The State Shipping Service of Western Australia was a

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

transport entity formed in 1912,State Shipping Service: 50th anniversary. Fremantle, W.A.: The Service,

962 Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...

Information on the Service's 50th anniversary. in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, primarily to service the ports of

North West Australia The North West, North West Coast, North Western Australia and North West Australia, are usually informal names for the northern regions of the State of Western Australia. However, some conceptions of "North West Australia" have included adjoi ...

. Originally named the State Steamship Service, it was renamed as the State Shipping Service in 1919, and again in 1979 as Stateships.

History

On 4 May 1912, the State Steamships Service was formed by the Scaddan government in response to requests for improved services along the

n coast after the

Adelaide Steamship Company The Adelaide Steamship Company was an Australian shipping company and later a diversified industrial and logistics conglomerate. It was formed by a group of South Australian businessmen in 1875. Their aim was to control the transport of goods b ...

withdrew its services. It was controlled by the Fremantle Harbour Trust between 1913 and 1918. In January 1919 it was renamed the State Shipping Service (SSS). In November 1965, the SSS came under the responsibility of the newly formed Western Australian Coastal Shipping Commission. In January 1979 the service was rebranded Stateships. In June 1995 the government announced that Stateships would cease operations, with the remaining three vessels sold.Three former Stateships sold
Minister for Transport 18 July 1995 The government provided a subsidy to a privately operated service from

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

Port Hedland A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

, Broome and Wyndham until it ceased in 2013. The Western Australian Coastal Shipping Commission, administered by the

Department of Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

, continues to deal with ongoing former employee compensation claims.

Operations

The service originally provided transport for passengers, goods and

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

, with passenger services ceasing in 1973.Remembering the state ship lifeline to the North West
''

ABC Kimberley ABC Kimberley is an ABC Local Radio station based in Broome, Western Australia, owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Its callsign is 6BE and it transmits on AM. History Before 1986, the ABC did not have any presence in the north ...

'' 19 February 2014 Having previously operated exclusively between Western Australian and

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

ports, in 1964 the SSS began operating an irregular service that circumnavigated Australia in a clockwise direction in six weeks. The first voyage left Fremantle on 11 March 1964, calling at Darwin,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

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 ...

. This service ceased in July 1969 with ''Kangaroo'', ''Koojara'' and ''Koolama II'' having collectively operated 18 voyages.

Ships

A collection in the

Battye Library The J S Battye Library (more properly known as the J. S. Battye Library of West Australian History) is an arm of the State Library of Western Australia. It stores much of the state's historical records and original publications including books, ...

has a set of photographs of the ships that were used by the service.Western Australian Stateships icture: 1912-1987, pictorial record of all the ships in Stateships service since 1912. Leederville, W.A. : Australian Souvenirs Pty Ltd, 1987. 3rd Floor Pictorial. BA1009 Vol. 367 The ships used by the service included:

Notes

{{reflist, 30em Transport in Western Australia Australian companies established in 1912 Defunct shipping companies of Australia Companies based in Perth, Western Australia Transport companies established in 1912 Australian companies disestablished in 1995