SS Westralia (1896) explained

SS Westralia was a cargo and passenger ship. She served as a troopship in the First World War 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, built her in 1897 for the Melbourne-based Huddart Parker line. She worked along the Australian coast and the trans-Tasman route.

In 1917, she was used a troopship, transporting the New Zealand 27th and 28th Main Regiment.^[1] 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.

References

• Book: Gamble, Bruce . 2006 . Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul: Australia's Worst Military Disaster of World War II . St Paul, MN . Zenith Press . 0-7603-2349-6 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: New Zealand Transport Ships . 29 March 2010.