HMAS Uralba

Last updated

HMAS Uralba 1945.jpg
History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
NameUralba [1]
OwnerNorth Coast Steam Navigation Company
Launched1942
FateSunk as an artificial reef in 1971
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgAustralia (RAN)
NameUralba
Builder Ernest Wright, Tuncurry, New South Wales
Commissioned22 November 1942
General characteristics
Tonnage603 gross tonnage [2]
Length154.8 ft (47 m) [2]
Beam37 ft (11 m) [2]
Depth9.3 ft (3 m) [2]

HMAS Uralba was an auxiliary minefield tender and armament stores carrier operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. She was launched in 1942 by Ernest Wright, Tuncurry, New South Wales as Uralba (presumably named after the North Coast of NSW locality) for the North Coast Steam Navigation Company. [2] Requisitioned by the RAN while under construction on 13 July 1942 and commissioned on 22 November 1942. After being returned to her owners and being sold and used for a number of purposes she was sunk on 4 November 1971 to create an artificial reef off Carrum Creek, in Port Phillip Bay.

Contents

Career

Her engines came from the Sydney Ferries Limited steamer, Kuramia , made redundant by the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. [3]

While she was under construction in 1942 for the North Coast Steam Navigation Company, she was requisitioned by the RAN. She was based in Brisbane as a minefield tender for a couple of years before moving to Milne Bay, New Guinea as a stores and armaments carrier. Uralba was paid off in August 1945 and returned to her owners.

For the next few years she transported timber between Melbourne and Tasmania. Uralba was sold in 1948 to the State Electricity Commission of Victoria carrying construction materials across Bass Strait for the Latrobe Valley power stations. On her return voyages she carried cars and general cargo to Tasmania.

Sold in September 1953 to the A & A Steamship Trading Syndicate of NSW and was subject to High Court of Australia seizure in 1958. Later sold to Benny Gelbart of Footscray, she sank at her moorings in the Maribyrnong River on 4 May 1960. Refloated and fixed she was sold to Duncan and Russell of Melbourne in 1964, had her engines removed and was converted into a dumb lighter.

The Victorian Fisheries and Wildlife Department sank Uralba as an artificial reef eight kilometres off Carrum Creek in Port Phillip Bay on 4 November 1971. [4]

Citations

  1. "Details of the Ship". Plimsoll ShipData. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Llyods Register" (PDF). Plimsoll ShipData. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  3. Trove
  4. "Shipwreck stories of the bay, The Age, 8 January 2008". Melbourne. 8 January 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2010.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illawarra Steam Navigation Company</span> Australian steamship company

The Illawarra Steam Navigation Company was a shipping company that serviced the south coast of New South Wales, Australia from 1858 to the early 1950s. It was formed through the amalgamation of the General Steam Navigation Company, the Kiama Steam Navigation Company and the Shoalhaven Steam Navigation Company, each of whom serviced parts of the south coast with their respective vessels. After merging, the new company held a near monopoly in regard to shipping on the south coast, and their fleet visited every significant port between Sydney and the border of Victoria. The company transported both passengers and a range of produce, including livestock, and hence it became known as the 'Pig and Whistle Line': it was said that ships would wait an hour for a pig but not a minute for a passenger.

SS <i>Taroona</i>

SS Taroona was built in Linthouse, Glasgow by Alexander Stephen & Sons for Tasmanian Steamers, Australia. She was a steam turbine ship capable of 18 knots, but typically operated at 16 knots for better fuel economy.

HMS <i>Hector</i> (F45) 1924 armed merchant cruiser of the British Royal Navy

HMS Hector was a UK steam turbine passenger and refrigerated cargo liner launched in 1924. She was the fourth of six civilian ships to bear the name.

Jamnagar was a 576 GRT coaster which was built in 1924 for Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar. In 1941 she entered service with the Royal Indian Navy. In 1944, she was sold into merchant service before being requisitioned by the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Bulbul. In 1947, she was sold into merchant service and renamed Hellenic Bulbul. The name Hellenic Bee had been allocated but she ran aground and sank before the proposed name change could be implemented.

SS <i>City of Adelaide</i> (1863)

City of Adelaide was an iron-hulled ship that was launched in Scotland in 1863, spent a long career in Australian passenger and cargo service, and sank off the coast of Queensland in 1916. She served with several Australian shipowners, including the Australasian Steam Navigation Company, Australasian United Steam Navigation Company and Howard Smith Company.

Theresia L M Russ was a 1,694 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1927 by Neptun AG, Rostock, Germany for Ernst Russ. She was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine for two years during the Second World War. In 1944, she was sunk by bombing at Gotenhafen, German occupied Poland. The ship was raised and repaired in 1945. She was seized by the Allies at Copenhagen and passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Concrete.

HMAS <i>Ping Wo</i>

HMAS Ping Wo was a 3,105 tons former Indo-Chinese river steamer that was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. The Chinese name translates to "Equitable Harmony". It was one of a group of vessels known as the "China Fleet" acquired by the RAN in similar circumstances.

HMAS Bermagui was a 402-ton auxiliary minesweeper operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II.

HMAS Uki (FY.80) was an auxiliary minesweeper operated by the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. Laid down at Lithgows, Port Glasgow, Scotland in 1923, Uki was owned and operated by the Sydney-based North Coast Steam Navigation Company. On 3 November 1939, Uki was requisitioned by the RAN for use as an auxiliary.

HMAS Kianga was an auxiliary minesweeper operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during the Second World War. She was launched in 1922 by R. J. Lucey at Narooma. The ship operated as a coastal cargo steamer and was requisitioned by the RAN in 1941. She was not returned to her owners and was scuttled off Sydney Heads.

HMAS <i>Terka</i>

HMAS Terka (FY.98) was an auxiliary minesweeper operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. The ship was launched as Sir Dudley de Chair in 1925 as one of the three ships used to supply the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and from 1928 operated by the Adelaide Steamship Company until she was requisitioned by the RAN in December 1940. She sank while at her moorings at Madang, New Guinea on 26 March 1945 and was abandoned.

HMAS <i>Mallina</i>

HMAS Mallina was a 3,213 GRT cargo ship built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast in 1909 as Mallina for the Australian United Steam Navigation Company for the Rockhampton to Sydney cargo route. She was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy in 1914, as a store carrier and collier. She was returned to her owners in 1915. She was sold in 1935 to Machida Shokai Kisen Kaisha, Japan and renamed Seiko Maru, before being sold to Kita Nippon Kisen Kaisha and renamed Siberia Maru No. 3, which was later shortened to Siberian Maru. While steaming in the Sulu Sea, Philippines on 24 September 1944, she was attacked by American aircraft of Task Force 38 and sunk with the loss of 158 of the 2,382 people on board.

HMAS Waree (W128) was a tug boat operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. She operated as a tug boat for the Waratah Tug and Salvage Company before being requisitioned by the RAN in 1942, and operating in northern Australia and Papua. She sank on 17 October 1946 off the New South Wales coast while sailing to Sydney from Thursday Island.

HMAS Tambar was an auxiliary minesweeper operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II.

USCGC <i>Salvia</i> Iris-class buoy tender

USCGC Salvia (WLB-400) was a United States Coast Guard Iris-class buoy tender in commission from 1944 to 1991. She operated in the Great Lakes and along the United States Gulf Coast during her career. Sold and renamed Brian Davis in 2020 for use as a memorial vessel, she was scuttled as an artificial reef in 2020.

The following index is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Wikipedia's articles on recreational dive sites. The level of coverage may vary:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sixty-miler</span>

Sixty-miler (60-miler) is the colloquial name for the ships that were used in the coastal coal trade of New South Wales, Australia. The sixty-milers delivered coal to Sydney from ports and ocean jetties to the north and south. The name refers to the approximate distance by sea; the distance, from the Hunter River mouth at Nobbys Head to the North Head of Sydney Harbour, is 64 nautical miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of recreational dive sites</span> Hierarchical outline list of articles about rereational dive sites

Recreational dive sites are specific places that recreational scuba divers go to enjoy the underwater environment or for training purposes. They include technical diving sites beyond the range generally accepted for recreational diving. In this context all diving done for recreational purposes is included. Professional diving tends to be done where the job is, and with the exception of diver training and leading groups of recreational divers, does not generally occur at specific sites chosen for their easy access, pleasant conditions or interesting features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uralba, New South Wales</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Uralba is a rural locality located on the Far North Coast of New South Wales. Its name means "place of plenteous quartz stones".

SS <i>Canonbar</i>

SS Canonbar was a steam cargo ship built in Ardrossan, Scotland in 1910 for the North Coast Steam Navigation Company, and used in the Australian coastal trade. During World War II, she was part of the US supply fleet in the Pacific Ocean. From 1949, she was Rosita, until 1960, when she was renamed Valiente. Under the name Kettara IV, she was sunk by shell fire off the Vietnamese coast in 1966, with the loss of her entire crew.

References