HMS Philomel in Gisborne, 1914

This photo shows HMS Philomel docked in Gisborne in early 1914. The Philomel was New Zealand's first naval ship, and toured a number of ports before receiving its commission in Wellington on 15 July 1914, just three weeks before the outbreak of the First World War.

Ship details

Class:
Pearl-class light cruiser (3rd-class)

Built:
HM Naval Dockyard Devonport, Plymouth
Laid down 9 May 1889
Launched 28 August 1890
Completed March 1891

Dimensions:
84.7 m long, 12.5 m beam, 5.3 m draft

Displacement:
2575 tons 

Machinery:
2 shaft reciprocating coal fired ihp = 19 knots

Complement:
221 officers and ratings

Armament:
8 x 4.7-inch (119mm) QF guns
8 x 3pdr guns
2 x 14-inch (356mm) torpedo tubes
4 x machineguns
1 x 12pdr field gun for Landing Parties

As training ship:
1 x 6-inch (152mm) gun single mount
1 x 4-inch (102mm) gun single mount
2 x 12pdrs (later removed)