HMS Roebuck (1690)

Image of Roebuck at anchor, with a ship's boat rowing toward shore
Arrival of Roebuck in Shark Bay, from a painting by John Charles Allcot (1925)
History
Red Ensign used by the Royal Navy and merchant vessels of the Kingdom of England from 1620–1707
NameHMS Roebuck
BuilderSnellgrove
Launched17 April 1690
FateSank, February 1701
General characteristics
Class and typeFifth-rate
Tons burthen292 tons bm
Length96 ft (29 m)
Beam25 ft 6 in (7.77 m)
Armament26 guns
Service record
Commanders: William Dampier

HMS[1] Roebuck was a fifth-rate warship in the Royal Navy which, under the command of William Dampier, carried the first British scientific expedition to Australia in 1699. It sank in early 1701. The wreck of the ship has since been located by a team from the Western Australian Maritime Museum at a site on the coast of Ascension Island where it foundered more than 300 years ago.

  1. ^ The abbreviation "HMS" would not have been applied to Roebuck at the time, as this was not formally adopted until 1789. It is used here only to indicate ship's official status.