OUR FIRST NAVY.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16548, 24 September 1919, Page 10

OUR FIRST NAVY.

ECHO OF THE MAORI AVAR. AN INTERESTING PAPER. At the annual meeting of the historical. section of the Philosophical Society hold on Tuesday, Air. Herbert Baillio said that in view of the visit to Wellington of Admiral Viscount dollicoe, ho had thought it of interest to prepare a brief paper on New Zealand’s first navy, to which passing reference had been made by tho Admiral in one of his speeches. The paper was as follows: —• “Glancing through some volumes of the Illustrated London Nows of tho early ’sixties. I was_ interested to find quite a number of illustrations of New Zealand scenes. I was particularly interested in those shown in the number of January 30, 186-1, among which was the gunboat Pioneer at anchor off Meremore, on the Waikato, ‘reconnoitring tho Native position.’ As a matter of fact it seems to he actively bombarding the position. As far as I can discover, tho Pioneer was the first warship built for New Zealand. She was launched from a Sydney shipyard during 1863, making her trial trip on September 15. Mr. Dillon Bell represented the. New Zealand Government on that occasion, when, it is noted, the usual banquet was held in the vessels, ‘handsome little cabin.’ Pier length was 140 ft., beam 20ft., and depth Bft. She was flat-bottomed, and whou loaded with 300 men and stores drew throe feet of water. Site was towed from Sydney by H.AI.S. Eclipse, leaving port, on September 22, and arriving at Onchunga on October 8, Oil the main deck she was fitted with twji iron towers or turrets 12ft. in diameter, Bft. elevation, and pierced for rifles, and- 12pouuder Armstrong guns. The commander’s station was in a, turret above the stern tower. She was schooner, rigged, and carried about_ 20 tons of coal, with a consumption of three tons a day. Tho vessel soon got to work, as she is shown in action on October 29. .“The. Avon, another colonial gunboat, assisted by four iron-sheathed cargo barges, also took part in tho action. These barges bad been converted into gun-boats. Perhaps these are the gunboats alluded to by Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Jcllicoo in a recent speech. The Avon was described as ‘a short, dull, clumpy, paddle, __ lion steamer.’ Apparently it was fotiua that tho Pioneer drew' too much water for navigating file Waikato, as two other vessels were ordered. The Rangariri and the Koperoa wore constructed in Sydney, dismantled, and shipped to Now Zealand for reconstruction. Tho Koperoa was launched at the Waikato Heads on January 15, 1861. She drew "in. aft, and llin forward. A Sydney paper, in a description of the Rangariri, said:—“This boat, which can easily turn in tho space ■of a little more than her own length, may follow the bendings of such a river as the Waikato in its narrowest part, and may either ho used ns a steam tug, towing flats for the conveyance of troops, or may be armed with a gun at each of the singular-looking port-holes, which are closed with folding doors in the middle of tho lower deck, while the bulwarks on each side arc pierced with 20 or 30 loopholes for rillc-shuotiug. Th’c Koperoa was built in less than six weeks from tho time tho contractors received the plans from Mr. J. T. Stewart, engineer, who was sent to Sydney on behalf of the Government. It was scut with the .Pioneer up tho Heratui River. Commodore Wiseman and a party of naval and military officers went in tho Pioneer 12 miles above Ngaruawahia, with tho Koperoa in their wako. The party then transferred to tho Koperoa and proceeded 22 miles further on. The Commodore located tho Native positions and returned. Unfortunately no particular's' arc given of the size of the vessels. “The English warships on the New Zealand station at this time were tho Esk (16 guns), Falcon (17 guns), Fawn (17 guns), Eclipse (-1 guns), Miranda (1571 tons, 15 guns), Curaooa (23 guns, Commodore AVisoman), and Harrier (17 guns).” Mr. Baillio said that he had not yet finished his investigations, and hoped to make the paper more complete a little later on.

A REMINISCENCE. Colonel Porter, C. 8., who was in tlie oliair, regretted that there was not a larger attendance to hear such an interesting paper. Ho said that tho mention of the Avon recalled an incident which had occurred on the Waikato, when her commander was killed and Lieutenant Eoljambe, afterwards tho Earl of Liverpool, and father of tho present Governor-General, took command. The Avon was proceeding along, and Lieutenants Mitchell and Eoljambe were seated aft, where the skylights would be now, when tho Natives poured in a volley from the banks. Lieut.Commander Mitchell was fatally wounded, and Lieutenant Eoljambe escaped. Tho engineer,, Mr. Ellis (who still resides at tho Bay of Islands), went below to look after Ills engines. On Lieutenant Mitchell being shot tho command devolved upon Lieutenant Eoljambe. Years afterwards Mr. Ellis applied for tho Now Zealand war medal. A number of lawyers had been called upon to decide who was entitled to the medal, and had held that those who had nob been actually in an engagement wore not entitled to tho honour, and though Ellis had been under fire and Lieutenant Mitchell had been shot down next to him, they held it was not an engagement. Later a Board of Officers was appointed to investigate claims for the New Zealand medal, and an the records being produced they gave Ellis the medal ho had been denied for three years, and ho now received tho small pension of £36 a year. At that time, Lieutenants Mitchell ancl Eoljambe were both serving on H.M.S. Curacoa. On a motion by the chairman, Mr. Baillie was given a vote of thanks, with tho request that lie should complete the paper and read it at a later meeting of the branch. This Mr. Baillie consented to do.