Name HMS Reliance Acquired December 1793 Tons burthen 394 long tons (400 t) | Launched South Shields Class and type Discovery vessel Length 27 m | |
Fate Sold on 12 October 1815 | ||
HMS Reliance was a discovery vessel of the Royal Navy. She became famous as one of the ships with the early explorations of the Australian coast and other the southern Pacific islands.
Commanded by Henry Waterhouse, she sailed to New South Wales, arriving in Sydney on 7 September 1795. Among her crew and passengers were Matthew Flinders as midshipman, George Bass as the ship's doctor, the new Governor John Hunter, and the Aboriginal Bennelong. She later returned to Sydney, arriving on 26 June 1797 from the Cape of Good Hope, carrying stores ordered by Governor Hunter and merino sheep imported by John Macarthur.
Reliance was the first ship to chart the Antipodes Islands, in March 1800. Reliance was relegated to harbour service that year, surviving for another 15 years before being sold on 12 October 1815.