''Pfalz'' was a 6,557-ton cargo steamer operated by
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
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 ...
Portsea Portsea may refer to:
* Portsea, Victoria, a seaside town in Australia
* Portsea Island, an island on the south coast of England contained within the city of Portsmouth
* Portsea, Portsmouth
Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural i ...
it was momentarily stopped by the SS ''Alvina'' but allowed to proceed.
Just before the ship approached Port Phillip heads, the Royal Australian Garrison Artillery stationed at
Fort Nepean
Fort Nepean is a former defensive facility occupying part of Point Nepean, Victoria, Australia. It was part of a network of fortifications, commanded from Fort Queenscliff, protecting the narrow entrance to Port Phillip. It is now part of Point ...
was informed of the declaration of war with Germany and received an order to "stop her or sink her". Signals were hoisted, commanding the ship to halt. As the warning had no effect, a shot was fired across the bow of the ship from one of the fort's 6-inch Mk VII guns. This was the first British Empire shot of the war.
The pilot convinced the ship's master that a second round would likely be directed at the ship itself, and the ship was turned around. The ship was taken back to Portsea where the crew was placed under arrest.
Australian naval service
The ship was subsequently requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy and refitted as a troopship at Williamstown. She was renamed HMT ''Boorara''. Soon after, she took part in the second Australian convoy to the Mediterranean, with subsequent duties including the transportation of Ottoman prisoners from the Dardanelles Campaign.
While serving in the Aegean Sea in July 1915, ''Boorara'' collided with the
armoured cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
and was beached at Moudros. ''Boorara'' was subsequently taken to Naples to be repaired.
In 1916, the HMT Boorara was used to transport Australian soldiers from Brisbane, Australia to Plymouth, U.K.
Later in the war, the ship was torpedoed twice in the English Channel. The first time, on 20 March 1918, she was struck near Beachy Head and was towed to Newcastle for extensive repairs. The second time she was struck near Whitby on 23 July 1918 when the ship was leaving port after being repaired. The ship was torpedoed in the exact same area as the previous damage to the ship
In 1919, The HMT ''Boorara'' was used to repatriate Australian troops. The ship caught fire at
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Antewerp.
Postwar civilian service
After the war, the ship was used by the
Commonwealth Line
The Commonwealth Line was a shipping company owned and operated by the Government of Australia, Australian federal government between 1916 and 1928. It was officially known as the Commonwealth Government Line of Steamers until 1923, and thereafter ...
for the transport of frozen cargo to the United Kingdom, using ports at Avonmouth, Liverpool and Glasgow.
In 1926, the E. Hadjilias shipping line of Athens in Greece bought her, renamed her ''Nereus'' and registered her on the Cycladean island of
Syra
Syros ( el, Σύρος ), also known as Siros or Syra, is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is south-east of Athens. The area of the island is and it has 21,507 inhabitants (2011 census).
The largest towns are Ermoupoli, An ...
Moji Moji may refer to:
* ''Onji'' or ''hyōon moji'' (表音文字), phonic characters used in counting beats in Japanese poetry
* Moji-ku, Kitakyūshū, ward (district) of the city of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
** Moji Station in that wa ...
in Japan for
Port Alberni
Port Alberni () is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. It is the location of the head offices o ...
to load a cargo of lumber for the United Kingdom under charter to the Anglo-Canadian Shipping Co. On 8 August, in heavy fog, she ran aground on rocks about south-east of Cape Beale on Vancouver Island. The salvage steamer SS ''Salvage King'' from Victoria rescued her crew. Within 48 hours of grounding, ''Nereus'' broke her back and was lost.