Images(28)

Log of HMS VIXEN

Author John Charles Dalrymple Hay

Date1844

Object number00018986

NameLogbook

MediumInk on paper

DimensionsOverall: 336 x 214 mm, 0.5 kg

ClassificationsBooks and journals

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Commodore Ian Nicholson

Terms

DescriptionLog of HMS VIXEN kept by Lieutenant John Charles Dalrymple Hay between Chusan, Amoy, Namoa, Hong Kong and Singapore, covering the period 13th August to the 16th of October 1844. Lieutenant Hay records the daily activities of the ship, including repairs, provisioning, coaling, sightings of land or other vessels, and deployment of crew and boats. HistoryHMS VIXEN was a wooden paddle sloop with six guns, which served in the East Indies Squadron on the China coast in the 1840's when Australia was still included in the East Indies Station. The VIXEN was of much the same vintage as the first steam warships to serve in Australian waters, the paddle vessels HMSS DRIVER, ACHERON and TORCH. The daily events of the log provide a view of the kinds of routines and procedures which occurred in comparable naval ships in Australian waters. This particularly applies to the running, problems and repairs of the machinery. Altogether Australia had eight paddle warships, built before screw propulsion took over. Four of them were built before the VIXEN, though some served in Australia a decade or more later. Lieutenant Hay's log gives a good insight into this relatively brief era in warships. Of note is the entry for 9 September 1844 which records the landing of provisions for HMS FLY and HMS BRAMBLE, then engaged in the survey of the Great Barrier Reef.SignificanceJohn Charles Dalrymple Hay was commissioned Lieutenant on 15 August 1844, two days after the log begins. Hay went on to become an Admiral, a Lord of the Admiralty and a Member of Parliament. This is his first log as a naval officer.
This Lieutenant's Log is unusual since most naval logs were lodged with the Admiralty or the Hydrographic Office and remain in official repositories.