SS ''Orcades'' 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 ...

serving primarily the UK – Australia – New Zealand route. She started service as a British

Royal Mail Ship Royal Mail Ship (sometimes Steam-ship or Steamer), usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail. The designation dates back to 1840. Any vessel de ...

(RMS) carrying first and tourist class passengers. ''Orcades'' carried many migrants to Australia and New ZealandPost World War II Migrant Ships: Orcades
Museums Victoria and was later used as 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 ...

, and is featured in the British Pathe films "I am a passenger" on YouTube. She also made several voyages from Canada (Vancouver). "Orcades" is the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

name for the

Orkney Islands Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

. Built at the

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

yard of

Vickers-Armstrong 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 ...

, ''Orcades'' (yard no. 950) had an identical hull and machinery to P&O's (yard no. 951), but differed in superstructure and interior layout. The vessel's near-

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 ...

s were and In 1952 ''Orcades'' was fitted with a 'top hat' funnel extension to clear smoke from the after decks. On 7 May 1952, she ran aground in

Port Philip Bay Port Phillip ( Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is comp ...

half a mile off Rosebud Pier,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. She was refloated and returned to service. During the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

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 ...

, Australia, ''Orcades'' served as an

accommodation ship A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sai ...

. ''Orcades'' was refitted in 1959 and 1964. In the 1964 refit, ''Orcades'' became a single-class vessel and her hull colour changed from "Orient corn" to white.

Gallery

File:Orcades c.1950.jpg, Orcades c.1950 from a promotional postcard File:SS Orcades (1948) taken in 1959 in yellow livery.jpg, Orcades 1959 in yellow livery File:SS Orcades (1948)- Port Said 1957.png, Orcades at Port Said 1957

Footnotes

External links

Museum Victoria

British Pathe films "I am a passenger"
on YouTube 1947 ships Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness Cruise ships Ships of the Orient Line Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1952 {{cruise-ship-stub

Gallery

Footnotes

Further reading

External links