SS ''Iron Crown'' was an Australian

cargo In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in cas ...

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

that was built in 1922 for the

Commonwealth Line The Commonwealth Line was a shipping company owned and operated by the Australian federal government between 1916 and 1928. It was officially known as the Commonwealth Government Line of Steamers until 1923, and thereafter as the Australian Com ...

as ''Euroa'', named after the town of

Euroa Euroa is a town in the Shire of Strathbogie in the north-east of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census in Australia, census, Euroa's population was 3,116. The name Euroa comes from an Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal w ...

in the state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Broken Hill Proprietary BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian Multinational corporation, multinational mining and metals public company, corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, ...

(BHP) acquired her in 1923, renamed her ''Iron Crown'', and used her as an iron ore carrier. A Japanese submarine sank her 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 ...

History

Williamstown Dockyard Williamstown Dockyard was one of Australia's principal ship building yards at Williamstown, Victoria, Australia. The Colony of Victoria decided to construct a large slipway at Williamstown to provide ship repair facilities in 1856 and the Govern ...

built the ship for the Australian Commonwealth Shipping Board's Commonwealth Line. She was launched on 27 January 1922 as ''Euroa'', and

registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. In December 1923 BHP acquired her, renamed her ''Iron Crown'', and registered her in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. On 4 June 1942 ''Iron Crown'', was en route from

Whyalla Whyalla is a city in South Australia. It was founded as Hummock's Hill, and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, and Gawler, and along ...

in South Australia to

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

when sank her by torpedo south-southwest of

Gabo Island Gabo Island is a island located off the coast of eastern Victoria, Australia, between Mallacoota and Cape Howe on the border with New South Wales. It is separated from the mainland by a channel; access is available by arranged flights and ...

. 38 of her 43 crew members were killed. rescued survivors. George Fisher, the last survivor, was aged 18 when the ship sank, and died in 2012.

Wreckage discovery

In April 2019 it was announced that the wreck of ''Iron Crown'' had been located by marine archaeologists aboard CSIRO research vessel at a depth of , about off the coast of Victoria.

Official number and code letters

Official number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

s were a forerunner to

IMO Numbers The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term with two distinct applications: * the IMO ship identification number is a unique ship identifier; or, * the IMO company and registered owner identification number is us ...

. ''Iron Crown''s UK official number was 151806. Her

code letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of ...

were THSB until 1933. By 1930 her

wireless telegraph Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is the transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies fo ...

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was VJDK.

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

Australian National Shipwreck Database: SS Iron Crown
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iron Crown 1922 ships Cargo ships of Australia Iron and steel steamships of Australia Maritime incidents in June 1942 Ships of BHP Shipping Ships built in Victoria (state) Ships sunk by Japanese submarines Shipwrecks of Victoria (state) World War II merchant ships of Australia World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean