HMAS ''Koolonga'' was a 4,260 gross register tons cargo ship built by Sunderland Shipbuilding Company, South Dock

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, in 1914 and bought by McIlwraith, McEacharn Line Pty Ltd, Melbourne and named SS ''Koolonga''. She was requisitioned by the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

on 6 August 1914, as a collier and supply ship. She was returned to her owners in late 1915. She was sold in 1937 to Madrigal & Company,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and renamed ''Paz''. She was sunk during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phili ...

in December 1941 and was later salvaged by the

Imperial Japanese The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

and renamed ''Hatsu Maru''. While at anchor in Manila Bay, Philippines on 13 November 1944, she was attacked by

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

carrier aircraft and was sunk.

RAN Service

''Koolonga'' was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy on 6 August 1914, as a collier and supply ship, and commissioned as HMAS ''Koolonga''. She participated during the

Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) was a small volunteer force of approximately 2,000 men, raised in Australia shortly after the outbreak of World War I to seize and destroy German wireless stations in German New Guin ...

occupation of

German New Guinea German New Guinea (german: Deutsch-Neu-Guinea) consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups and was the first part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , ...

until May 1915 when she was later returned to her owners. She was awarded the battle honour Rabaul 1914.

Australian coastal service

After being returned, she was employed on cargo trades from

Whyalla, South Australia Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks 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 with Port Pirie and Port Augusta i ...

, to

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...

. She was sold in October 1917 through Scott Fell & Company, Newcastle to

BHP Shipping BHP Shipping was an Australian ship transport and shipbuilding arm of BHP. BHP Shipping traces its origins to 1915 when BHP chartered the SS ''Emerald Wings'' to transport its first load of iron ore from Whyalla to Newcastle on 19 January 1915. ...

and renamed ''Iron Monarch'', before being sold again in 1920 to Interstate Steamships Ltd. Her tasks included transporting iron ore to the steel works at

Port Kembla A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

and coal to South Australia for the use of the

Commonwealth Railway The Commonwealth Railway, Inc. is a United States Class III short-line railroad operating of track of a former Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway line from Suffolk, Virginia, to Portsmouth, Virginia. The main office is in the Wilroy area ...

. On 18 April 1921, she ran aground at

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

; she was refloated on 21 April. She ran aground on Curlew Island near the head of

Spencer's 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 and ...

on 18 February 1930, once at Port Kembla, New South Wales, and at Cape Three Point, Broken Bay on 23 October 1937. ''Iron Monarch'' was seriously damaged on the Stockton breakwater at Newcastle on 26 November 1934 requiring repairs at Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney, which cost £8,985. In 1937, Iron Monarch sank a 28ft cutter in

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a town on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. It is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, which opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. It is the largest city in the West Coast region, and is located a ...

harbour when it was drawn into her propeller. The cutter ''Sylvia'' had been returning from a picnic on nearby Grantham Island and approached the vessel while it was moving astern. She was sold later that year to Madrigal & Company, Philippines and renamed ''Paz''.

Fate

She was attacked by Japanese bombers and sunk on 26 December 1941 at

during the Second World War. The wreck was salvaged, raised by the Imperial Japanese, and renamed ''Hatsu Maru''. She served as an

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

transport. On 13 November 1944, she was sunk after being bombed by United States Navy carrier based aircraft in Manila Bay, Philippines.

Citations

References

*Wilson, Michael; Royal Australian Navy 21st Century Warships, Naval auxiliaries 1911 to 1999 including Defence Maritime Services, Profile No. 4 - Revised Edition, Topmill Pty Ltd, Marrickville. {{DEFAULTSORT:Koolonga 1913 ships Ships built on the River Wear Cargo ships of the Royal Australian Navy Maritime incidents in 1921 Maritime incidents in 1930 Maritime incidents in 1934 Maritime incidents in 1937 Scuttled vessels Ships sunk by US aircraft Maritime incidents in November 1944 Colliers of the Royal Australian Navy Iron and steel steamships of Australia Ships of BHP Shipping