HMS ENCOUNTER launching box

Date1902

Object number00001850

NameLaunching box

MediumWood, silk, silver

DimensionsOverall: 247 x 430 x 340 mm, 6.2 kg

ClassificationsCommemorative artefacts

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionThis ornately carved launching box was from the British Royal Navy's second class protected cruiser HMS ENCOUNTER. A silver plaque adhered to the lid records that the ENCOUNTER was launched by Lady T. Sturges Jackson on 18 June 1902.HistoryThis ornately carved wooden box bears the inscription 'Encounter' at the centre of the lid. A silver plaque adhered on the lid reads 'HMS ENCOUNTER launched by Lady T. Sturges Jackson. 18th June 1902'. The interior of the lid contains a drawing of HMS ENCOUNTER which is framed and has a glass covering. Text reads ' HMS ENCOUNTER 2nd class cruiser. Designed by Sir W H White KCB, FRS etc. Launched by Lady T Sturges Jackson at Devonport Dockyard 18th June 1902. Vice-admiral Sir T S Jackson KCVO Admiral Superintendent. H R Champness Esq MVO RCNC Chief Constructor'. Includes the technical details of the ship 'length between perps 355 ft breadth extreme 56 ft displacement in tons 5880 draught forward 19 ft 3 ins draught aft 21 ft 3 ins speed 21 knots indicated horse power 12500.' HMS ENCOUNTER was built for the Australia Station and on commissioning sailed for Australia on 31 December 1905. She completed six years of service with the Royal Navy's Australia Squadron and was presented on loan to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) as a seagoing training ship until HMAS BRISBANE had been completed. She was commissioned HMAS ENCOUNTER on 1 July 1912 and entered Port Jackson on 4 October 1913 as part of the first Australian fleet unit. During World War I, HMAS ENCOUNTER was stationed in New Guinea waters and took part in operations against German New Guinea. Patrol duties in the Fiji-Samoa area then followed. In 1916 she patrolled the waters off Malaya and the East Indies. More patrol and escort duties followed in the Pacific, Southern and Indian oceans until the end of the war. Originally on loan from the Royal Navy, ENCOUNTER became a permanent unit of the RAN in 1918. She became a seagoing training ship referred to as the "Old Bus". In 1923 the ship was disarmed and renamed HMAS PENGUIN and moored alongside Garden Island as an accommodation vessel. In 1929 the ship was stripped and taken to Garden Island Dockyard for scrapping. On 14 September 1932 her hulk was scuttled off Bondi Beach.SignificanceThis launching box is associated with the ship HMS ENCOUNTER, part of the historic first Australian fleet unit. The detailed carving represents wood craftsmanship at the turn of the 20th century and the importance of commissioning a ship into the navy - a centuries old naval tradition.