Cultural Object

H.M.S. Mermaid (1816 - 1829)

From
1816
To
1829
Functions
Maritime exploration and Ship
Alternative Names
  • Mermaid, H.M.S.

Summary

H.M.S. Mermaid was a cutter built in Howrah, India, in 1816 and purchased by the Royal Navy at Port Jackson in 1817. Between December 1817 and 1820 she was commanded by Phillip Parker King on three surveying voyages around the coast of the Australian mainland, including the inner route of the Great Barrier Reef. On all three voyages King was accompanied by botanist Allan Cunningham and Bungaree, an Aboriginal man who had been of material assistance to Matthew Flinders during his surveys. King's orders related to surveying previously unexplored parts of the coast, and the collection of information on topography, resources, climate, and the Indigenous people. Mermaid grounded off Careening Bay on the west coast, and limped back to Sydney. There she was condemned as unfit for further survey work, sold to the colonial government, and repaired for continued use. In September 1823 John Oxley commanded her in exploring south of Port Curtis, discovering the Brisbane and Tweed Rivers. Edmund Lockyer took her in September 1825 to explore the upper reaches of the Brisbane River. Mermaid sank in June 1829 after striking an uncharted reef in the Great Barrier Reef.

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Details

Chronology

1817
Event - Purchased by the Royal Navy in Port Jackson
December 1817 - December 1820
Event - Commanded by Phillip Parker King in coastal surveys
September 1823
Event - Commanded by John Oxley in exploring south of Port Curtis
September 1825
Event - Commanded by Edmund Lockyer in exploring the Brisbane River
June 1829
Event - Sank in the Great Barrier Reef

Related People

Published resources

Books

  • Hordern, Marsden, King of the Australian coast; the work of Phillip Parker King in Mermaid and Bathurst 1817 - 1822 (Carlton South (Vic.): Melbourne University Press, 1997), 441 pp. Details
  • King, Phillip Parker, Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia performed between the years 1818 and 1822 by Captain Phillip King, 2 vols (London: John Murray, 1826). Details

Journal Articles

  • Kenneally, Kevin; and Clement, Cathie, 'Two centuries on: the iconic "Mermaid" boab tree in the Kimberley', Australasian Systematic Botany Society newsletter, 188 (2021), 32-8. Details
  • Paterson, Alistair [and others], 'The Mermaid? Re-envisaging the 1818 exploration of Enderby Island, Murujuga, Western Australia', Journal of island and coastal archaeology, 15 (2) (2020), 284-304, https://doi.org/10.1080/15564894.2019.1604007. Details

Helen Cohn

Created: 18 March 2025

EOAS ID: biogs/P007648b.htm

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