SS ''Westralia'' was a cargo and passenger ship. She served 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 to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and was later converted into a hulk. She was sunk in the air raids on Rabaul on 20 January 1942. Sir J Laing & Sons,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, built her in 1897 for the

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 ...

-based

Huddart Parker Huddart Parker Ltd was an Australian shipping company trading in various forms between 1876 and 1961. It was one of the seven major coastal shippers in Australia at a time when shipping was the principal means of interstate and trans-Tasman tra ...

line. She worked along the Australian coast and the

trans-Tasman Trans-Tasman is an adjective used primarily to signify the relationship between Australia and New Zealand. The term refers to the Tasman Sea, which lies between the two countries. For example, ''trans-Tasman commerce'' refers to commerce betwee ...

route. In 1917, she was used a troopship, transporting the New Zealand 27th and 28th Main Regiment. She then resumed commercial service with Huddart Parker. W. R. Carpenter and Company of Sydney bought her in 1927, had her engines removed and towed her to Rabaul for use as coal hulk, arriving in 1929. In the Rabaul air raids on 20 January 1942 she was bombed and sunk in

Simpson Harbour Simpson Harbour is a sheltered harbour of Blanche Bay, on the Gazelle Peninsula in the extreme north of New Britain. The harbour is named after Captain Cortland Simpson, who surveyed the bay while in command of in 1872. The former capital city ...

Citiations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Westralia (1896) 1896 ships Coal hulks Iron and steel steamships of Australia Maritime incidents in January 1942 Passenger ships of Australia Shipwrecks of Papua New Guinea Ships sunk by Japanese aircraft Troop ships of Australia Ships built on the River Wear World War I passenger ships World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean