HMS Challenger was a Pearl-class corvette of the Royal Navy launched on 13 February 1858 at the Woolwich Dockyard. She served the flagship of the Australia Station between 1866 and 1870.
Painting of Challenger by William Frederick Mitchell
HMS Scout, a sister ship of Challenger
The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, whose rank varied over time.
Royal Navy squadron on the Australia Station moored in Sydney in 1880
Admiralty House, Sydney, the residence for the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy's Australia Squadron from 1885 to 1913