HMS Waitemata

HMS Waitemata was a colonial service Defender-class torpedo boat designed by Thornycroft & Company for the defence of New Zealand, built at Chiswick in 1883 and shipped to New Zealand.

A Defender-class torpedo boat, clearly showing the spar torpedo
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Waitemata
Ordered	26 August 1882[1]
Builder	John I. Thornycroft & Company
Cost	£12,600 for four boats
Yard number	170[1]
Launched	30 August 1883[1]
Commissioned	19 September 1883[1]
General characteristics
Class & type	Defender-class torpedo boat
Displacement	12 tons
Length	62 ft 10 in (19.15 m)
Beam	7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Installed power	173 hp (129 kW)
Propulsion	Two-cylinder compound-expansion steam reciprocating engine 130lb/sq in Locomotive boiler,
Speed	17.3 kn (32.0 km/h)
Complement	7[1]
Armament	One McEvoy Spar torpedo Two 18" Whitehead torpedoes One 2-barrelled Nordenfelt gun[1]

The torpedo boat was delivered from Wellington to Auckland by being towed behind the Government steamship NZGSS Hinemoa. It arrived in Auckland in April 1885.^[2]