MV ''Moonta'' is a 1931 built Australian coastal

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

. Later in life she became the landlocked casino ship and tourist attraction ''Casino Le Lydia'' in

Le Barcarès Le Barcarès (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales Departments of France, department in southern France bordering the Mediterranean Sea. History During the mid 19th century, Le Barcarès was created as a small fish ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Service years

''Moonta'' was launched in June 1931

Burmeister & Wain Burmeister & Wain was a large established Danish shipyard and leading diesel engine producer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it g ...

shipyard in

Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the Øresund strait. The Øres ...

for the

Adelaide Steamship Company The Adelaide Steamship Company was an Australian shipping company, later a diversified industrial and logistics conglomerate. It was formed by a group of South Australian businessmen in 1875. Their aim was to control the transport of goods be ...

. It was reported in March 1931, Amalgamated Wireless was building a modern wireless system for the ship. An aspect of the system was to be a "Gigantaforte for relaying gramophone music throughout the ship by means of three loud speakers.” In October 1931, ''Moonta'' departed from Copenhagen en route for Port Adelaide, and was expected to arrive by 23 November. After a brief stop in England, she continued on to Australia with an expected arrival date of 21 November. The ''Moonta'' was designed for the

Spencer Gulf The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost and larger of two large inlets (the other being Gulf St Vincent) on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe an ...

route departing from

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

. She left on her maiden voyage Saturday, 28 November, 1931. The public were invited aboard to inspect the new ship on Tuesday, 24 November. She started service with a six-day itinerary, disembarking in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and ending in

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngarla people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, ...

, usually with four or five calls along the way. ''Moonta'' became well known and beloved for her excellent service and relaxing voyages, being called the perfect "romantic holiday" ship. On 3 February 1955, the ''Moonta'' began to sit idle while the Adelaide Steamship company decided what to do with the aging vessel. Adelaide thought to put the ship up for sale, but instead decided she would be moved to the drydocked and overhauled for the

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The ...

run. She was put on that route in July 1955 until November when she was sold off without any ceremony. After serving in

World War II 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 ...

''Moonta'' continued her Australian coastal service until 1955, when ''Moonta'' was sold to the Greek Hellenic Mediterranean Lines for cruising. With this her new owners doubled her passenger capacity and renamed her ''Lydia''. She remained in Greek cruise service until 1966, when Hellenic Mediterranean laid her up.

Leisure complex service

In 1967 SEMETA, a company based in the French resort towns of Leucate and Barcarès bought ''Lydia'' to be the maritime symbol of a new innovative hotel opening that year. The new ''Casino Le Lydia'' was taken to

Marseilles Marseille (; ; see below) is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean S ...

, where her propellers and engines were removed. The ship was then landlocked onto a beach in Le Barcarès, the first building in a planned tourism complex. In 1974 a Japanese company bought ''Casino Le Lydia'' and added several new features to her. In 1997 the ship ran into trouble when the government closed her down due to new

Safety of Life at Sea The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime treaty which sets out minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships. The International Maritime Organizat ...

regulations that came out that year, even though ''Casino Le Lydia'' was now considered a building. After lying derelict for three years the Partouche Group bought and restored the ship. As of 2005 complex's features include a

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

, bar,

discotheque A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and ...

, a

pool Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

with a waterslide,

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

, as well as an

exhibition center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moonta, MV Ships of South Australia 1931 ships Ships built by Burmeister & Wain Cruise ships of Greece Gambling ships