HMS
Curacoa was built by
John Elder & Co.,
Govan, and launched on 18 April 1878. She was the third Royal Navy ship to be named after the island of
Curaçao, at that time still commonly known as "Curacoa" by English speakers. The corvette commenced service on the
Cape of Good Hope and West Africa Station before being transferred to the
Australia Station arriving on 5 August 1890. She left the Australia Station in December 1894. In June 1893 Captain Gibson visited the southern
Solomon Islands and made the formal declaration of the
British Solomon Islands Protectorate. Her later years were spent as a training cruiser. In January 1899, the battleship
HMS Collingwood collided with
Curacoa outside Devonport; the
Curacoa was heavily damaged and several compartments in the hull flooded before the watertight doors could be closed. In February–April 1900 she visited
Madeira,
Las Palmas,
São Vicente, Cape Verde,
Gibraltar and
Arosa Bay. She was sold in May 1904 to King of
Garston for breaking up. ==References==