MV ''Koolinda'' was an Australian general cargo and passenger ship which operated as a coastal steamer off Western Australia from 1930 to 1959.

General description

''Koolinda'' was built in 1926 by Harland and Wolff of Glasgow, Scotland for the State Shipping Service, and was registered at

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

. Her official tonnage was , she was 344 feet long, with a beam of 50 feet, and had diesel engines driving two

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

s. ''Koolinda'' was used mostly for passenger and general freight transport on coastal routes in Western Australian waters. In May 1932, ''Koolinda'' famously narrowly missed seeing two German aviators lost on the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

coastline. The men were eventually found close to death. In the aftermath of the battle between HMAS ''Sydney'' and German auxiliary cruiser ''Kormoran'' in November 1941, the ''Koolinda'' recovered German sailors from a 31-man lifeboat and returned them to Carnarvon. ''Koolinda'' is sometimes confused with another State Ships vessel of a similar design, ''

Koolama MV ''Koolama'' was an Australian merchant vessel that sank as a result of several attacks by Japanese aircraft in February–March 1942. It was also the centre of the Koolama Incident, an alleged mutiny resulting from these attacks. General de ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koolinda 1929 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Economic history of Western Australia World War II merchant ships of Australia Maritime history of Australia Kimberley (Western Australia)