SS ''New Australia'' was a UK-built turbo-electric passenger steamship that had a varied career from 1931 to 1966. She was built as the

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

''Monarch of Bermuda'', was a

troop ship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was damaged by fire in 1947. She was then refitted to carry emigrants to Australia and renamed ''New Australia''. In 1958 she was refitted again, renamed ''Arkadia'' and served as both a transatlantic liner and a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

History

Building

Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

built ''Monarch of Bermuda'' at its shipyard in

Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne Walker is a residential suburb and electoral ward in the south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. History The place-name 'Walker' is first attested in 1242, where it appears as ''Waucre''. This means 'wall-car ...

for Furness, Withy & Co Ltd. She was launched on 17 March 1931 and completed that November. She had a beam of and draught of , and as built her length was . The ship had eight

Babcock & Wilcox Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. is an American energy technology and service provider that is active and has operations in many international markets with its headquarters in Akron, Ohio. Historically, the company is best known for their stea ...

water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-generat ...

s with a combined heating surface of . The boilers supplied steam at 400 lb_f/in² to two steam turbines. The turbines drove alternators that powered electric motors to drive her four screws, giving her a speed of . GEC built her alternators and motors. As built, ''Monarch of Bermuda'' was assessed as and . She had luxury berths for 830 passengers and capacity for refrigerated cargo.

Furness, Withy service

Furness, Withy had ''Monarch of Bermuda'' built for its Furness Bermuda Line subsidiary. She operated a liner service between

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Hamilton, Bermuda Hamilton is the capital city of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and the main settlement of Pembroke Parish. A port city, Hamilton is Bermuda's financial and commercial centre, and a popular tourist destination. Its population of ...

, following the loss of MV ''Bermuda'' (which was heavily damaged by fire at Hamilton on 17 June 1931, returned to the builders in Belfast for repairs but burned again, then was wrecked in Scotland while under tow to be scrapped). In 1933 Vickers-Armstrongs completed a

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

, the , which joined ''Monarch of Bermuda'' on the route. In the early hours of 8 September 1934

Ward Line The New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company, commonly called the Ward Line, was a shipping company that operated from 1841 until liquidated in 1954. The line operated out of New York City's Piers 15, 16, and 17—land which later became the site ...

's liner caught fire eight miles off the coast of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. ''Monarch of Bermuda'' was one of several ships that diverted to help. The fire had spread so swiftly that many of ''Morro Castle''s passengers were unable to reach her lifeboats. Some leapt into the sea, and ''Monarch of Bermuda'' managed to rescue some of them. In the

''Monarch of Bermuda'' served as a troop ship.

Rebuilding and Shaw, Savill service

After the war Palmers' shipyard in

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the South Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly in County Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south bank of the River Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow and ...

started refitting ''Monarch of Bermuda'' for her return to civilian service, but on 24 May 1947 she was gutted by fire. She was sold for scrap, but the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

bought her and contracted JI Thornycroft & Co to refit her with economy accommodation for 1,600 passengers. The ship originally had three funnels. Thornycroft rebuilt her with a single funnel, plus an unusual bipod structure aft of her bridge that served as both a funnel and a mainmast. The MoT renamed her ''New Australia'', contracted Shaw, Savill & Albion Line to manage her and put her into service carrying UK emigrants to Australia. She plied this trade from 1950 until 1957. In September 1958 ''New Australia'' was serving as a troop ship again when she suffered slight damage in a collision with a tanker in the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...

Refitting and Greek Line service

In 1958 the MoT sold the ship to Ornos Shipping Co Ltd of London, who sold her on to the Arcadia Steamship Corporation. This was part of Greek Line, who had

Blohm & Voss Blohm+Voss (B+V), also written historically as Blohm & Voss, Blohm und Voß etc., is a German shipbuilding and engineering company. Founded in Hamburg in 1877 to specialise in steel-hulled ships, its most famous product was the World War II battle ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

repair and refit her. Her foremast was replaced with two king-posts. Her forepeak had been damaged in the collision, so it was remodelled to give her a curved stem. This increased her length to . She was now . Greek Line renamed the ship ''Arkadia'' and used her on both the transatlantic liner trade to Canada and cruises for most of the 1960s. ''Arkadia''s final voyage was to

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

in Spain, where she arrived on 18 December 1966 to be scrapped.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:New Australia, SS 1931 ships Cruise ships of Greece Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Ship fires Ships built on the River Tyne Ships built by Vickers Armstrong Steamships of Greece Steamships of the United Kingdom Troop ships of the United Kingdom