Cerberus arrives in Victoria as a modern ironclad

HMVS Cerberus entered Hobson's Bay on 9 April 1871 after Victoria used a £100,000 British grant toward a modern warship. The grant followed the colony's support in the New Zealand War. Although Cerberus ranked among the most modern ironclads afloat, she could roll as far as forty degrees. About 1,900 tons of her weight sat above the waterline and 1,800 tons below it, leaving her badly balanced. Her arrival joined formidable local fighting power to serious limits at sea.