HMS Mildura

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Pelorus and HMAS Mildura.

HMS Mildura was a Pearl-class cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the late 1880s. Originally named HMS Pelorus, she was renamed after an Australian town in April 1890.^[2] Per the Imperial Defense Act of 1887, she served primarily in Australian waters.

HMS Mildura at Port Melbourne, May 1901
History
United Kingdom
Name	Pelorus
Namesake	Pelorus Mildura, Victoria
Builder	Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick, Tyne and Wear
Laid down	15 August 1888
Launched	27 November 1889
Completed	20 December 1890
Renamed	Mildura, April 1890
Fate	Sold for scrap, 3 April 1906
General characteristics
Class and type	Pearl-class cruiser
Displacement	2,575 tons
Length	278 ft (84.7 m) (oa) 265 ft (80.8 m) (pp)[1]
Beam	41 ft (12 m)[1]
Draught	15 ft 6 in (4.7 m)
Installed power	7,500 shp (5,600 kW) 4 × boilers
Propulsion	2 × screws; 2 × 3-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines[1]
Speed	19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement	210
Armament	8 × QF 4.7 inch (120 mm) guns 8 × 3-pounder guns 4 × 14-inch (356 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Deck: 1–2 inches (25–51 mm) Gun shields: 2 inches Conning tower: 3 inches (76 mm)

Captain Henry Leah was in command from April 1897 until April 1900, when Captain Henry C. A. Baynes arrived in Australia on board HMS Diana to take command of the ship.^[3] He was succeeded by Captain Charles Kingsmill in September 1900. She was part of the naval escort for the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V and Queen Mary) to New Zealand aboard the chartered Royal liner HMS Ophir during 1901.^[2] With HMS Royal Arthur (flagship) and HMS Pylades, she visited Norfolk Island in July 1902,^[4] Suva, Fiji the following month,^[5] and Tonga in September.^[6]

She was sold to Garnham, London for scrap in 1906 for £7,200.^[2][7]

Notes

1. Winfield, p. 276
2. Bastock, p. 101
3. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36056. London. 3 February 1900. p. 14.
4. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36835. London. 1 August 1902. p. 8.
5. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36852. London. 21 August 1902. p. 8.
6. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36859. London. 29 August 1902. p. 8.
7. History of the World's Navy: Pearl Class

References

• Bastock, John (1988). Ships on the Australia Station. Frenchs Forest, Australia: Child & Associates. ISBN 0-86777-348-0.
• Brook, Peter (1999). Warships for Export: Armstrong Warships 1867 – 1927. Gravesend, Kent, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-89-4.
• Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC 52620555.