First in Steam

The story of Charles Broadhurst’s venture into coastal shipping, in steam, is well highlighted in this gallery. However, was Xantho the first steamer to visit WA? In a word, no. That honour belongs to a warship, HMS Driver, a six-gun paddle sloop powered by a 240-horsepower engine, which called in to Fremantle as part of an historic world cruise- the first circumnavigation of the globe by a steam powered vessel. HMS Driver was built by Naval Dockyard Portsmouth in 1840. Driver served on various stations until it set about its circumnavigation, beginning at Portsmouth in May 1842 and ending there in December 1847. The ship's stay at Fremantle was fairly brief, though not without excitement. When Driver was spotted by the lookout at Fremantle it was belching a fair amount of smoke from its boiler. The unprecedented sight was reported by him as a ship on fire approaching the port. While in port the ship’s carpenter and an able seaman deserted ship. Driver’s commander, Lieutenant Hayes, offered a reward of three pounds for their apprehension. 

During the remainder of its cruise HMS Driver became the first steam ship to visit New Zealand, where members of the crew participated in the war going on between the Maoris and settlers, while a crewman was executed at Hong Kong for murder.

In common with Xantho, Driver met its end in shipwreck. On August 3 1861 it was wrecked on the island of Mayaguana while en-route Bermuda to Jamaica.