HMVS Cerberus was an ironclad warship launched in 1868 to defend the Australian colony of Victoria. She was the first major British warship to be powered entirely by steam and was one of seven similar vessels. HMVS Cerberus arrived at Melbourne from Britain on 9 April 1871 and was made the flagship of the Victorian Navy. After the federation of the Australian colonies Cerberus was incorporated into the Commonwealth Naval Forces, and then into the Royal Australian Navy when it was founded in 1911. HMAS Cerberus was decommissioned from the Royal Australian Navy in 1924 and was sunk as a breakwater at Half Moon Bay in Black Rock, Victoria.