 Zealandia off Port Davey, Tasmania in 1933 (Photograph by Henry Allport) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
| Name | Zealandia |
| Namesake | New Zealand |
| Owner | Huddart Parker |
| Port of registry | Melbourne |
| Builder | John Brown & Company,Clydebank |
| Yard number | 392 |
| Launched | 20 November 1909 |
| Completed | May 1910 |
| In service | 1910 |
| Out of service | 1942 |
| Identification |
|
| Nickname(s) | "Z" or "Zed" |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 410.3 feet (125.1 m)p/p |
| Beam | 54.7 feet (16.7 m) |
| Draught | 24 feet 2 inches (7.4 m) |
| Depth | 23.4 feet (7.1 m) |
| Installed power | 1,157NHP |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Troops | 800 troops and 1,800 tons of supplies (typical, as troopship) |
| Crew | 144 |
SSZealandia, nicknamed "Z" (or "Zed"), was an Australiancargo and passenger steamship. She served as atroopship in bothWorld War I andWorld War II.Zealandia transported theAustralian 8th Division. Her crew were the lastAllied personnel to seeHMAS Sydney, which was lost with all hands in 1941.Zealandia was sunk in theair raids on Darwin of 19 February 1942.
John Brown & Company ofClydebank, Scotland, builtZealandia forHuddart Parker & Co ofMelbourne, launching her on 20 November 1909 and completing her in May 1910. She had 21 corrugated furnaces with a total grate area of 433 square feet (40 m2) heating seven single-ended boilers with a total heating surface of 17,775 square feet (1,651 m2). They supplied steam at 215lbf/in2 to two four-cylinderquadruple expansion engines, each of which drove one of her twinscrews.[1]
In 1910–13, she was chartered by theUnion Steam Ship Company of New Zealand mainly for use on thetrans-Tasman route, but also undertaking voyages to ports as distant asFremantle andVancouver. Huddart Parker then usedZealandia on the Melbourne–Fremantle route.
In May 1918,Zealandia was requisitioned as anAllied troopship. She was among the ships used to transport theAmerican Expeditionary Force from the east coast of the United States to France. After thearmistice, she carried troops on theLiverpool–Sydney route. In 1919, she resumed her commercial role with Huddart Parker.
On 29 June 1940,Zealandia embarked part of the 8th Division, the 2/21st Battalion, later known asGull Force, at Sydney and took it and other units to Darwin.
Zealandia transported another part of the 8th Division,Lark Force (otherwise known as the 2/22nd Battalion), toRabaul, leaving Sydney on 19 April 1941. Following that voyage,Zealandia went toNoumea,New Caledonia and transportedFree French troops to Sydney.
In mid-1941, Zealandia took the main body of the 8th Division, their stores, and equipment to Singapore, where the main body of the 8th wassurrendered to Japanese forces in February 1942.
After several other war-related voyages, in November 1941Zealandia visited several Australian portsen route to Singapore. They left Melbourne on 2 November.[2] Alabour dispute involving some crew members caused her and HMASSydney to be delayed in leaving Fremantle, whenceSydney escortedZealandia toSunda Strait.Zealandia's crew were the last Allied personnel known to have seenSydney, which was sunk by theGerman auxiliary cruiser Kormoran and lost with all hands when sheattempted to stop theKormoran.
Zealandia also took another 8th Division detachment,Sparrow Force, toTimor, departing Darwin with 957 troops the morning of 10 December 1941 escorted byHMAS Westralia with another 445 troops that reachedKoepang on 12 December. On 20 December, the ship departed Darwin with 207 women and 357 children as the first of several ships to evacuate civilians from Darwin to southern Australia.[3]
In Sydney, the ship was fitted with material to protect her oil tanks in the event of an attack. On 23 January, she left Sydney, transporting ananti-tankcompany and its equipment to Darwin, where it arrived on 6 February.
In the air raids of 19 February 1942, a number of bombs fell close toZealandia, then one fell through a hatch and exploded in a hold, causing a serious fire. Japanese planes also attackedZealandia with cannon and machine-gun fire. Ammunition in one hold started to explode and the ship's fire pumps were disabled by another bomb. The order was given to abandon ship.
Zealandia sank, leaving only her masts clear of the water. Two crew members died from wounds sustained in the attack. 142 crew members survived.
The ship was salvaged in 1960 during theFujita salvage operation. What remains ofZealandia lies in Darwin Harbour at position12°29.00′S130°51.05′E / 12.48333°S 130.85083°E /-12.48333; 130.85083 at a depth of 19 metres (62 ft),[4][5] and is arecreational dive site.
