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[a]
Name	Lady Nelson
Operator	The Royal Navy
Builder	John Dudman
Launched	1798
Commissioned	1799
Fate	Lost 1825
General characteristics [2]
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)[1]
Propulsion	Sail
Sail plan	Brig
Complement	17
Armament	Six brass carriage guns (3 and 4 pounder)[3]

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.

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