HMS Poneke
Colonial service Defender-class torpedo boat
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HMS Poneke was a colonial service Defender-class torpedo boat designed by Thornycroft & Company for the defence of New Zealand.[2] It was one of four built at Chiswick in 1883 and shipped to New Zealand. Poneke (yard number 171) was allocated for service in Wellington.[3]
A Defender-class torpedo boat, clearly showing the spar torpedo | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Poneke |
| Ordered | 26 August 1882[1] |
| Builder | John I. Thornycroft & Company |
| Cost | £12,600 for four boats |
| Yard number | 171[1] |
| Launched | 31 August 1883[1] |
| Commissioned | 18 September 1883[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Defender-class torpedo boat |
| Displacement | 12 tons |
| Length | 62 ft 10 in (19.15 m) |
| Beam | 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) |
| Installed power | 173 hp (129 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 17.3 kn (32.0 km/h) |
| Complement | 7[1] |
| Armament |
|
The last two of the four torpedo boats (for Wellington and Auckland) were tested in September 1883.[4] There were delays in arranging shipping and the two torpedo boats were eventually transported to Wellington as deck cargo on the sailing vessel Peter Stewart.[5] They left in April 1884 and arrived in Wellington in late August.[6]
On 29 October 1884, HMS Poneke undertook trials in Wellington Harbour along with the Auckland torpedo boat HMS Waitemata.[7][8] In November, both of the torpedo boats were at a shipyard in Te Aro. The Wellington boat had suffered damage to a propellor.[9] The Auckland torpedo boat HMS Waitemata was delivered to Auckland by being towed by steamship NZGSS Hinemoa, arriving in Auckland on 19 April 1885.[10]
In April 1885, the Defence Department applied for consent for a slip and shed for the Wellington torpedo boat to be constructed alongside the Te Aro Baths.[11] Practice runs were held with crew from the Wellington Naval Artillery in June 1885,[12] and in September with crew from the Torpedo Corps.[13] In June 1886, a naval demonstration was held in the harbour including a mock attack by the torpedo boat.[14] Further demonstrations were held in October 1887.[15]
In January 1897, the torpedo boat was used for towing an artillery target at high speed as part of training of naval artillery crew at Mahanga Bay in Wellington Harbour.[16] In January 1898, the torpedo boat was reported as being in a neglected state at Mahanga Bay, with holes in its plates.[17] In December, it was lifted from the water for transfer to a shipyard for repair of boiler and engines.[18] Following repairs costing £300, sea trials showed that the maximum speed of the torpedo boat was 16 knots. The Defence Department declared the torpedo boat obsolete in March 1899.[19]
The Wellington torpedo boat was eventually stripped of fittings and left to rust at Shelly Bay.[20]