SS ''New Australia'' was a UK-built

turbo-electric A turbo-electric transmission uses electric generators to convert the mechanical energy of a turbine (steam or gas) into electric energy, which then powers electric motors and converts back into mechanical energy that power the driveshafts. Tu ...

passenger steamship that had a varied career from 1931 to 1966. She was built as the

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 ...

''Monarch of Bermuda'', was a

troop ship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

in 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 ...

and was damaged by fire in 1947. She was then refitted to carry emigrants to Australia and renamed ''New Australia''. In 1958 she was refitted again, renamed ''Arkadia'' and served as both a transatlantic liner and a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

History

Building

Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

built ''Monarch of Bermuda'' at its shipyard in

Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne Walker is a residential suburb and electoral ward in the south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. History The place-name 'Walker' is first attested in 1242, where it appears as ''Waucre''. This means 'wall-carr', that is to say, 'the marsh b ...

for Furness, Withy & Co Ltd. She was launched on 17 March 1931 and completed that November. She had a beam of and draught of , and as built her length was . The ship had eight

Babcock & Wilcox Babcock & Wilcox is an American renewable, environmental and thermal energy technologies and service provider that is active and has operations in many international markets across the globe with its headquarters in Akron, Ohio, USA. Historicall ...

water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...

s with a combined heating surface of . The boilers supplied steam at 400 lb_f/in² to two steam turbines. The turbines drove alternators that powered electric motors to drive her four screws, giving her a speed of . GEC built her alternators and motors. As built, ''Monarch of Bermuda'' was assessed as and . She had luxury berths for 830 passengers and capacity for refrigerated cargo.

Furness, Withy service

Furness, Withy had ''Monarch of Bermuda'' built for its

Furness Bermuda Line Furness Bermuda Line was a United Kingdom, UK shipping line that operated in the 20th century. It was part of Furness Withy, Furness, Withy and ran passenger liners between Port of New York and New Jersey, New York and the British Overseas Territo ...

subsidiary. She operated a liner service between

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Hamilton, Bermuda The City of Hamilton, in Pembroke Parish, is the territorial capital of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is the territory's financial centre and a major port and tourist destination. Its population of 854 (2016) is one of the sm ...

, following the loss of MV Bermuda (which was heavily damaged by fire at Hamilton on 17 June 1931, returned to the builders in Belfast for repairs but burned again, then was wrecked in Scotland while under tow to be scrapped). In 1933 Vickers-Armstrongs completed a

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

, the , which joined ''Monarch of Bermuda'' on the route. In the early hours of 8 September 1934

Ward Line The New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company, commonly called the Ward Line, was a shipping company that operated from 1841 until liquidated in 1954. The line operated out of New York City's Piers 15, 16, and 17—land which later became the site ...

's liner caught fire eight miles off the coast of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. ''Monarch of Bermuda'' was one of several ships that diverted to help. The fire had spread so swiftly that many of ''Morro Castle''s passengers were unable to reach her lifeboats. Some leapt into the sea, and ''Monarch of Bermuda'' managed to rescue some of them. In the

''Monarch of Bermuda'' served as a troop ship.

Rebuilding and Shaw, Savill service

After the war Palmers' shipyard in

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It governed under the borough of South Tyneside; formerly governed under the county of Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south ...

started refitting ''Monarch of Bermuda'' for her return to civilian service, but on 24 May 1947 she was gutted by fire. She was sold for scrap, but the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government age ...

bought her and contracted JI Thornycroft & Co to refit her with economy accommodation for 1,600 passengers. The ship originally had three funnels. Thornycroft rebuilt her with a single funnel, plus an unusual bipod structure aft of her bridge that served as both a funnel and a mainmast. The MoT renamed her ''New Australia'', contracted

Shaw, Savill & Albion Line Shaw, Savill & Albion Line was the trading name of Shaw, Savill and Albion Steamship Company, a British shipping company that operated ships between Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. History The company was created in 1882 by the ama ...

to manage her and put her into service carrying UK emigrants to Australia. She plied this trade from 1950 until 1957. In September 1958 ''New Australia'' was serving as a troop ship again when she suffered slight damage in a collision with a tanker in the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

Refitting and Greek Line service

In 1958 the MoT sold the ship to Ornos Shipping Co Ltd of London, who sold her on to the Arcadia Steamship Corporation. This was part of

Greek Line The Greek Line, formally known as the General Steam Navigation Company of Greece, was a passenger ship line that operated from 1939 to 1975. The Greek Line was owned by the Ormos Shipping Company. The Greek Line was founded in 1939 with the acqui ...

, who had

Blohm & Voss Blohm+Voss (B+V), also written historically as Blohm & Voss, Blohm und Voß etc., is a German shipbuilding and engineering company. Founded in Hamburg in 1877 to specialise in steel-hulled ships, its most famous product was the World War II battle ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

repair and refit her. Her foremast was replaced with two king-posts. Her forepeak had been damaged in the collision, so it was remodelled to give her a curved stem. This increased her length to . She was now . Greek Line renamed the ship ''Arkadia'' and used her on both the transatlantic liner trade to Canada and cruises for most of the 1960s. ''Arkadia''s final voyage was to

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

in Spain, where she arrived on 18 December 1966 to be scrapped.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:New Australia, SS 1931 ships Cruise ships of Greece Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Ship fires Ships built on the River Tyne Ships built by Vickers Armstrong Steamships of Greece Steamships of the United Kingdom Troop ships of the United Kingdom