''Geelong'' was a ship which owned by the

Blue Anchor Line Blue Anchor Line was a British shipping company operating between the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia between 1870 and 1910. The owners of this shipping company in later years were Messrs. W. Lund and Sons. The Blue Anchor Line was ...

, and, after 1910, by P&O. She was constructed in 1904 by Barclay, Curle and Co. Ltd., at

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. When originally constructed, she had accommodation for 120 saloon and 200 third-class passengers, and also carried cargo. Her gross register tonnage was 7700 (or 7,951) tons, and she was long, powered by

triple-expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up h ...

s, and capable of 14 knots, with an average cruise speed of 12 knots. In August 1909, ''Geelong'' participated in a search for her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same 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 often share a ...

Waratah Waratah (''Telopea'') is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees, native to the southeastern parts of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania). The best-known species in this genus is '' Telopea sp ...

'', which had disappeared without trace close to the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

n coast, and was thought to be disabled and drifting. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the Government of Australia leased ''Geelong'' for use as a

troopship 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 land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

to transport the Australian Imperial Force to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

. Designated HMAT A2 ''Geelong'', the ship departed on her first voyage as a troopship on 22 September 1914, carrying 440 soldiers from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, Australia, consisting of the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

′s 3rd Field Artillery Brigade, the 3rd Field Company Engineers, and some members of the 12th Infantry Battalion. She proceeded to Hobart, Australia, where she picked up another 912 soldiers, consisting of the 12th Infantry Battalion and the 3rd Light Horse Regiment. She left Hobart, bound for

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

, on 20 October 1914. Her second outbound trooping voyage left

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, Australia, on 31 May 1915, transporting 1,264 soldiers of the 27th Infantry Battalion and the 7th Field Ambulance unit. She also picked up another 252 soldiers, who were reinforcements for various other units, from

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, Australia, on 7 June 1915. Her final departure from Australia was on 18 November 1915, carrying 1,362 soldiers, including the 32nd Infantry Battalion and some reinforcements for other units. Shortly after disembarking the men in Egypt, ''Geelong'' sank after a collision with , an Admiralty store ship, in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

near

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...

, on 1 January 1916. There was no loss of life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geelong, SS 1904 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Maritime incidents in 1916 Ships sunk in collisions World War I shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Ships sunk with no fatalities