William Henry Norman
William Henry Norman was a sea captain in Australia. As commander of [HMVS Victoria (Australia)|Victoria (1855)|HMVS Victoria], he engaged in the First Taranaki War in New Zealand and the search for explorers Burke and Wills.
Early life
William Henry Norman was born in March 1812 in Upnor, Kent, England. He entered the mercantile marine service and became a master mariner.Marine commander
Norman was captain of, a vessel owned by Captain Farquharson for nine years. From 1848, he was the commander of Coromandel for four years. In 1851, he joined the General Screw Steam Shipping Company where he superintended the fit-out of Lady Jocelyn which he took to Australia. On returning to England, the company appointed him to Queen of the South, which he took to Australia.Victorian Government service
One of the passengers on Queen of the South was Sir Charles Hotham, travelling to take up appointment as Governor of Victoria. A naval officer himself, Hotham was impressed with Norman and engaged his services for the new colony of Victoria. As Britain was actively at war with Russia in the Crimean War, Hotham decided that Victoria needed an armed steam sloop for its defence against Russian attack. On returning to Britain on the Queen of the South, Norman resigned his appointment with the company and commenced his engagement with the Victorian Government.Norman's first duty was to commission the construction of the vessel, HMCSS Victoria, and then sail it to Hobson's Bay in Port Phillip, Victoria. The ship was then deployed on a series of operations under Norman's command.
Port Curtis rescue mission
The operations including sailing to Port Curtis, Queensland to rescue the Victorian gold miners who had abandoned Victoria for a new Queensland gold rush and found themselves destitute; the Victorian Government offered free passage back to Victoria where workers were urgently needed.Assistance in the First Taranaki War
In 1860, the colonial government of Victoria decided to send Victoria to New Zealand, to support British colonists fighting in the First Taranaki War against the Māori people. On 19 April 1860, Victoria sailed to Hobart, embarked 134 troops from the 40th Regiment of Foot, and transported them to New Zealand. Prior to her departure, the colonial government passed an Act giving the ship legal status, but this law was overturned by Britain as an attempt to create a naval force independent of the Royal Navy.After delivering the soldiers to Auckland, Victoria performed shore bombardments and coastal patrols, while maintaining supply routes between Auckland and New Plymouth.
In July, Victoria sailed to Sydney to transport General Thomas Pratt and his staff to New Zealand. Victoria was used to evacuate women and children from the town of New Plymouth, following Māori attacks on the town's fortifications. In October, the ship underwent refit in Wellington, and resumed duties by delivering British reinforcements to the combat areas. As the Victorian colonial government required the ship for urgent survey work, her return was requested at the end of the year, with Victoria arriving in Melbourne in March 1861.
The New Zealand Wars deployment was the first time an Australian warship had been deployed to assist in a foreign war.
The legal hazards of having a colonial warship operating outside her territorial limits was rectified by declaring that all Australian warships in international or foreign waters had to be commissioned into the Royal Navy.
The 12 months spent in New Zealand won Captain Norman high praise from the Governor of New Zealand, Thomas Gore Browne.