The expedition cost £84,000, an economy that appears shortsighted when set against Australia's later strategic value. HMS Sirius then becomes a case study in how eighteenth-century ratings and actual armament could diverge. She is often listed with ten guns, yet her status as a post ship and references to additional weapons create uncertainty over what she carried to Australia. Extra pieces may have been intended for convoy defense or for fortifying the settlement. The ship herself had begun as Berwick, a merchant vessel built for Baltic trade, before fire damage led the Royal Navy to buy, rebuild, and rename her. Her loss at Norfolk Island in 1790 removed the colony's principal naval ship and left HMS Supply carrying an even greater burden.
Notable Point · 20:46-25:01
HMS Sirius from Baltic merchantman to colonial warship
The fleet's cost and the loss of Sirius lead into the ship's disputed rating, possible colonial armament, and conversion from Baltic trader to Royal Navy post ship.