HMQS Paluma
Encyclopedia
HMQS Paluma was a flat-iron gunboat
Flat-iron gunboat
Flat-iron gunboats were a number of classes of coastal gunboats generally characterised by small size, low freeboard and the absence of masts.Some Rendel-type gunboats were fitted with masts ; they are included in the article for...
operated by the Queensland Maritime Defence Force and later 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...
(as HMAS Paluma). She entered service on 28 October 1884, was decommissioned in 1916 and then sold to the Victorian Ports and Harbours Department who operated her under the name Rip until 1949.
Construction
Following the Jervois-Scratchley reportsJervois-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...
the colonial governments of Australia restructured their defence forces. One of the many outcomes of this report was the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force. To equip the new force, the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat.
Paluma was a sister ship of HMQS 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...
. This class was built to a type B1 flat-iron gunboat
Flat-iron gunboat
Flat-iron gunboats were a number of classes of coastal gunboats generally characterised by small size, low freeboard and the absence of masts.Some Rendel-type gunboats were fitted with masts ; they are included in the article for...
design from builders Armstrong Mitchell and Co. They were improved, slightly larger versions of HMVS Albert
HMVS Albert
HMVS Albert was a gunboat of the Victorian Naval Forces which was requisitioned for service with the Royal Australian Navy during World War I.-Operational history:HMVS Albert was built by Armstrong, Mitchell and Co. of Elswick, United Kingdom...
which was also built in 1884 for the colony of 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....
.
She was lent upon completion to 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...
. Commissioned in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as HMS Paluma during October 1884, she arrived in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
on 7 May 1885.
Operational history
Over the next eight years, Paluma conducted survey work on the Great Barrier ReefGreat Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
for the Admiralty
Admiralty
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...
. The 1893 Brisbane flood
1893 Brisbane flood
The 1893 Brisbane flood, occasionally referred to as the Great Flood of 1893 or the Black February flood, occurred when the Brisbane River burst its banks on three occasions in February 1893. It is the occurrence of three major floods in the same month that saw the period named "Black February"....
ripped Paluma from her moorings and left her well above the high water mark in the nearby botanical gardens. As locals considered how to return her to the Brisbane River
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in south east Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. John Oxley was the first European to explore the river who named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane in 1823...
, another major flood two weeks later refloated the gunboat, and she was pulled clear without any significant damage. The depression of the 1890s saw Paluma and her sister placed in reserve, being reactivated for annual training at Easter. In 1895, she was returned to the Queensland Government.
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, Paluma joined the Commonwealth Naval Forces in 1901, and in 1911 was integrated into the newly formed 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...
along with her sister ship. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Paluma was employed mainly around Sydney Harbour, before being sold in 1916 to the Victorian Ports and Harbours Department who renamed her Rip.
Fate
In 1948, she was retired, having been replaced the previous year by the converted Bathurst-classBathurst class corvette
The Bathurst class corvettes were a class of general purpose vessels produced in Australia during World War II. Originally classified as minesweepers, but widely referred to as corvettes, the Bathurst class vessels fulfilled a broad anti-submarine, anti-mine, and convoy escort role.Sixty Bathurst...
corvette . Paluma was laid up at Footscray, Victoria
Footscray, Victoria
Footscray is a suburb 5 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Footscray had a population of 11,401....
and was scrapped in 1950–1951.
See also
- Colonial navies of Australia - Queensland
- List of Queensland Maritime Defence Force ships