HMS ORLANDO

Artist John Downs Castle (1858-1928)

Date1896

Object number00005559

NamePainting

MediumWatercolour on paper

DimensionsSight: 253 x 293 mm
Overall: 442 x 605 x 23 mm, 2.55 kg
Display Dimensions: 395 x 227 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionWatercolour of a Royal Navy cruiser by John Downs Castle, painted in Sydney in 1896. Though 'THESEUS' appears on the mount, it is likely that the cruiser is actually HMS ORLANDO, flagship of the Australia Station from 1888 to 1897. HMS THESEUS, though similar in appearance, spent most of 1896 at the Cape of Good Hope station with an assembly of other warships brought out to ward off trouble in South Africa after the 1895-1896 Jameson Raid. HistoryHMS ORLANDO was the lead ship of the Orlando-class of first-class cruisers built in the yards of Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow and launched on August 3, 1886. It was the flagship of Charles Ramsay Arbuthnot on the Australia Station from 1892 to 1895. During the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, sailors from HMS ORLANDO formed part of the force led by Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Seymour attempting to relieve the British Legation in Beijing. A replica of a bell captured from the Taku Forts forms part of a memorial to HMS ORLANDO in Victoria Park, Portsmouth, England. HMS ORLANDO was sold for scrapping on 11 July, 1905 to Ward of Morecambe, England.SignificanceThe contemporary image of this Royal Navy Aurora class armoured cruiser is an important record of the vessel, and its role in the protection of Australia's waters in the 19th century.