• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Naval Historical Society of Australia

Preserving Australia's Naval History

  • Events
  • Account
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us
  • Show Search
  • 0 items
Hide Search
Menu
  • Home
  • Research
    • Where to start
      • Research – We can help!
      • Self help
      • Naval Service Records
      • Library
      • Related Maritime websites
    • Resources
      • Articles
      • Videos
      • On This Day
      • Podcasts
      • Australian Military Ship Losses
      • RAN events on a  Google Earth Map
      • RAN Vessels – Where are they now?
      • Related Maritime websites
    • Other
      • Newsletters: Call The Hands
      • Occasional Papers and Historical Booklets
      • Books
      • HMAS Shropshire
      • Book reviews
    • Close
  • Naval Heritage Sites
    • World Heritage Listings
      • Cockatoo Island
    • National Heritage Listings
      • HMAS Sydney II and the HSK Kormoran Shipwreck Sites
      • HMVS Cerberus
    • Commonwealth Heritage Listings
      • Garden Island NSW
      • HMAS Watson
      • HMAS Penguin
      • Spectacle Island Explosives Complex NSW
      • Chowder Bay Naval Facilities
      • Beecroft Peninsula NSW
      • Admiralty House, Garden and Fortifications
      • HMAS Cerberus
      • Naval Offices QLD
      • Garden Island WA
      • Royal Australian Naval College ACT
      • Royal Australian Naval Transmitting Station ACT
    • NSW Heritage Listings
      • HMAS Rushcutter
    • Close
  • Naval Art
  • Tours & Cruises
    • Navy in Sydney Harbour Cruise, East
    • Navy in Sydney Harbour Cruise, West
    • Anniversary Cruise: Sydney under Japanese Attack
    • Tour Bookings
    • Close
  • About us
    • About Us
      • What we do
      • Our People
      • Office Bearers
      • Become a volunteer
      • Our Goals and Strategy
    • Organisation
      • Victoria Chapter
      • WA Chapter
      • ACT Chapter
    • Close
  • Membership
  • Shop
  • Become a volunteer
  • Donate
You are here: Home / Article topics / Publications / Naval Historical Review / HMQS “Gayundah” – Conduct Unbecoming – 1888

HMQS “Gayundah” – Conduct Unbecoming – 1888

Wilson, Graham, Warrant Officer Class Two, Australian Intelligence Corps · Jun 5, 1996 · Print This Page

Author
Wilson, Graham, Warrant Officer Class Two, Australian Intelligence Corps
Subjects
Colonial navies, History - pre-Federation
Tags
Australia Station, Queensland Marine Defence Force, Australian Auxiliary Squadron, HMQS Gayundah, HMS Paluma (HMQS Paluma), HMS Opal, Colonial Naval Defence Act, HMQS Mosquito, H.T.Wright, Lieut. Spencer Hesketh, HMS Rapid
RAN Ships
HMAS Gayundah
Publication
June 1996 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)

This was too much for Wright who ordered Hesketh into close arrest and charged him with:

  • Conduct unbecoming a gentleman in that he wrote a cheque for £60 on the Queensland National Bank, when there were no funds to meet it.
  • Conduct prejudicial to order and discipline in that he borrowed £10 from a seaman.
  • Conduct unbecoming a gentleman in that he gave in return a cheque for £10 dated 2 December 1886, and there were no funds to meet it.
  • Conduct unbecoming a gentleman in that he wrote an order for the whole of his pay for February 1887 when it was already drawn upon to the extent of £16.

Unfortunately for all concerned, especially Hesketh, the Queensland Marine Defence Force did not have enough officers to form a court-martial and Commander Wright requested that the Admiral Commanding the Australian Station convene a court-martial. Rear Admiral Tryon was aghast at this suggestion, claiming, quite correctly, that he did not have the authority to try an officer holding a colonial commission. There the matter should have rested except for one point – Gayundah flew the White Ensign. When Gayundah was building in the UK, the Queensland government had officially requested that the ship be allowed to fly the White Ensign, their request being made largely out of reasons of prestige and based on their interpretation of the Colonial Naval Defence Act 1865. The Admiralty had at first declined, citing as precedent an earlier refusal to Victoria of the same request. Queensland persisted however, and eventually received an Admiralty warrant in September 1886 permitting HMQS Gayundah to fly the White Ensign.

The warrant stated that “as the armed vessel Gayundah belonging to the colony of Queensland, and her men” were placed at the disposal of Queen Victoria and accepted by her through the Admiralty Commissioners. She was granted the right to wear the White Ensign. Despite this wording, Tryon never attempted to exercise any control over Gayundah, regarding the warrant as principally a courtesy and when pressed stated that ‘the vessel is not now and never has been at the disposal of the Admiralty‘. Hesketh’s case was to prove the Admiral wrong as his initial refusal to convene the requested court-martial was not accepted and the Queensland government sought advice from its Attorney-General who gave as his opinion that, because of the Admiralty warrant to fly the White Ensign, Hesketh was subject to the Naval Discipline Act 1865 and should be tried by a Royal Navy court-martial. When this opinion was forwarded to Tryon he again refused to convene a court so Queensland cabled its case to London where the decision was made to support the colonial view and Tryon received an Admiralty instruction directing him to convene the court-martial.

Eventually HM Ships Rapid and Opal of the Australian Station arrived in Moreton Bay and duly hoisted the Union Flag on 4 May to signify that a court-martial was sitting. Tryon was not the only officer to question the legality of his trying Hesketh. Edward (Ned) Charlton, destined to be an Admiral in the Royal Navy but then a junior officer serving on board HMS Rapid wrote a letter from Brisbane on 24 April 1887 in which he outlined the reasons for their presence and went on to state that Gayundah “does not belong to our service and we can’t think how her officers come under the Naval Discipline Act. Admiral Tryon refused to try him but received an order from the Admiralty to do so as a test case.”

By this stage, Hesketh had been confined to his very cramped quarters aboard Gayundah for 62 days. His first move was to challenge the competency of the court to try him as he held a commission signed by the Governor of Queensland and was not subject to the Naval Discipline Act. This quite valid objection was immediately overruled by the court. He next pointed out that earlier that year he had requested that a seaman aboard Gayundah be tried by court-martial for mutiny with violence. This request had been denied by Commander Wright who had dealt with the man summarily and awarded him 42 days in prison. Hesketh pointed out firstly that if the offending seaman was not tried by court-martial then he also should not be and, secondly, that as he had already spent more time in confinement than a convicted mutineer, then the court-martial proceedings were unfair. Again the court dismissed his objections and proceeded with the trial. Hesketh was eventually found to be guilty of the first and second charges and partially guilty of the fourth and sentenced to be dismissed from HM service.

Pages: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6

Naval Historical Review, Colonial navies, History - pre-Federation Australia Station, Queensland Marine Defence Force, Australian Auxiliary Squadron, HMQS Gayundah, HMS Paluma (HMQS Paluma), HMS Opal, Colonial Naval Defence Act, HMQS Mosquito, H.T.Wright, Lieut. Spencer Hesketh, HMS Rapid

Primary Sidebar

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Categories

Latest Podcasts

  • The Fall of Singapore
  • HMAS Armidale
  • Napoleon, the Royal Navy and Me
  • The Case of the Unknown Sailor
  • Night of the midget subs — Sydney under attack

Links to other podcasts

Australian Naval History Podcasts
This podcast series examines Australia’s Naval history, featuring a variety of naval history experts from the Naval Studies Group and elsewhere.
Produced by the Naval Studies Group in conjunction with the Submarine Institute of Australia, the Australian Naval Institute, Naval Historical Society and the RAN Seapower Centre

Life on the Line Podcasts
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories.
These recordings can be accessed through Apple iTunes or for Android users, Stitcher.

Video Links

  • Australian War Memorial YouTube channel
  • Royal Australian Navy YouTube Channel
  • Research – We can help!
  • Naval Heritage Sites
  • Explore Naval Art
  • Dockyard Heritage Tour
  • About us
  • Shop
  • Events
  • Members Area
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Contact us

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Members Area
  • Privacy Policy

Naval Historical Society of Australia Inc. Copyright © 2025