HMS Hindostan (variously Hindustan or Hindoostan) was a 50-gun two-decker fourth rate of the Royal Navy. She was originally a teak-built East Indiaman named Admiral Rainier launched at Calcutta in 1799 that the Royal Navy brought into service in May 1804. Before the Royal Navy purchased her, Admiral Rainier made two trips to England for the British East India Company (EIC), as an "extra ship", i.e., under charter. Perhaps her best known voyage was her trip to Australia in 1809 when she and Dromedary brought Governor Lachlan Macquarie to replace Governor William Bligh after the Rum Rebellion. In later years she became a store ship, and in 1819 was renamed Dolphin. She was hulked in 1824 to serve as a prison ship, and renamed Justitia in 1831. She was finally sold in 1855.
Merchantman
Hudson, Bacon & Co. built Admiral Rainier in Calcutta for their own account and launched her in 1799. The EIC immediately chartered her for a voyage from Calcutta to England. Captain William Lay left Calcutta on 28 December 1799, reached St Helena on 15 June 1800 and Falmouth on 2 September, and arrived at Deptford on 5 October.[1]
Admiral Rainier was admitted to the Registry of Great Britain on 5 January 1801.