HMVS Victoria was a gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

 that served with the Victorian Naval Forces and Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 before being sold into private use.

Design

This class was built to a type D 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.

Operational history

In late February 1884, Victoria was in Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 on her delivery voyage to Australia with 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...

 and HMVS Childers

HMVS Childers

HMVS Childers was a torpedo boat of the Victorian Naval Forces, Commonwealth Naval Forces and the Royal Australian Navy.-Construction and acquisition:...

 when news of General Charles Gordon's

Charles George Gordon

Major-General Charles George Gordon, CB , known as "Chinese" Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator....

 death at Khartoum reached the British Empire. The three ships were immediately offered for service in the Sudan Campaign. The offer was accepted and the smaller less seaworthy Childers was sent ahead. By the time the two larger gunboats reached their destination on 19 March at Suakin

Suakin

Suakin or Sawakin is a port in north-eastern Sudan, on the west coast of the Red Sea. In 1983 it had a population of 18,030 and the 2009 estimate is 43, 337.It was formerly the region's chief port, but is now secondary to Port Sudan, about 30 miles north. The old city built of coral is in ruins...

, the conflict had moved too far inland for warships to be of any assistance.. The vessels all departed three days later to continue their voyage to the colony. They arrived in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 on 26 June after travelling via Aden

Aden

Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...

, Colombo

Colombo

Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

, the Dutch East Indies

Dutch East Indies

The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

 and Torres Strait

Torres Strait

The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...

.

Due to the depression of the 1890s Victoria was decommissioned in 1893 and sold. She was subsequently purchased by the West Australian government in 1896. She was purchased in 1902 by the Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 based tug company Fenwicks, who used her as a towing vessel. She was scrapped in 1920 after 18 years of service on Sydney Harbour.

See also

• List of Victorian Naval Forces ships
• Colonial navies of Australia - Victoria