''Whangape'' was a

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

measured at , built in 1899 by Sir Raylton Dixon & Co., Middlesbrough. The vessel was constructed for the British Maritime Trust as ''Adriana'', sold while on the slips to Elder, Dempster & Company and renamed ''Asaba''. Her engine was built by T Richardson & Sons,

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

. "Whangape" (pronounced: fun gah' pay) is a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

word meaning "waiting for the inside of the pipi." The pipi is a bivalve mollusk native to New Zealand. ''Whangape'' was also the

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 ...

to , the munitions vessel under French registry that collided with the Norwegian vessel on 6 December 1917 in Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada resulting in the devastating Halifax Explosion. The vessel was completed on 1 March 1900 and sold to the

Union Steamship Company of New Zealand 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 ...

. After being chartered by the Royal Australian Navy, she took part in operations against the German colonies in the Pacific with the

Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) was a small volunteer force of approximately 2,000 men, raised in Australia shortly after the outbreak of World War I to seize and destroy German wireless stations in German New Guin ...

(AN&MEF) during the First World War in 1914 and subsequently returned to her owners. ''Whangape'' was sold in 1928 to Chun Young Zan (Moller & Co) and renamed SS ''Nanking''.

Fate

''Nanking'' was

scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

in China in 1935.

Footnotes

References

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External links

ees Built Ships website
1908 stern view photo in dry dock
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whangape 1899 ships Auxiliary ships of the Royal Australian Navy Ships of the Union Steam Ship Company Ships built on the River Tees