HMS Iris was a 26-gun sixth-rate

Sixth-rate

Sixth rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for small warships mounting between 20 and 24 nine-pounder guns on a single deck, sometimes with guns on the upper works and sometimes without.-Rating:...

 frigate launched on 14 July 1840 from Devonport Dockyard

HMNB Devonport

Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...

. She was the first flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 of the Australia Station

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...

 between 1859 and 1861.

Between 1840 and 15 August 1843, she served with the West Africa Squadron

West Africa Squadron

The Royal Navy established the West Africa Squadron at substantial expense in 1808 after Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act of 1807. The squadron's task was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa...

 and then was assigned to the East Indies Station

East Indies Station

The East Indies Station was a formation of the British Royal Navy from 1865 to 1941.From 1831 to 1865 the East Indies and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station...

. She was the flagship of the Australian Squadron

Australian Squadron

The Australian Squadron was the name given to the British naval force assigned to the Australia Station from 1859 to 1911.The Squadron was initially a small force of Royal Navy warships based in Sydney, and although intended to protect the colonies of Australia and New Zealand, the ships were...

 between 1859 and 1860 under the command of Captain William Loring. She participated in the attack on Puketakauere pā

Pa (Maori)

The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...

 during the First Taranaki War and left the Australia Station in 1861.

She was decommissioned on 16 October 1869 and was sold and operated as a cable vessel.