HMS Nelson was a 126-gun first rate ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 of 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...

, launched on 4 July 1814 at Woolwich

Woolwich

Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...

.

She was converted into a screw ship in 1860, being cut down to a two decker and fitted with an engine of 2,102 ihp for a speed of 10.5 knots (5.7 m/s).

In 1865, Nelson was gifted to 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....

 as a training ship, and she was outfitted for £42,000 and sailed for Australia in October 1867. Travelling via the Cape of Good Hope, she arrived in February 1868. She was the first ship to dock in the newly constructed Alfred Graving Dock. Her armament in 1874 was listed as two 7-in RML, twenty 64-lb guns, twenty 32-lb guns and six 12-lb howitzers.
In 1879, Nelson was further cut down to a single deck and served for many years until sold in 1898. In 1900. Nelson was cut down yet again to create a lighter that kept the name Nelson. The top section was used to build a drogher named Oceanic. Nelson was eventually broken up in 1926. The ship's figurehead was preserved by the NSW Naval Brigade, then 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...

, before it was presented to the Australian National Maritime Museum

Australian National Maritime Museum

The Australian National Maritime Museum is a federally-operated maritime museum located in Darling Harbour, Sydney. After consideration of the idea to establish a maritime museum, the Federal government announced that a national maritime museum would be constructed at Darling Harbour, tied into...

for display.

External links

• HMVS Nelson SlideShow