HMS Pioneer was a 4-gun Intrepid-class gunvessel launched on 19 January 1856 from the Pembroke Dockyard.[2] She saw active service in China and was decommissioned in 1864.

History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Pioneer
Ordered18 April 1855
BuilderPembroke Dockyard
Laid downJuly 1855
Launched19 January 1856
Commissioned31 May 1856
DecommissionedOctober 1864
FateSold for breaking up at Plymouth in 1865
General characteristics
Class and typeIntrepid-class gunvessel
Tons burthen868 49/94 bm
Length200 ft (61 m) pp
Beam30 ft 4 in (9.25 m)
Depth of hold14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Installed power1,150 ihp (860 kW)[1]
Propulsion
  • 2-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine
  • Single screw
Sail planBarque
Speed11.3 knots (20.9 km/h)
Complement100
Armament

Service history

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She was commissioned to the North America and West Indies Station before serving as part of the Channel Squadron.[3] She was then assigned to the East Indies Station and China Station where she participated in the Taiping Rebellion. She was then assigned to the Australia Station in 1862 serving until 1863.[4]

 
Map showing her part in the Invasion of the Waikato in New Zealand

Fate

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Upon returning to Plymouth, she was sold to Marshall in October 1864 for breaking in 1865.[1]

Named in her honour

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The Queensland Governor, George Bowen, named the Pioneer River in Queensland, Australia after the ship in which he visited the river in 1862.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Winfield (2008) p.220-221
  2. ^ Bastock, p.32.
  3. ^ "HMS Pioneer". Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  4. ^ Bastock, p.33.
  5. ^ "Pioneer River (entry 26973)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 4 January 2016.