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It is misleading simply to say "Governor Philip Gidley King appointed himself captain of Porpoise on 6 November 1800, but left actual command in Scott's hands."

King's appointment as captain of the Porpoise was "by commission" as recorded in that ship's musters. Acting Lieutenant Scott remained commander. Only Admiralty could commission a captain.

The Bladen Historical Records NSW referenced here quotes King's letter saying "Having received a commission from [Admiralty] appointing me captain of [Reliance] and as that vessel as well as [Buffalo] are gone to England and the good of His Majesty's service requiring that I should appoint myself captain of his Majesty's armed vessel Porpoise : I do therefore ..." Without this background, the current wording of the article sounds like a King was doing something extraordinary. He was not somehow demoting Scott. Scott would have been accountable to King whether King was Captain or not.

Governor King's captain appointment to a ship was equivalent to those of the earlier naval captains appointed as Governor. Governor Arthur Phillip remained captain of HMS Sirius until it was wrecked. Captain John Hunter was its 2nd captain. Governor John Hunter remained captain of the Reliance until it became unserviceable. Lieutenant Henry Waterhouse was its 2nd commander. Hunter "appointed himself" as commander of the Buffalo on 15 April 1800. William Kent became its second commander.

The Governors continued to get "chequed" in the musters of their respective ships.

Governor King's appointment as captain only differed from those of Governors Phillip and Hunter in that King did not arrive on the ship he was meant to be "captain" of. He was already in the colony when the Porpoise arrived, having reached the colony earlier on the Speedy. By then, the Reliance had gone and the Buffalo had left in September with Hunter. So, until the Porpoise arrived, King was a captain without a ship.

King had previously left for Port Jackson on 1 September 1799 aboard the Porpoise, but the Porpoise was forced to turn back being considered unseaworthy. Scott was already the commander at the time of this aborted attempt to sail to Port Jackson. The Porpoise was surveyed and repairs undertaken before it sailed to the colony again. Cabbagepatcher (talk) 04:26, 13 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]