HMS Pandora (1779) facts for kids
HMS Pandora foundering on 29 August 1791
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Quick facts for kids History |
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.svg){kind=small} Great Britain |
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| Name | HMS Pandora |
| Ordered | 11 February 1778 |
| Builder | Adams & Barnard, Grove Street shipyard, Deptford |
| Laid down | 2 March 1778 |
| Launched | 17 May 1779 |
| Completed | 3 July 1779 at Deptford Dockyard |
| Commissioned | May 1779 |
| Fate | Wrecked on 28 August 1791 in the Torres Strait. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | 24-gun Porcupine-class sixth-rate post ship |
| Tons burthen | 524 (bm) |
| Length |
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| Beam | 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m) |
| Draught |
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| Depth of hold | 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 160 |
| Armament |
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HMS Pandora was a British Royal Navy ship launched in 1779. It was a "post ship," which was a type of warship. Pandora is most famous for its mission to find the mutineers from Bounty in 1790. The ship successfully captured 14 of the mutineers. However, on its way back to England, Pandora was wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef in 1791. Today, the wreck of HMS Pandora is considered one of the most important shipwrecks in the Southern Hemisphere.
Contents
Building HMS Pandora
Pandora was designed by John Williams, a top ship designer for the Royal Navy. It was part of the Porcupine-class of ships, which were larger versions of an earlier design. Pandora was the ninth ship of its kind to be ordered. The order for its construction was placed on February 11, 1778.
Ship Design and Features
The ship was built by Adams & Barnard in Deptford, England. Construction started on March 2, 1778, and the ship was launched on May 17, 1779. Pandora was about 35 meters (114 feet) long on its upper deck. It was 9.8 meters (32 feet) wide.
Building the ship cost about £5,716. Getting it ready for sea, which is called "fitting out," cost an extra £5,909. Pandora had a crew of 160 sailors. It was armed with twenty-two 9-pounder cannons on its main deck. It also had two smaller 6-pounder cannons on the front part of the ship.
Early Adventures of Pandora
Pandora first served in the English Channel in 1779. This was during a time when France and Spain threatened to invade Britain. Later, the ship was sent to North America during the American Revolutionary War. It helped protect groups of merchant ships traveling between England and Quebec.
While commanded by Captain Anthony Parry, Pandora captured several American privateer ships. These were private ships allowed by the government to attack enemy vessels. For example, in July 1780, Pandora and another British ship captured the American privateer Jack. They also captured the Terrible in September of that year. Pandora continued to capture merchant ships under Captain John Inglis. After the American war ended in 1783, Pandora was put into storage at Chatham for seven years.
The Hunt for the Bounty Mutineers
In 1790, Pandora was brought back into service. This was because Britain might go to war with Spain. However, in August 1790, the British Admiralty decided to send Pandora on a special mission. Its goal was to find the Bounty and capture the mutineers. The mutiny on the Bounty had happened about five months earlier.
Pandora was prepared for this long journey. It was given four new 18-pounder cannons. Some of its older 9-pounder cannons were removed, leaving twenty. The ship sailed from England on November 7, 1790. Captain Edward Edwards was in command, with a crew of 134 men. A former Bounty crew member, Thomas Hayward, who had stayed loyal to Captain Bligh, was also on board.
Unknown to Captain Edwards, twelve of the mutineers had already returned to Tahiti. They had tried to start a colony on another island but failed. These men were living on Tahiti, and many had started families with local women. The leader of the mutiny, Fletcher Christian, and his group had sailed away. They eventually settled on the hidden Pitcairn Island. By the time Pandora arrived, fourteen of the Bounty men were still on Tahiti.
Searching for the Mutineers
Pandora reached Tahiti on March 23, 1791. Soon after, three men surrendered to Captain Edwards. These included Joseph Coleman and two midshipmen, Peter Heywood and George Stewart. Edwards then sent out search parties to find the others. More men were captured over the next few days. Some tried to escape, but all were eventually caught.
By March 29, all fourteen men who were on Tahiti had been captured. They were locked up in a small, temporary prison cell on Pandora's deck. This cell was about 3.3 meters (11 feet) by 5.5 meters (18 feet). The prisoners called it "Pandora's Box".
The Search Continues
On May 8, 1791, Pandora left Tahiti. For the next three months, the ship searched islands in the South-West Pacific. They were looking for the Bounty and any remaining mutineers. However, they found no trace of the Bounty. During this search, fourteen of Pandora's crew went missing. They were in two of the ship's smaller boats. Nine of them were on a schooner that had been taken from the Bounty crew. This schooner got separated from Pandora at night. By chance, these nine men became the first Europeans to meet the people of Fiji.
Pandora visited several islands, including Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga, and Rotuma. They also sailed past Vanikoro Island. If they had stopped there, they might have found clues about the missing French explorer La Perouse's expedition, which had disappeared in 1788.
The Shipwreck of HMS Pandora
As Pandora headed west towards the Torres Strait, it hit the outer Great Barrier Reef. This happened on August 29, 1791. The ship sank the next morning. Thirty-five people lost their lives, including 31 crew members and 4 of the mutineers. The four prisoners who died were George Stewart, John Sumner, Richard Skinner, and Henry Hillbrandt. Some accounts say they drowned because their hands were still chained.
Surviving the Wreck
The remaining crew (89 men) and 10 prisoners gathered on a small, sandy island. Seven of the prisoners had been released from their cell as the ship sank. After two nights on the island, they sailed in four open boats towards Timor. They stopped at Muralag (Prince of Wales Island) in the Torres Strait to find fresh water. They finally arrived in Kupang on September 16, 1791. This was a very difficult journey across the Arafura Sea.
Sadly, sixteen more people died after surviving the wreck. Many became sick during their stay in Batavia. In the end, only 78 of the 134 men who had started the voyage returned home.
What Happened to the Mutineers?
Captain Edwards and his officers were found not guilty for the loss of Pandora after a special naval trial. No one tried to recover anything from the wreck at that time. The ten surviving prisoners were also put on trial. Four of them were found not guilty of mutiny. Six were found guilty. Three of these men—Millward, Burkitt, and Ellison—were put to death on October 29, 1792. Peter Heywood and James Morrison received a Royal pardon (they were forgiven). William Muspratt was found not guilty because of a small legal detail.
The descendants of the nine mutineers who were not found by Pandora still live on Pitcairn Island. This was the secret place Fletcher Christian and his group settled in January 1790. They burned and sank the Bounty there a few weeks after arriving. Their hiding place was not discovered until 1808. By then, almost all the mutineers had died, some in violent ways.
Finding the Wreck Site
The wreck of Pandora is located about 5 kilometers (3 miles) northwest of Moulter Cay. This is on the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef, near the Coral Sea. It is one of the best-preserved shipwrecks in Australian waters. The wreck was discovered on November 15, 1977, by independent explorers Ben Cropp, Steve Domm, and John Heyer.
Discovering the Pandora
John Heyer, an Australian filmmaker, had guessed where the wreck might be. He based this on his research at the National Maritime Museum in England. His search expedition got help from Steve Domm, a boat owner, and the Royal Australian Air Force. They used special sensors on an Air Force plane to find a magnetic signal from the wreck. This signal was near the coordinates Heyer had predicted.
Ben Cropp, another Australian filmmaker, learned about Heyer's trip. He decided to launch his own search, following Heyer's path by boat. Cropp's diver, Ron Bell, actually spotted the Pandora wreck just before Heyer's boat arrived. After the wreck was found, it was immediately protected by Australian law. In 1978, Cropp and Steve Domm shared a $10,000 reward for finding the wreck.
Exploring the Wreck
The Queensland Museum has explored the wreck nine times between 1983 and 1999. Marine archaeologists from various museums planned this research. Today, archaeologists, historians, and experts at the Museum of Tropical Queensland in Townsville continue to learn about the Pandora story. They use both archaeological finds and old historical records. A large collection of items from the wreck is on display at the museum.
During their excavations, the museum's teams found that about 30% of the ship's hull is still in good condition. The ship rests at a depth of 30 to 33 meters (98 to 108 feet) on a sandy seabed. It is slightly tilted to its right side, so more of that side has been preserved. About one-third of the area where the wreck is buried has been explored by the museum. This leaves plenty for future excavations.
Pandora's Lasting Impact
A pub in Restronguet Creek, Mylor Bridge, Cornwall, which dates back to the 13th century, was renamed "The Pandora Inn" in honor of HMS Pandora.
An islet (a very small island) in Ducie Atoll, which is part of the Pitcairn Islands, is named after the ship. Another islet there is named after its captain.
