The naval brigade headquarters was established at Fort Macquarie, where the Sydney Opera House today stands. Since Spitfire was sold to Queensland in 1859, the naval brigade had no ships of their own. This problem was not rectified until the late 1870s, when the government ordered the construction of two second class torpedo boats, Avernus and Acheron; these vessels were constructed in Sydney. In 1882, was acquired from the Royal Navy. That year the New South Wales Naval Artillery Volunteers were formed as a citizen's auxiliary which would operated the guns on board any warship of the colony when required. HMS Wolverine was paid off in 1893 and the total number of vessels used by the Navy decreased over time as any perceived threat diminished. Meanwhile, the naval brigade continued to grow, however, and reached a total strength of 614 men at Federation. Queensland Queensland Maritime Defence Force One of the many outcomes of the Jervois-Scratchley reports was the formation of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force in 1883. Its purpose was to assist in the defence of Queensland's extensive coastline. To equip the new force the colonial government purchased two gunboats and a torpedo boat whilst port facilities and headquarters were established at Kangaroo Point, Brisbane. The gunboats and were ordered from the shipyards of Armstrong, Mitchell and Company and featured a shallow draft capable of operating in the many bays and estuaries along the coast. Gayundah served as a training ship and conducted the first ship to shore radio transmissions in Australia whilst Paluma was loaned to the Royal Navy to carry out survey work on the Great Barrier Reef and along the Australian east coast. The torpedo boat was ordered from Thornycroft of Chiswick. Mosquito was never commissioned, but was placed into service when required. From this beginning further vessels were acquired to give Queensland the second largest fleet in the colonies behind Victoria. Five government hopper barges were modified to act as Auxiliary Gunboats. These ships were built by Walkers Limited in Maryborough and at 450 tons they appear to have been the largest warships built in the Australian colonies before federation. The ships had already been ordered for the Queensland Department of Harbours and Rivers when the decision was taken to convert them to also serve a military purpose. This resulted in the fitting of a 5-inch gun and the relocation of the boilers below the