this time commented: "The Naval Surveying Service has ever had foisted upon it for its work any old castaway ship that has become useless for other branches of the Navy ... But of all the old clumbungies with which the Surveying Service has been saddled, the Penguin would be hard to beat for clumbunginess". As a round-bottomed vessel, with a single (auxiliary) propeller and a rudder that was hard work for two sailors to steer, she was particularly unsuited for taking deep soundings where the ship had to be held in a steady position, sometimes for several hours. In spite of this, the Penguin's crew made a successful sounding in the Kermadec Trench between New Zealand and Tonga. They found a depth of , a record at that time The Penguin under the command of Captain Arthur Mostyn Field, delivered the "Funafuti Coral Reef Boring Expedition of the Royal Society" to Funafuti in the Ellice Islands, arriving on 21 May 1896 and returned to Sydney on 22 August 1896. The Penguin made further voyages to Funafuti to deliver the expeditions of the Royal Society in 1897 and 1898. Commander James William Combe was appointed in command in February 1899, and was relieved by Commander Willoughby Pudsey Dawson in August 1902. She visited New Zealand during Autumn 1902. Australian service Her masts removed, she was transferred for harbour service at Sydney in 1908, before being commissioned into the RAN as HMAS Penguin, a depot ship, on 1 July 1913. Decommissioning and fate Her hull was sold to Samuel Waugh Ltd and converted into a crane hulk at Sydney in 1924. Later sold for breaking up, her hull was burnt on 13 December 1960 at Kerosene Bay, Sydney. See also John Turner (naval officer) Notes References Bibliography Bastock, John (1988), Ships on the Australia Station, Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia. 1876 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Osprey-class sloops Victorian-era sloops of the United Kingdom Auxiliary ships of the Royal Australian Navy