HMS Sirius (1786)
The melancholy loss of HMS Sirius off Norfolk Island March 19th 1790 - George Raper, National Library of Australia
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| History | |
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 Great Britain
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| Name: | HMS Sirius |
| Builder: | Watson, Rotherhithe |
| Launched: | 1780 |
| Acquired: | November 1781 |
| Renamed: | Berwick (as launched) HMS Berwick (1781–1786) HMS Sirius (1786–1790) |
| Fate: | Wrecked 19 March 1790 29°03′37″S 167°57′18″E / 29.06028°S 167.95500°ECoordinates: 29°03′37″S 167°57′18″E / 29.06028°S 167.95500°E in 9 m (30 ft) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 10-gun ship |
| Tons burthen: | 511 83⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: | 110 ft 5 in (33.7 m) (gundeck) 89 ft 8.75 in (27.3 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 32 ft 9 in (9.98 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 13 ft (4 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
| Complement: | 50 |
| Armament: | 10 guns: 4 × 6pdrs 6 × 18pdr carronades |
HMS Sirius was the flagship of the First Fleet, which set out from Portsmouth, England, in 1787 to establish the first European colony in New South Wales, Australia. In 1790, the ship was wrecked on the reef, south east of Kingston Pier, in Slaughter Bay, Norfolk Island.
Sirius had been converted from the merchantman Berwick. There has been confusion over the early history of Berwick. A note about her by future New South Wales governor Philip Gidley King, describing her as a former 'East country man', was interpreted for many years as relating to the East Indies trade; however, analysis of the maritime nomenclature of the time suggests that this description referred instead to ships participating in the Baltic trade.
Berwick was likely built in 1780 by Christopher Watson and Co. of Rotherhithe, who also built another ship of the First Fleet, Prince of Wales.Berwick had a burthen of 511 83⁄94 tons (bm) and, after being burnt in a fire, was bought and rebuilt by the Royal Navy in November 1781, retaining her original name.
The newly purchased vessel was fitted out and coppered at Deptford Dockyard between December 1781 and April 1782, for a total sum of £6,152.11s.4d. When completed she carried 10 guns, four 6-pounder long guns, and six 18-pounder carronades. She was commissioned for service under her first commander, Lieutenant Bayntun Prideaux in January 1782, and went out to North America later that year. She spent the last part of the American War of Independence there, transferring to the West Indies in June 1784. Paid off in February 1785 she was initially laid up before being fitted for sea between September and December 1786 for service with the First Fleet. She was nominally rated as a sixth-rate, allowing her to be commanded by a post-captain, though she retained her armament of only 10 guns, and on 12 October 1786 Berwick was renamed Sirius, after the southern star Sirius.
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