The First class torpedo boat Countess of Hopetoun was the last vessel to be ordered for the Victorian colonial naval forces. The 75 tonne First Class torpedo boat was laid down in 1890 in the yards of Yarrow & Co at Poplar in London and launched the following year. It was completed as Torpedo Boat No. 905 on 25 August 1891 at which time it embarked a crew of 27 to undertake builder’s trials.

For its long delivery voyage to Melbourne the vessel was rigged as a 3 masted schooner carrying 1800 square feet of sail. The Countess of Hopetoun was 130 feet long with a single funnel situated between the fore and main masts. It had a top speed of 24 knots. The voyage to Australia took 7 months and it arrived in Port Phillip Bay on 22 May 1891.

TB 905 was named Countess of Hopetoun on 25 July 1892. It was named after Hersey Alice Eveleigh-de-Moleyns, the wife of the then governor of Victoria, John Adrian Louis Hope, the Seventh Earl of Hopetoun, who later became Australia’s first governor-general.

Countess of Hopetoun took part in exercises conducted on Port Phillip Bay by the Victorian Naval Forces. It launched mock torpedo attacks on other ships including the flagship HMVS Cerberus.

HMAS Countess of Hopetoun flying the White Ensign and Australian National Flag following her transfer to the Royal Australian Navy (Allan C Green State Library of Victoria)

HMAS Countess of Hopetoun flying the white ensign and Australian flag after its transfer to the Royal Australian Navy. (Allan C Green State Library of Victoria)

 

Following Federation in 1901, the vessels of the Victorian Naval Forces became part of the Commonwealth Naval Forces (CNF). In practice little changed and for the next few years the former Victorian warships continued to exercise as they had done as colonial vessels. With the appointment of Captain William Creswell as the director of the Commonwealth Naval Forces in 1904 this soon changed. Creswell began transforming the CNF into what would become the Royal Australian Navy.

In February 1905 Countess steamed with Childers to Launceston, Tasmania. They repeated this voyage in December 1907 when the 2 vessels visited Devonport and Hobart. Both vessels shipped large amounts of water during the outward and return passage through Bass Strait. It was with some relief that they arrived back in Williamstown on 14 January 1908.

During the annual Easter manoeuvres of April 1908, Countess of Hopetoun joined the torpedo boats Lonsdale, Nepean and Childers for the annual instructional cruise and manoeuvres. In January 1910 it proceeded to Sydney where it was refitted with new water tube boilers at Cockatoo Island.

Countess of Hopetoun transferred to the control of the Royal Australian Navy following the granting of the ‘Royal’ title to the existing naval forces in 1911. As such it became one of a handful of vessels to have served in the colonial, commonwealth and Royal Australian navies.

Between 1911 and 1913 it was in Victorian waters exercising in Port Phillip Bay and off Swan Island. In January 1914 its 3-pounder gun was removed and an assessment made concerning its suitability for continued service. Remaining in service, HMAS Countess of Hopetoun continued to take part in annual exercises. It also performed minesweeping duties following the outbreak of the First World War.

In December 1915 Signalman Sydney Percy Baker of the Naval Reserve was lost overboard following exercises in Bass Strait with HMAS Childers. A heavy swell was encountered in the strait and at 12.30 pm on 14 December Countess’s engineer reported that a boiler tube had ruptured and that the ship was losing steam. It subsequently lost way. Childers attempted to take Countess of Hopetoun in tow, but the rough conditions resulted in the tow line ripping both the port and starboard bollards from its deck. Consequently, a sea anchor was deployed and Childers sent to get help.

At 8.45 pm the tug Nyora was dispatched from Williamstown, rendezvousing with Countess of Hopetoun at 7.30 am on 15 December. Because of the towing bollards being pulled from its deck, a tow line was passed and secured around the torpedo boat’s circular conning tow. Unfortunately, this resulted in pulling the vessel sideways through the water. As Countess of Hopetoun healed over, Signalman Baker was lost overboard. Numerous life rings and buoys were thrown in Baker’s direction, but he was unable to reach any of them. A search lasting more than 2 hours failed to find any trace of Baker.

At 6.45 pm all 3 vessels passed through the heads into Port Phillip Bay arriving at Williamstown 2 hours later. A court of inquiry into Baker’s death concluded that it was attributed to the heavy seas and that all possible steps had been taken to rescue him.

Following repairs, Countess of Hopetoun remained in Port Phillip Bay continuing the usual pattern of training cruises on the bay and conducting target practice. In 1918 it operated with HMAS Protector towing targets, patrolling troop transports and visiting the quarantine station at Portsea. These duties continued periodically until 1920 when it was placed in reserve. During the visit to Melbourne by the Prince of Wales in 1920 it was spruced up and briefly reactivated before returning to reserve status.

In April 1924 Countess of Hopetoun was sold as scrap to Edward Hill of 77 Chapman Street, North Melbourne for £299. It was scrapped the following year. Its engines were later used at the Gordon Institute of Technology, Geelong, Victoria.

Specifications

Type
First Class Torpedo Boat
Nickname
Countess
Commissioned
25 July 1891
Fate
Sold for scrap in April 1924
Dimensions & Displacement
Displacement 75 tons
Length 130 feet overall
Beam 13 feet 6 inches
Draught 7 feet 4 inches
Performance
Speed 24 knots
Complement
Crew 19
Propulsion
Machinery Compound surface condensing
Horsepower 1186
Armament
Guns
  • 2 x 1-inch guns
  • 2 x BL Nordenfelt guns
Torpedoes
  • 3 x 14-inch torpedo tubes. One fixed, two rotating
  • 4 x sets of torpedo dropping gear