Westralia
Ship Number
843
Vessel Type
Refrigerated Cargo Ship
Built
Govan Yard
Slip Number
3
Launch Date
April 25, 1929
Delivered
August 15, 1929
Owner
Huddart Parker
Weight
8107 grt
BP Length
430 feet
Breadth
60 feet
No. of Screws
Twin
Speed (approx)
15.25 knots
Propulsion
Single Acting (S.A.) Diesel Engine 8 cylinder
Official No.
153935
Registered
Melbourne
Fate
-
Westralia

[Harland and Wolff Collection]
One funnel, two masts, twin screw motor ship, speed 16 knots, accommodation for 360-1st and 90-3rd class passengers. Originally operating as a refrigerated cargo ship on the Australia - New Zealand service, she was later employed in the Australian coastal passenger trade.
 
At the outbreak of the Second World War she was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy and commissioned H.M.A.S. Westralia in January 1946, serving the Royal Australian Navy as an armed merchant cruiser from 1939 until 1946. She was  later converted to an Infantry Landing Ship
 
H.M.A.S. Westralia chiefly carried out convoy escort duty around Australia and New Zealand. She transported troops to Timor and New Guinea and carried out shipping patrols around Ocean Island and Nauru. She landed a garrison and engineers in the New Hebrides to develop a base for operations against the Japanese in the Solomons in May 1942. In 1944 she took part in landings around New Guinea the Dutch East Indies, and at Leyte. In 1945 she was at the Lingayen Gulf landings in the Philippines, at Balikpapan, and Borneo.
 
On 8 January 1945, Westralia was near-missed and showered with splinters from one of the two kamikazes which hit H.M.A.S. Australia.
 
After the end of the war in Asia, Westralia repatriated troops and supplied the occupation forces in Japan.
 
She was paid off in September 1946.