The ''Waitemata'' was a 5432 gross tonnage general cargo liner built in 1908 by William Hamilton and Company Limited of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

for the Union Steam Ship Company.

General details

Her yard number was 201, and she was registered at

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as number 127801. Her dimensions were length 126.49m, breadth 16.46m, depth 5.36m. She was powered by a Dunsmuir and Jackson Limited triple-expansion steam engine of 548 nhp. Her propulsion was a single screw giving her a speed of 10 knots.

Career

The ''Waitemata'' was launched on 28 February 1908 and delivered to the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand in April for their trans-Pacific cargo service. In 1909 she took 1,200 mules from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

to Fiji for the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she was used as a troop ship. Her first journey was on 18 September 1915 as HMNZT 29 with the advance party of the 1st and 2nd Battalion NZ Rifle Brigade, 2nd Maori Contingent and details of the 6th Reinforcements of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. There were a total of 630 troops under command of Major D B Mackenzie. They arrived in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

on 26 October 1915. On 12 February 1916 as HMNZT 45 she took the 3rd Battalion NZ Rifle Brigade and the Army Service Corps - Detachment No. 5 Company to Egypt under Major Jordan, arriving on 17 March 1916. This was followed on 26 July 1916 as HMNZT 59 with the 15th Reinforcements NZ Expeditionary Force, the 9th Reinforcements NZ Rifle Brigade 1st and 2nd Battalion, and the 6th Reinforcements NZ Rifle Brigade 3rd and 4th Battalions, which arrived in Egypt on 3 October 1916. There were total of 59 troops under Captain Dovey. With the withdrawal from Gallipoli and transfer of troops to the Western Front on 19 January 1917 as HMNZT 75 she took the 13th Reinforcements Maori Contingent and part of the 21st Reinforcements NZ Expeditionary Force to Plymouth England. Arriving there on 27 March 1917. The troops aboard were under command of Lieutenant E V Daldy. Her final voyage as a troop carrier from New Zealand was on 24 July 1917 under Captain Neilson, as HMNZT 89 with part of the 28th Reinforcements NZ Expeditionary Force. At

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the South African authorities condemned the ship as unfit for carrying troops. The troops were then transhipped aboard '' Omrah'' and HMT ''Norman''. The conscientious objector,

Archibald Baxter Archibald McColl Learmond Baxter (13 December 1881 – 10 August 1970) was a New Zealand socialist, pacifist and conscientious objector. Early life Baxter was born at Saddle Hill, Otago, on 13 December 1881, to John Baxter and Mary McColl. ...

along with 13 others, was shipped out of New Zealand on this voyage. The troops on this voyage were under Captain O'Shanessy. On this voyage there was also a ship board magazine published called ''Te Kiwi''. On 14 July 1918 while en route from

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with a cargo of coal and calcium-carbide she was torpedoed by the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Kaise ...

submarine SM ''UB-105'' under ''

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Wilhelm Marschall Wilhelm Marschall (30 September 1886 – 20 March 1976) was a German admiral during World War II. He was also a recipient of the ''Pour le Mérite'' which he received as commander of the German U-boat during World War I. The ''Pour le Mérite'' ...

in the Mediterranean Sea 160 km (100 miles) northeast of Marsa Susa and sunk. All aboard were rescued. Her final position was given as .

References

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Waitemata'' (ship) 1908 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Cargo ships of the United Kingdom Ships of the Union Steam Ship Company New Zealand in World War I Maritime incidents in 1918 World War I shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I