The Story and Scandal of HMS Megaera

The careers of some ships seem to be nothing but misfortune or even disaster. HMS Megaera was one such. She was built in 1849 as one of the Royal Navy's first iron-hulled warships, but even before her launching the admiralty ordered her to be converted to a troopship. As soon as she set sail an engine crank broke. Her maiden voyage was a disaster when she was nearly lost in a storm. Derated to a storeship and finally placed in a reserve, she was rescued from a slow demise by the decision to send her on a voyage around the Cape to Australia with 300 souls aboard. Completely unseaworthy, she beached on St Paul, a tiny volcanic island in the Indian Ocean, where her crew survived for nearly three months before being rescued. It was one of the great survival stories of the 19th century, told in full detail from research among original documents and contemporary reports...