RN Cruisers: Pearl Class

[jbryce1437]

The Pearl Class cruisers were a class of nine third class cruisers designed by Sir William White, five of which were paid for by Australia under the terms of the Imperial Defence Act of 1887 to serve in Australian waters.
They were:
Pallas;
Pandora, renamed Katoomba;
Pearl;
Pelorus, renamed Mildura;
Persian, renamed Walleroo and later renamed Wallington, then back to Persian;
Philomel;
Phoebe;
Phoenix, renamed Tauranga;
Psyche, renamed Ringarooma.

Some photos of this class:


Pandora

Pandora[1].jpg

Pandora-01[1].jpg

Mildura/Pelorus

hms pelorus - third class cruiser.jpg

HMS-Pelorous.jpg

mildura-(1890's.)-pt.bow ply.jpg

pelorus-(1895)-bows-on ply.jpg

pelorus-(1895)-pt.qtr. ply.jpg

Pelorus[2].jpg

pelorus1903 ply.jpg

Pallas

hms pallas1894.jpg

pallas-(1900)-pt.qtr. ply.jpg

Pallas-01[1].jpg

Philomel

philomel%202[1].jpg

HMS-Philomel.jpg

philomel-(1890)-pt.side ply.jpg

philomel-(1899)-pt-side ply.jpg

Philomel-05[1].jpg

Philomel-06[1].jpg

Psyche/Ringarooma

psyche in Bermuda%20Hamilton%20Harbour%20Dry%20Dock-01[1].jpg

psyche.jpg

Psyche[1].jpg

Psyche-01[1].jpg

Phoenix/Tauranga

hms tauranga 1338.jpg

Persian/Wallaroo

HMS Wallaroo.jpg

wallaroo-cruiser-oz.jpg

walleroo 1891.jpg

[Brian James]

Pearl Class,Third Class Protected Cruiser HMS Pallas pictured c1892.

[Brian James]

QF 4.7 inch gunnery practice aboard Pearl Class,Third Class Protected Cruiser HMS Mildura at Fremantle in 1905....Image courtesy of the West Australia State Library.

[Brian James]

Pearl Class,Third Class Cruiser HMS Mildura pictured c1901.Laid down at Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth Shipyards,Elswick at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1888 and completed in 1890.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.With HMS Royal Arthur (flagship) and HMS Pylades, she visited Norfolk Island in July 1902,Suva, Fiji the following month,and Tonga in September.She was sold to Garnham, London for scrap in 1906.

[Brian James]

Pearl Class, Third Class Protected Cruiser HMS Phoebe pictured at Hobart, Tasmania in 1903. She was built at HMNB Devonport Dockyard and launched on July 1st 1890. She served as part of the Cape and West Africa Station from 1893 until 1897. During this time she participated in the Benin Expedition. After spending two years in reserve she left Plymouth for Australia in early March 1901 to commence service on the Australia Station, she departed the Australia Station on December 23rd 1905 for England where she was scrapped in 1906.

[Brian James]

Pearl Class Third Class Cruiser HMS Philomel pictured at Wellington on March 16th 1917.
After her commissioning in 1890, she served on the Cape of Good Hope Station and later with the Mediterranean Fleet.
In 1914, she was loaned to New Zealand for service with what would later become the Royal New Zealand Navy. During the early stages of the First World War she performed convoy escort duties and then carried out operations in the Mediterranean against the Turks. She later conducted patrols in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.
By 1917, she was worn out and dispatched back to New Zealand where she served as a Depot Ship in Wellington Harbour for Minesweepers. In 1921 she was transferred to Devonport Naval Base in Auckland for service as a Training Ship. Decommissioned and sold for scrap in 1947, her hulk was scuttled in 1949.

[Brian James]

Pearl Class, Third Class Protected Cruiser HMS Mildura pictured at Melbourne in May 1901, provides escort for the Duke and Duchess of York during celebrations of the Australian Parliament's inauguration.

[Brian James]

Pearl Class, Third Class Protected Cruiser HMS Philomel pictured at Quay Street Jetty, Auckland in 1914.

[Brian James]

Pearl Class, Third Class Protected Cruiser HMS Tauranga pictured in 1902..She was originally named Phoenix and built by J & G Thomson Shipyards at Glasgow. She was launched on October 28th 1889. Renamed on April 2nd 1890, as Tauranga as part of the Auxiliary Squadron of the Australia Station. She arrived in Sydney with the squadron on September 5th 1891. During the Samoan civil war in 1899, she took part in operations with HMS Porpoise and HMS Royalist. Spending between 1901 and 1903 in reserve at Sydney before being assigned to the New Zealand division of the Australia Station. She left the Australia Station on December 14th 1904. She was sold for £8500 in July 1906 to Thomas Ward for breaking up.