HMS Lady Nelson (1798)

Print from an engraving by Samuel John Neele appearing in James Grant's The Narrative of a voyage of discovery, performed in His Majesty's vessel the Lady Nelson, of 60 tons burthen, with sliding keels, in the years 1800, 1801, and 1802, to New South Wales, published July 1803, by T. Egerton, Whitehall, London.
History
New South Wales
Name:	Lady Nelson
Operator:	The Royal Navy
Builder:	John Dudman
Commissioned:	1799
Fate:	Lost 1825
General characteristics
Type:	Armed Survey Vessel
Tons burthen:	60 (bm)
Length:	52 ft 6 in (16.00 m)
Beam:	17 ft 6 in (5.33 m)
Draught:	12 ft (3.7 m) (with keels lowered)
Propulsion:	Sail
Sail plan:	Brig
Complement:	17
Armament:	Six brass carriage guns (3 and 4 pounder)

His Majesty's Armed Survey Vessel Lady Nelson was commissioned in 1799 to survey the coast of Australia. At the time large parts of the Australian coast were unmapped and Britain had claimed only part of the continent. The British Government were concerned that, in the event of settlers of another European power becoming established in Australia, any future conflict in Europe would lead to a widening of the conflict into the southern hemisphere to the detriment of the trade that Britain sought to develop. It was against this background that Lady Nelson was chosen to survey and establish sovereignty over strategic parts of the continent.

Lady Nelson left Portsmouth on 18 March 1800 and arrived at Sydney on 16 December 1800 after having been the first vessel to reach the east coast of Australia via Bass Strait. Prior to that date all vessels had sailed around the southern tip of Tasmania to reach their destination.

Lady Nelson's survey work commenced shortly after her arrival at Sydney, initially in the Bass Strait area. She was involved in the discovery of Port Phillip, on the coast of Victoria, in establishing settlements on the River Derwent and at Port Dalrymple in Tasmania, at Newcastle and Port Macquarie in New South Wales, and on Melville Island off the north coast of the continent.

At the end of the 1790s the New South Wales Colonial Government had no vessels capable of reaching the outside world. Supply (1793) was found to be unseaworthy in 1797, and was subsequently condemned. Reliance was also unseaworthy. Reliance was temporarily repaired to enable her to sail back to England, whither she departed in March 1800. The only other vessel under the control of the colonial government was Francis, a schooner of only 44 tons (bm). The situation was partially relieved when Buffalo arrived in May 1799, but no vessels were available for exploration and surveying.