H.M.S. Mermaid

P007648 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

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English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Cultural Object created 2025-03-18 human Helen Cohn updated 2026-05-18 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P007648b.htm culturalArtefact H.M.S. Mermaid AACR2 Mermaid, H.M.S. 1816 1829 Ship Maritime exploration 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. 1817 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 September 1823 Event - Commanded by John Oxley in exploring south of Port Curtis September 1825 September 1825 Event - Commanded by Edmund Lockyer in exploring the Brisbane River June 1829 June 1829 Event - Sank in the Great Barrier Reef Oxley, John Joseph William Molesworth (1784 - 1828)

Commanded an exploration south of Port Curtis 1823

Cunningham, Allan (1791 - 1839)

Botanist on three surveying voyages around Australia

King, Phillip Parker (1791 - 1856)

Commander on three surveying voyages around Australia 1817 - 1820

'H.M.S. Mermaid', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology H.M.S. Mermaid Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Journal Article: The Mermaid? Re-envisaging the 1818 exploration of Enderby Island, Murujuga, Western Australia Paterson, Alistair [and others] The Mermaid? Re-envisaging the 1818 exploration of Enderby Island, Murujuga, Western Australia 2020 Journal of island and coastal archaeology 15 2 284-304 Journal Article: Two centuries on: the iconic "Mermaid" boab tree in the Kimberley Kenneally, Kevin; and Clement, Cathie Two centuries on: the iconic "Mermaid" boab tree in the Kimberley 2021 Australasian Systematic Botany Society newsletter 188 32-8 Book: Narrative of a survey of the intertropical and western coasts of Australia performed between the years 1818 and 1822 by Captain Phillip King 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 London John Murray 1826 Book: King of the Australian coast; the work of Phillip Parker King in Mermaid and Bathurst 1817 - 1822 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