SS ''Maheno'' was an

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

belonging to the

Union Company Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand Limited was once the biggest shipping line in the southern hemisphere and New Zealand's largest private-sector employer. It was incorporated by James Mills in Dunedin in 1875 with the backing of a Scot ...

of New Zealand that operated in the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...

, crossing between New Zealand and Australia, from 1905 until 1935. It was also used as a ship by the

New Zealand Naval Forces New Zealand Naval Forces was the name given to a division of the Royal Navy. The division was formed in 1913 and it operated under this name until 1921, when it became the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy. History Originally the British R ...

during World War I; as ''His Majesty's New Zealand Hospital Ship No. 1.'' It was washed ashore on

Fraser Island Fraser Island (Butchulla: ) is a World Heritage-listed island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region, Queensland, Australia. The island is approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is within the Fraser ...

by a cyclone in 1935 where the disintegrating wreck remains as a popular tourist attraction.

Construction

The 5,000-ton steel-hulled ship was built by

William Denny and Brothers William Denny and Brothers Limited, often referred to simply as Denny, was a Scottish shipbuilding company. History The shipbuilding interests of the Denny family date back to William Denny (born 1779), for whom ships are recorded being built ...

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, Scotland, and launched on 19 June 1905. At 400 feet in length and 50 feet in the beam, it was powered by three

Parsons Parsons may refer to: Places In the United States: * Parsons, Kansas, a city * Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Parsons, Tennessee, a city * Parsons, West Virginia, a town * Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...

turbines A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful Work (physics), work. The work produced by a turbine can be used ...

, giving a speed of 17.5 knots. It could carry up to 420 passengers: 240 in 1st class, 120 in 2nd and 60 in 3rd, and also had a refrigerated cargo hold. Accommodation for first class passengers included a dining room, smoking room, and music room with Bechstein grand piano. The ship was lit by electricity, and was fitted with all the latest safety equipment, which included Clayton sulphur dioxide fire extinguishers.

Service history

The ship was named after Maheno, a township in Otago. The ship entered service on 18 November 1905, and was employed on routes between Sydney and Melbourne via ports in New Zealand and

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

, Tasmania. She also made regular voyages between Sydney and

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World War I

During World War I ''Maheno'' was converted into a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. ...

using money raised by an appeal by the

Earl of Liverpool Earl of Liverpool is a title that has been created twice in British history. The first time was in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1796 for Charles Jenkinson, 1st Baron Hawkesbury, a favourite of King George III (see Jenkinson baronets for e ...

, the

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. It was fitted with eight wards and two operating theatres, and had a medical team consisting of five doctors and 61

orderlies In healthcare, an orderly (also known as a ward assistant, nurse assistant or healthcare assistant) is a hospital attendant whose job consists of assisting medical and nursing staff with various nursing and medical interventions. The highest ro ...

from the

Army Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medica ...

, a

matron Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies. Etymology The chief nurse, in other words the person ...

, thirteen

nursing sister Nursing management consists of the performance of the leadership functions of governance and decision-making within organizations employing nurses. It includes processes common to all management like planning, organizing, staffing, directing and ...

s, from the newly formed

New Zealand Army Nursing Service The New Zealand Army Nursing Service (NZANS) formally came into being in early 1915, when the Army Council in London accepted an offer of nurses to help in the war effort during the First World War from the New Zealand Government. The heavy losses ...

and

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

s. In accordance with Article 5 of the

1899 Hague Convention The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 are a series of international treaties and declarations negotiated at two international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands. Along with the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions were amon ...

it was repainted white overall, with a broad green stripe along its sides, and large red crosses on the sides and funnels. ''HMNZHS Maheno'' arrived at

Moudros Moudros ( el, Μούδρος) is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos Lemnos or Limnos ( el, Λήμνος; grc, Λῆμν ...

, the naval base of the Gallipoli Campaign, on 25 August 1915, and the next day was off ANZAC Cove, loading casualties from the Battle of Hill 60. Over the next three months, it carried casualties from Gallipoli to Malta. They were cared for by members of the

including

Evelyn Brooke Evelyn Gertrude Brown, ( Brooke; 13 September 1879 – 11 February 1962), usually known as Eva, was a New Zealand civilian and military nurse. She served during the First World War and was the only New Zealand nurse to receive the Royal Red Cros ...

. ''Maheno'' arrived back at New Zealand on 1 January 1916 to refit, then returned to Egypt in February to collect patients for transport back to New Zealand. It then sailed to the UK, arriving at Southampton on 3 July 1916, just after the start the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

. Until October 1916 it operated in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, returning large numbers of wounded and sick troops from the Western Front to England. ''Maheno'' sailed back to New Zealand in December 1916, and then made six more voyages between New Zealand and the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, bringing back patients. There were criticisms of the Maheno making several trips to New Zealand to refit or to transport wounded soldiers home when most could have gone in a troopship; and also that the ship has been run by the Governor (Liverpool) as "His Exc’s pet patriotic hobby." The Chief Medical Officer was William Collins on its first voyage and James Elliott on its second and third voyages. In 1915 Collins "raised hackles by denying nurses their officer status and deluding himself that he could command the ship’s commander, the master" (Captain McLean). In 1917 British Major Gretton was critical of the staff and said “he (Liverpool) puts his friends on the ship when they want soft jobs”. The ship’s nickname is “Liverpool’s yacht”. The complaint got as far as the Secretary of State for the Colonies; Liverpool said Gratton behaved like a cad. At the War's end in November 1918 Maheno was released from military service and returned to its business owner, whereupon resumed its commercial life.

Running aground on Fraser Island

At the end of its commercial life, on 3 July 1935 ''Maheno'' left Sydney under tow by the 1,758-ton ship ''Oonah'', a former Tasmanian Steamers Pty. Ltd.

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 ...

ferry, built in 1888, which along with the ''Maheno'' had been sold to the shipbreaker's yard ''Miyachi K.K.K.'' in

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, Japan. The ships were linked by a wire rope. On the afternoon of 7 July, about 50 miles from the coast, the towline parted in a

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...

. Attempts to re-attach the towline failed in the heavy seas, and the ''Maheno'', with a

skeleton crew A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item such as a business, organization, or ship at its most simple operating requirements. Skeleton crews are often utilized during an emergency and are meant to ...

of eight men aboard, drifted off and disappeared. The ''Oonah'', with its steering gear temporarily disabled, broadcast a radio message requesting assistance for ''Maheno'', whose propellers had been removed. ''Maheno'' was subsequently found on 10 July by an aircraft piloted by

Keith Virtue Keith Allison Virtue MBE (23 June 1909 – 7 February 1980) was a pioneer Australian aviator. Sir Lawrence Wackett, in the foreword of Keith Virtue's biography, writes that he was an experienced airman himself but he marvelled at the ability an ...

, beached off the coast of

. The crew had set up camp onshore, waiting for the ''Oonah'' to arrive, which it did on 12 July. The wreck was also the location of the marriage of Dudley Weatherley and Beatrice McLean (instead of at Townsville), at the invitation of Captain Takaka, to notes from the ship's Bechstein piano. The stranded ship was also used as a venue for an experiment in 'rocket mail' in August 1935. The ship was subsequently stripped of its fittings, but attempts to refloat her failed. The wreck was subsequently offered for sale, but no buyers could be found for it.

Wreck

''Maheno'' has remained at the location since, slowly corroding away. Due to the now dangerous condition of the ship access is prohibited. The

Australian Department of Defence Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

lists the wreck as a site of unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination. Annual

Anzac Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...

services are held at the site of the wreck and a replica of the ship's bell is located there.

References