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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 72
The Royal Australasian Squadron. — A Contrast Between Now and 1873
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The Royal Australasian Squadron.
A Contrast Between Now and 1873.
Subjoined is a list of the Royal-Australasian Squadron, the duty of which, as specified by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty is—"The Protection of Floating Trade in Australasian Waters." The ships are thirteen in number, and are thus described and classed in the Navy List:—
| Name of Warship. | Screw, &c. | Class of Vessel. | Guns. | Tons. | H.P. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando | T-Screw Cruiser | First-class Arm. | 12 | 5600 | 4040 |
| Ringarooma | T-Screw Cruiser | Third-class | 8 | 2575 | 4600 |
| Tauranga | T-Screw Cruiser | Third-class | 8 | 2575 | 4600 |
| Mildura | T-Screw Cruiser | Third-class | 8 | 2575 | 4600 |
| Wallaroo | T-Screw Cruiser | Third-class | 8 | 2575 | 4600 |
| Curacoa | Screw Cruiser | Third-class | 12 | 2800 | 2540 |
| Royalist | Screw Cruiser | Third-class | 12 | 1420 | 1510 |
| Rapid | Screw Cruiser | Third-class | 12 | 1420 | 1400 |
| Boomerang | T-Screw Gunboat | First-class | 2 | 735 | 3500 |
| Katoomba | T-Screw Gunboat | First-class | 2 | 735 | 3500 |
| Goldfinch | Screw Gunboat | First-class | 12 | 805 | 1200 |
| Ringdove | Screw Gunboat | First-class | 6 | 805 | 1200 |
| Lizard | Screw Gunboat | First-class | 6 | 715 | 1000 |
What a contrast this list presents to-day compared with that of the time (some twenty to twenty-five years ago), when the modest "Brisk," the "Blanche," the "Dido," and one or two others of that class were content to pay an occasional and rare visit to our Colonial ports, and then sail away to suppress labour schooner engaged in "blackbirding" in the remote islands of the Pacific! As these lines are being penned the evening gun booms over the waters of Wellington harbour, in which, at the moment, lie at anchor three noble vessels of this fleet—the Orlando. Curagoa, and Tauranga.