The TSS ''Maunganui'' (later S/S ''Cyrenia'') was a passenger vessel built by

Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a Scottish shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy ...

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

for 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 ...

and launched on 24 August 1911.

Career

Launched in 1911 to carry the Royal Mail and served on the San Francisco and Sydney runs. She was employed as a troopship 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 ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. She was sold to Cia Naviera del Atlantica,

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...

in 1948 and renamed ''Cyrenia''. She was sold in 1949 to Hellenic Mediterranean Lines and undertook service from

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

and Piraeus to Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney, carrying Greek, Italian and Jewish refugees and migrants.

Fate

On 1 November 1956 she left Melbourne for the last time, arriving in Savona, Italy, on 6 February 1957 for ship breaking.

Cultural legacy

In Greece the S/S ''Cyrenia ''is prominent due to

Nikos Kavvadias Nikos Kavvadias ( el, Νίκος Καββαδίας; 11 January 1910 in Nikolsk-Ussuriysky – 10 February 1975 in Athens) was a Greek poet, writer and a sailor by profession. He used his travels around the world, the life at sea and its adventures ...

' poem "The Seven Dwarves on the S/S Cyrenia () and

Thanos Mikroutsikos Athanasios "Thanos" Mikroutsikos ( el, Αθανάσιος (Θάνος) Μικρούτσικος; 13 April 1947 – 28 December 2019) was a Greek composer and politician. He is considered one of the most important composers of the recent Greek mu ...

' song mentioning the ship.Θάνος Μικρούτσικος
Οι Εφτά Νάνοι στο S/S CYRENIA
/ref> Kavvadias was the ship's radio operator.

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maunganui, TSS 1911 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Troop ships Passenger ships of New Zealand World War I auxiliary ships of New Zealand World War II auxiliary ships of New Zealand