Hermoine III

Vessel numberHV000748

Vessel Registration NumberRV81

Previous owner Royal Australian Navy (Australian, founded 1913)

Date1914

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 11.35 m × 2.95 m × 1.3 m (37.24 ft × 9.68 ft × 4.27 ft)

DescriptionHERMOINE III was built as an auxiliary motor launch by Charles “Hardwood Joe” Lucas at Battery Point slips in December 1914. It is 10.97m long x 2.74m wide. HERMIONE III’s builder, Charles "Hardwood Joe" Lucas was said to be the ﬁrst shipwright in Tasmania to be building boats with hardwood frames for Huon Pine carvel planking and HERMOINE III is a rare example of his work. The owner, GA Roberts, had previously sailed two yachts of the same name. The first was a 26ft. overall vessel built at Hobart by Alfred Blore in 1896, while the second, built at Sydney in 1901, was still sailing on Sydney Harbour as the Alice in 1949.

HERMIONE III was one of the ﬁrst racing motor launches in Tasmania and Australia. It raced within the ﬁrst decade of the sport being formerly established in Australia and was one of the fastest boats on the Derwent, winning a number of races organized by the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.

In 1943, HERMOINE III became one of ﬁve privately owned Tasmanian vessels to be purchased by the Australian Navy as inspection vessels on the Derwent River and Tasmanian coastal waters. All five were reassigned and refitted as Auxiliary Patrol Boats with HERMOINE III becoming 774 HMAS HERMIONE. When refitted, HERMOINE III had a Vickers .303-inch machine gun mounted on the forward deck.

HERMOINE III was first registered in Roberts' name in 1921, and its Naval Service ended in 194 when it was decommissioned and sold by the Navy in 1945 to Tony Chamberlain. HERMOINE III was then powered by a 25-45 b.h.p. 6-cylinder Parsons marine petrol engine. After an extensive refit as a gracious cruiser HERMOINE III was based in Queenscliff Harbour, Victoria. HERMOINE III currently shares its time cruising around Melbourne and down to Hobart.

SignificanceHERMOINE III is a motor launch built in Tasmania in 1914. It was built for Gerald Allyne Roberts by Charles Lucas at Battery Point in Hobart. It was one of the first racing launches on the Derwent River and also undertook war service in the 2nd World War.