HMVS Cerberus: Key Ships Series 1, Ship 4

Cerberus entered Hobson's Bay on 9 April 1871 as one of the most modern ironclads afloat, yet her top-heavy weight distribution made her a dreadful seaboat.

Cerberus adapted features of later American Monitor designs to a heavy, flat-bottomed vessel intended for coastal waters.

Cerberus gave Victoria a concentrated local defence against a quick attempt to seize its harbour without requiring a blue-water fleet.

Cerberus's modest engines and short-range hull suited a ship expected to protect one harbour rather than cruise at sea.

Cerberus carried four ten-inch rifled muzzle-loaders in twin turrets, then gained lighter guns between 1883 and 1897 for local threats and deterrence.

Cerberus combined thick iron and teak protection with ballast tanks that could lower her profile until only the turrets and breastwork showed.

Official concern centred on a Russian attack, while Victoria also faced growing imperial competition for colonies in the Far East and around Australia.

Cerberus's passage from Chatham to Melbourne exposed the logistical strain of sending a short-range coastal warship halfway around the world.

Cerberus lost men in a mine exercise, then sent divers to the flooded Creswick gold mine without suits that fitted or enough air hose to reach the trapped miners.

Refits, storeship work, federation, and training administration kept Cerberus useful after her machinery and guns lost their fighting value.

Renamed HMAS Platypus II, Cerberus served as a secondary tender for Australia's J-class submarines before becoming a shallow-water breakwater and difficult preservation case.