Martin HMS (Ship)

Date: 1887-1891

Reference: PA1-q-610

Description: There are three main themes in this album. 1. The Royal Navy, Australian Squadron, based at Sydney. Pictures of naval cadets and war ships, some of which are in dry dock. The creator of the album, or a relative, seems to have been associated with HMS Orlando. Many photos of this ship appear in the album. The Orlando served as the flagship of the Australian Squadron from July 1888 to December 1897. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 11th Feb 1889 that HMS Orlando and Dart were docked in Calliope Dock, Auckland, because Sydney facilities could not undertake the work. There are a number of Photographs of HMS Orlando in dock at Auckland in this album. Thus the photos of officers and naval cadets may also have associations with the Orlando. There are also 3 photos of a gun accident which occurred on the HMS Cordelia of the Australian Squadron. This happened on the 26 June 1891 while the Cordelia was on a cruize from Fiji to Noumea. During Gun Practice a gun burst killing 6 ratings and wounding 13 others. The photos show the broken gun casing littering the deck. 2. Of the New Zealand section much of it concentrates on the town of Lawrence. Many of the captions and photographs relate to the Anglican parsonage at Lawrence. This suggests the possibility of the album belonging to the Vicar or a member of his family. If this were the case, and given the period of the late 1880s-early 1890s, it may be associated with the Rev George Pice Beaumont vicar and archdeacon from 1872 to 1900. On the other hand the name of Beaumont does not appear anywhere in the album. 3. Samoan civil wars of the late 1880s and the hurricane of 1889 Quantity: 1 album(s) Album(s).