HMS Torch (1845)

In late October 1852 HMS Torch sailed from England as a tender for HMS Herald, which was to work as a surveying vessel in Australia and the Pacific. The long voyage to Australia proved to be a harrowing one for the small steamship and her commander Lieutenant William Chimmo.[2] Soon after leaving England heavy seas and limited coal supplies forced the Herald to tow Torch for over 5000 miles. To add to the confusion the two ships were separated in the Indian Ocean on 27 January 1853 with the Herald arriving in Sydney months before the tender vessel. HMS Torch finally made it to Sydney 7 April 1853 after many had written her off as being lost at sea.[3][4]

As a government vessel she supplied coal and did surveying work in conjunction with HMS Herald as well as being commissioned to undertake specific tasks for the New South Wales Government.[5] Being low in the water she was mounted with a long 32 pound pivot gun and nets around the sides of the vessel to ward off any pirates trying to board the ship.[6]

19 April 1854, HMS Torch left on a cruise of the Pacific. Her first stop was Lord Howe Island before spending three weeks in Fiji where she visited missionary stations while she waited to rendezvous with the Herald. After three weeks she left for New Caledonia, without meeting up with the Herald and travelled to missionary stations at Aneityum, after surveying the area she left on 8 July. On her way back to Sydney she faced a series of squalls, one of which blew off her paddle box, the captain's pantry, the signal locker and the men's round house. She finally made it back to Sydney 2 September 1854.[7]

Track chart of HMS Torch searching for "Ningpo", 1854

The following month the Torch was engaged on one of her more significant voyages.[8] This was her rescue of the survivors of the shipwrecked Chinese Junk the Ningpoto in the D'Entrecasteaux Islands, off Papua New Guinea. This trip was conducted mainly under sail to try to save her coal supplies for navigating the reefs and after searching the islands for five days they found the 19 survivors on ‘Middle Huon Island’. Chimmo hoped to be able to steer the Torch back to Fiji to continue her duties with HMS Herald but a lack of coal forced her to return to Sydney.[9] She arrived there on 2 December 1854.[10]

In August 1855 the New South Wales Legislative Council argued about the continued funding of the Torch and its role as a gunship to protect Sydney Harbour.[11] There were protests about the realities of such a small ship acting as a defence against a foreign fleet. Politicians like Stuart Donaldson, who would become the first Premier of the Colony the following year, publicly ridiculed the idea. Even in the face of this opposition the Legislative Council still voted to provision and pay the wages of the ship for 1856.[12]

After being elected Premier in March 1856, Donaldson appears to have got his way as on 15 May, the Torch was advertised for unreserved sale at Bowden and Threlkled auctioneers in George Street, Sydney.[13] Other Sydney-siders like Frederick Howard welcomed the decision. In a letter to his sister Emily, dated 25 May 1856 he told her that the,

HMS Torch, former tender to HMS Herald sold to Dan Egan for 2400 pounds having originally cost the government 20,000 pounds and cost the Hydrographic office about the same amount during the last 4 years during which time she has done nothing whatever towards the survey.[14]