Historical information

HMS Nelson was a 126-gun ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Launched on 4 July 1814 at Woolwich Dockyard she was later converted into a screw ship in 1860, and was cut down to a two-decker and fitted with an engine of 2,102 indicated horsepower. In 1865, HMVS Nelson was given to the colony of Victoria as a training ship. She was outfitted and rigged for £42,000 and sailed for Australia in October 1867. Travelling via the Cape of Good Hope, she arrived in February 1868. She was the first ship to dock in the newly constructed Alfred Graving Dock in Williamstown, Victoria.

Significance

Possibly the first training ship of the Victorian Navy which had a base in Swan Island in Queenscliffe.

Physical description

A black and white photograph of the sailing ship HMS later HMVS Nelson docked at the Alfred Graving Dock, Williamstown, 1872

Inscriptions & markings

"Nelson" in Alfred Graving Dock Williamstown, Victoria 1872