Summary

Mine explosion in Port Phillip Bay, during training exercises of the Torpedo Corps, circa 1880s.

Original photograph inscribed on back: 'Sergt. Kemp, with James Morris's compliments'. Kemp, assistant astronomer at Melbourne Observatory from 1873 to 1914, was a Sergeant in the Victorian Torpedo Corps, probably because Robert Ellery, Government Astronomer, and Kemp's manager, was a Major in the Volunteer Forces in charge of the Torpedo Corps.

The Torpedo Corps was established in 1873 to protect Melbourne and Port Phillip Bay from enemy ships. The 'torpedoes' were in fact mines that could be detonated at a distance via electrical cables.

Description of Content

Mine explosion in Port Phillip Bay, during training exercises of the Torpedo Corps, circa 1880

Physical Description

Digital image

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