HMS
Tartar was a
Cossack class sail and steam powered corvette that had 20 guns when
launched in
1854. The ship was being built in England for the Russian Navy when it was seized during
the Crimean
War.
On
27 October 1860,
Tartar left Portsmouth carrying £6900 in coin from the British
Treasury for use in British Columbia, arriving in
Victoria on
2 April
1861.