HMAS ''Uralba'' was an auxiliary minefield tender and armament stores carrier operated 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 ...

(RAN) during

World War II 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 ...

. 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 The North Coast Steam Navigation Company was a shipping company that operated in Australia, formed as the Grafton Steam Navigation Company in 1855. The company was later renamed the Clarence & Richmond River Steam Navigation Company before being ...

. 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 An artificial reef is a human-created underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, to control erosion, block ship passage, block the use of trawling nets, or improve surfing. Many re ...

off Carrum Creek, in Port Phillip Bay.

Career

Her engines came from the Sydney Ferries Limited steamer, ''

Kuramia ''Kuramia'' was a " K-class" ferry on Sydney Harbour. Commissioned in 1914, the timber-hulled steamer was built for Sydney Ferries Limited during the early twentieth boom in cross-harbour ferry travel. At 353 tons, she was the largest wooden fer ...

'', made redundant by the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 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 Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

as a minefield tender for a couple of years before moving to

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range to t ...

, 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 Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. ''Uralba'' was sold in 1948 to the

State Electricity Commission of Victoria The State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV, ECV or SEC) is a government-owned electricity supplier in Victoria, Australia. It was set up in 1918, and by 1972 it was the sole agency in the state for electricity generation, transmission, ...

carrying construction materials across

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...

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 The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

seizure in 1958. Later sold to Benny Gelbart of Footscray, she sank at her moorings in the

Maribyrnong River The Maribyrnong River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the northwestern suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. Course The Maribyrnong River draws its headwaters from near ...

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.

Citations

References

* http://www.navyhistory.org.au/23-november-1942/ * http://flotilla-australia.com/ncsnc.htm 1942 ships Ships built in New South Wales Minesweepers of the Royal Australian Navy Coastal trading vessels of Australia Scuttled vessels of Australia Wooden steamships of Australia {{australia-mil-ship-stub