HMAS Sirius
History
Built in 1780 as the 'Berwick' for the East India trade, she was badly burnt in a fire and was bought and rebuilt by the Royal Navy in 1786, with a displacement of 540 tonnes and 20 guns. HMS SIRIUS was commissioned into the Royal Navy that same year as the 'First Fleet' flagship. This expedition sailed from England on 12 May 1787 to establish the first European Colony in New South Wales.
SIRIUS sailed under the command of Captain John Hunter and carried Arthur Phillip - the Governor of the colony that was to be established. She also carried Major Robert Ross, commander of the marines, responsible for guarding the convicts in the colony.
After her arrival in Port Jackson, she remained as a supply ship and sailed to the Cape of Good Hope in October 1788 to obtain food supplies for the starving colony, a voyage that took over seven months. After returning, she was wrecked off Norfolk Island on the 14th of April, 1790. With the settlement still on the brink of starvation, this was a major catastrophe as it left the colonists with only one ship. Her crew was stranded at Norfolk Island until 21 February 1791 when they were rescued and eventually returned to England.
Since then, six other ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS SIRIUS after the brightest star in the night time sky - the most recent being a frigate which decommissioned in the late 1990s.
This is the first time a Royal Australian Navy Ship has been named SIRIUS. The name has been selected because of its historical connections with the First Fleet and the important role the ship played in providing logistic support to the struggling economy. Her motto is "to Serve and Provide".
