HMAS Protector (1884)

	HMAS Protector in 1914
History
Australia
Builder	Sir WG Armstrong, Mitchell & Co, Newcastle upon Tyne
Laid down	16 November 1882
Launched	May 1884
Commissioned	19 June 1884
Out of service	July 1943
Motto	Faith for Duty
Honours and; awards	Battle honours:; China 1900; Rabaul 1914;
Fate	Abandoned July 1943
General characteristics
Type	Armstrong type F1 flat-iron gunboat
Displacement	920 tons
Length	180 ft (54.9 m)
Beam	56 ft (17.1 m)
Draught	12 ft (3.7 m)
Propulsion	2 compound surface condensing engines
Speed	14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	85 to 96
Armament	As built: ; 1 × BL 8-inch (203.2 mm) Mk VII gun; 5 × BL 6-inch (152.4 mm) 80-pounder guns; 4 × QF 3-pounder guns; 5 × Gatling guns; From 1914:; 3 × QF 4-inch Mk III guns; 2 × QF 12-pounder guns; 4 × QF 3-pounder guns;

HMCS (later HMAS) Protector was a large flat-iron gunboat commissioned and purchased by the South Australian government in 1884, for the purpose of defending the local coastline against possible attacks in the aftermath of the 'Russian scare', of the 1870s. She arrived in Adelaide in September 1884 and served in the Boxer Rebellion, World War I and World War II.

During July 1943, Protector was requisitioned for war service by the U.S. Army. On the way to New Guinea and off Gladstone, she was damaged in a collision with a tug and abandoned. The hull was taken to Heron Island off the Queensland coast and later sunk for use as a breakwater. Her rusting remains are still visible to this day.

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