a supply ship in the rivers, returning to Port Adelaide Dec 1900. In WWI she joined the Australian Naval & Military Expeditionary Force assembled to capture the German New Guinea colonies, assisting submarines AE1 & AE2 and later checked the wreck of the Emden on Cocos Island. She was sold 1924, converted in Victoria to an oil lighter & renamed Sidney. In WWII she was taken over by US Navy, damaged .in a collision off Gladstone QLD, now the wreck forms part of the breakwater at Herron Island. [Photo from State Library of SA: B 10060 (1901) HMCS Protector on her return from China.]

 

“The Protector will be suitable for cruising about Investigator Strait in time of danger, and will probably be a match for any of the ordinary class of cruisers which a European Power might in time of war be able to send to Australia.” [Register 21 Jun 1884]

 

“An increased sense of security at the Semaphore this morning: the Protector gunboat has put in an appearance. 'What a very little boat!' was the first exclamation ashore.” [Port Adelaide News 30 Sep 1884]

 

“After a successful voyage extending over ninety days, the warship Protector — the first man-of-war built for the colony, and the nucleus perhaps of a future South Australian fleet — arrived at the Semaphore anchorage early on Tuesday morning. She was first seen at daybreak, when a few miles down the gulf, coming up slowly under steam, and at a distance she certainly appeared a formidable looking vessel; but as she drew nearer and the deceptive morning mist cleared away her size was less impressive and she looked disappointingly small, albeit her cut was clean, her rig neat, and her outlines were decidedly naval. . . The ship left Newcastle on Tyne on June 27.” [Express & Telegraph 30 Sep 1884]

 

“The circumstances under which the Protector was ordered must be pretty fresh in the minds of our readers. In the first half of the year 1882 Europe was in a most unquiet state, chiefly owing to the Egyptian difficulty, and a general feeling of insecurity prevailed in those colonies where defences did not exist or were insufficient. This colony felt the infection, and Sir William Jervois, our then Governor, being appealed to, he suggested the acquisition of a warship which in conjunction with our forts would be fairly effective in coping with inquisitorial cruisers which might essay a raid on our chief port.” [Advertiser 1 Oct 1884]

 

“She carries a crew of fifty men, and will probably need forty or so more. The men were shipped for the voyage under the Merchant Shipping articles, but appear nearly all willing to join as regular jack tars for three years. Most of them are from the navy, and a good many are regular bluejackets who have studied gunnery and know all the details of man-of-war routine. The officers are:— John C. P. Walcot, R.N., on the retired list of the British navy, and also in British war vessels, commander; Ernest C. Hobkirk, R.N., senior lieutenant; Harold O. C. Lundh, R.N., lieutenant; Thomas B. Jordan, R.N., chief engineer; William Clarkson, engineer: Henry Huisom, R.N., gunner; James Martin, R.N., boatswain; John Reid, surgeon; and they are nearly all comparatively young men, the commander included. Lieutenant Lundh saw service in the Swedish navy. Dr. Reid has some intention of practising in South Australia, and will sever his connection with the gunboat. They are all new to the colonies, none having been here before.” [Register 1 Oct 1884]

 

“In the contract, dated November 16, 1882, with Sir W. G. Armstrong & Co., she is described as a 14-knot unarmoured twin-screw steel gunboat. Her length overall is 185 feet; length in waterline, 180 feet; beam, 30 feet; depth moulded, 16 feet; draught of water, 12 ft. 6 in.; and displacement about 900 tons. She is driven by two pairs of independent compound engines, about 750 indicated horsepower, and each is estimated to give the vessel, with all her weight on board, a mean speed of 14 knots per hour. The capacity of the coal bunkers is equal to 150 tons.” [Register 1 Oct 1884]

 

“Never before has an Australian war-ship, manned by Australian sailors, been engaged in the Imperial service.” [Advertiser 6 Aug 1900]

 

“Port Adelaide and the Semaphore combined on Saturday afternoon in giving a cordial send-off to the officers and men of the gunboat Protector, which leaves for China this afternoon. The procession, consisting of the bluejackets, Port Adelaide school children, members of friendly societies, bicyclists, &c., with bands and banners, formed in Commercial-road about 2.30, and marched through, the principal streets to the Town Hall, where a social was held, with the Mayor of Port Adelaide in the chair. A number of patriotic speeches were made.” [Express & Telegraph 6 Aug 1900]

 

“H.M.C.S. Protector, in command of Capt. Clare, returned to Port Adelaide from China on Sunday afternoon. She was met down the Gulf by the steamer Governor Musgrave, on board of which were Lord Richard Nevill, the Commissioner, of Public Works, the Minister of Education, naval and military officers, and prominent citizens. . . At the Semaphore anchorage the crew were accorded a great reception, and on arrival at Port Adelaide a similar and even more enthusiastic welcome was extended.” [Evening Journal 7 Jan 1901]

 

“H.M.C.S. Protector, having been overhauled on Fletcher's Slip, is now taking in coal and stores prior to her departure for .Melbourne to participate in the celebrations in connection with the opening of the Federal Parliament.” [Evening Journal 24 Apr 1901]

 

“H.M.C.S. Protector, the only efficient seagoing vessel belonging to the Commonwealth, will leave Port Adelaide for Melbourne next Monday to train the Victorian branch of the Commonwealth Naval Militia.” [Register 24 Aug 1905]

 

“H.M.C.S. Protector is seldom alongside the Port Adelaide wharves, but the gunboat was taken to Maclaren wharf on Thurs day, and by means of the large crane there her heaviest guns were swung on board from the wharf, where they have been for some months. The guns were removed to enable the deck of the vessel to receive attention. The steel sheathing under the wooden decks was chipped and renewed where necessary, and a thorough internal overhaul was also given the vessel. Mr. H. C. Fletcher carried cut the work.” [Express & Telegraph 4 Jan 1907]

 

“The Naval Department has handed to the Port Adelaide Corporation an obsolete 6-in, B.L. gun, which was taken out of the bows of H.M.A.S. Protector when the structural alterations to the gunboat were effected. The weapon is now being erected on the reserve at Semaphore, close to the beach.” [Register 24 Apr 1913]

 

“from a letter, dated October, written by a member of the Expeditionary Force at Wilhelmshafen, New Guinea. . . The whole fleet, including the submarines AE1 and AE2, oil ships, colliers and store ship. At Simpsonhafen we were joined by the Protector (gunboat), the hospital ship Grantala, and survey ship Phantome.” [Clarence & Richmond Examiner 8 Dec 1914]

 

“The Minister for the Navy states that the gunboat Protector was dispatched from Fremantle a fortnight ago to view the wreck, and determine the advisability of proceeding with the much-delayed salvage. . . the Emden was a total wreck, only the forepart of the vessel remaining on the beach. . . the condition of the hull and the fact that huge breakers continuously swept the remnants made the work of salvage an engineering impossibility.” [Advertiser 20 Nov 1915]

 

“Armistice with Germany. . . last night in the streets of Port Pirie. . . The blue-jackets from the gunboat Protector, which has been in the harbor now for many days, were much in evidence during the jubilation.” [Port Pirie Recorder 12 Nov 1918]

 

“While in Bass Straits, on a voyage from Sydney to Melbourne, the gunboat Protector encountered the full force of the gales and heavy seas which have been prevalent off the coast. With her wireless gear disabled, she was forced to shelter during the week-end in Sealers' Cove, near Wilson's Promontory. . . At midnight the Melbourne tug James Paterson started down the bay to the assistance of the Protector. . . in addition to the loss of her overhead wireless, the Protector's mast has been broken and her funnel smashed.” [Register 24 Jun 1919]

 

“H.M.A.S. Protector has been sold by the Naval Board for £677 10/- to Mr. John Hill, a machinery merchant, of North Melbourne. . . It is his intention to scrap the old gunboat Protector.” [Advertiser 11 Sep 1924]

 

“the Protector. . . After she was sold in 1924, and purchased by Messrs. George and Hill, the guns, turrets, and engines were dismantled. The hull was purchased by. Messrs. McBain & Morwick, of Williamstown, and towed to that port. Work of reconditioning the hull and converting it into a modern crude oil lighter is nearly completed. Magazines used for storing ammunition have proved ideal crude oil containers. They are capable of holding 300 tons of fuel. High power pumps have been fitted, and the Protector will be one of the most up-to-date lighters that will supply fuel to motor ships visiting Melbourne.” [News, Adelaide 9 Nov 1929]

 

“Of the 12 vessels which were taken over from State ownership to form the first Commonwealth fleet, the gunboats Protector and Cerberus were best known here. . . the old Protector, once owned by South Australia, is still on the Yarra and known as the Sidney. When first built the Protector was the heaviest armed ship in its class. It was a six-gun cruiser of 920 tons. One of its guns is mounted near the entrance to Semaphore jetty. The bell, steering wheel, and chart house are relics of Birkenhead Naval Depot.” [News 3 Jun 1936]

 

“Tonight surviving members of the crew of the former gunboat Protector are holding a reunion at Alberton, and many incidents of the ship’s service in China waters are being recalled.” [The Mail 8 Aug 1936]

 

“H.M.C.S. Protector. . . ended her commission in 1922 and was sold out of service. After a period in the humble capacity of a lighter — during which she was used (1943) by the U.S.A. forces — she was acquired by a tourist organisation and put on a reef at Heron Island for a breakwater.” [Messenger, Port Adelaide 14 Oct 1954]

 

“Twenty former members of H.M.C.S. Protector were entertained by the Port Adelaide sub-section of Ex-Naval Mien's Association. . . the visitors, whose ages were between 70 and 94.” [Messenger, Port Adelaide 28 Oct 1954]

 

Done