BURNS, PHILP
& CO. LTD
Service
Sydney-Java-Singapore
1903-1964
NB.1922 service
extended to Melbourne
1949 the
passenger service was ended
(Photos of all the ships listed
below in
B.A. Wilkinson & R.K.
Willson’s “The
Main Line Fleet of Burns
Philp”)
Airlie - scs 2338gt 1884
Sunderland
See
Eastern & Australian Line
1904 purchased
from E & A Line
http:
//www.findboatpics.com
1904-1909
Sydney-Java-Singapore
service
1909 (Nov) laid up
1910 sold in Hong Kong for
scrapping
Guthrie – scs 2338gt 1884 Sunderland See
Eastern & Australian Line
(Sister ship of Airlie)
http://www.findboatpics.com
1904 purchased
from E & A Line
1904-1912
Sydney-Java-Singapore
service
1912 (Mar) sold to
Australian-Oriental
Line
1914 sold to White
Cross S.S. Co. of
Hong Kong
1914 (Nov) wrecked
on or near the
Taku bar on her way to Tientsin
From the Old Ship Picture Galleries
Mataram - scs 3331gt 1909 Glasgow nla
watercolour by G.F.Gregory
1909
replaced
Airlie in the
nla.pic-an5944966
Sydney-Java-Singapore service
PIC R9175 LOC 6854
1921 transferred
to Papua-New Guinea sln
photo (in harbour)
services
Digital Order
1928 in Solomon
Islands service
No. a638439
1931
problems with stern tube and
beached at Maicombo Island
and had
to be towed to
Sydney
1934 withdrawn
from service
1935 sold to
Japanese shipbreakers
but resold and became Chinese Kwan
Ho
1938
became
Japanese Kowa Maru
1943 (Mar)
torpedoed and sunk
From the Old Ship Picture Galleries
Montoro – scs 4057gt
1911 Port Glasgow
sln album 2 postcards
1912
Montoro replaced Guthrie in
1 art card & 1 photo card
the Sydney-Java-Singapore service
Digital Order
1925 (Dec) returned
to Sydney No.
A638607
from her last sailing to
Singapore.
Replaced by Malabar
and
transferred to the Papua-New
Guinea service.
1939 requisitioned
by the Australian
Government.
1940-41 carried
troops and supplies
to the north and civilian evacuees
to Australia
1942-45 war
service carrying men
and supplies in support of the
campaigns to the north of Australia
1948 (Jun) de-requisitioned.
Sold to
Chinese buyers, r/n Haven
1955 scrapped
Postcard in author's collection
Marella (ex-Wahehe, Hilda
Woermann), ntl
photo postcard
- twsc 7475gt 1917 Hamburg No.
PH0340/0002
1919 passed to
U.K. as war reparations,
sln album 6 photos
and then to Australia
3 uw,
i aerial,
1920 purchased by
Burns, Philp as a 1
in harbour
replacement for Mataram
in the
Digital Order
Sydney-Java-Singapore service
No. A638394
1941 (Dec)
when
Japan attacked
Pearl Harbour, Marella
was off
Townsville north bound with
passengers for Singapore. The
passengers were disembarked at
Darwin and the ship requisitioned
to carry troops and supplies.
1942 (Feb) when
Singapore
surrendered, Marella
was carrying
troops in a convoy bound for
Singapore. The convoy was
diverted to Batavia when only
six hours away from Singapore.
After twelve chaotic days (from 8
Feb), at Tanjiong Priok
(Batavia’s
port), Marella
joined convoy SM3
which was led by the cruiser HMS
Exeter (lost six
days later in the
Java Sea battle) which exited the
Sunda Straits on 20 Feb. From
where she proceeded independently
to Fremantle where she arrived
with the survivors of two sunken
ships, troops still onboard and
some hundreds of
evacuees.
1946 returned to
Burns, Philp and
to the Singapore run with Mangola
and Burnside
– both of which
carried cargo but not passengers
1948 sold in
Singapore r/n Captain
Marcos under Panamanian
registry.
Burns, Philp decided not to replace
her on the Singapore run
1950 resold to
Greek buyers r/n
Liguria under
Panamanian registry.
Made
several voyages carrying
Catholic pilgrims from New York
to Europe for the 1950 Holy Year
celebrations.
1950 (Nov) sailed
from Bremerhaven
with 950 emigrants for Australia.
Off the coast of Western Australia
she had mechanical problems
and
called for assistance. She
was
towed into Fremantle on17 Feb
by the British freighter Chandrapara.
After repairs, there was a
dispute
over payment and litigation. In
Aug,
the vessel was able to leave and
returned to Italy where she was
renamed Corsica.
1952 (Aug) laid up
in Casablanca
1954 (Oct)
scrapped
Postcard in
author's collection
Mangola (ex-Eudunda)
sln
album 3 photos
- scs 3352gt 1921 Sydney (Built
1 am, 2 aq
by the Government under a Digital
Order
wartime program and laid up No.
Album ID: 824446
after completion because of a slq
photo am
slump in world shipping) Image
No. 178379
1925 chartered by
Burns, Philp
for the Singapore service
1926 purchased by
Burns, Philp
and used mainly as a cargo ship
in the Singapore trade
1942 (Feb) in
the same convoy
(MS3) bound for Singapore but
diverted to Batavia as Marella
with a cargo flour. In the
course
of the diversion she was in a
collision with another ship which
damaged her steering gear but she
reached Batavia on 8 Feb.
There
was delay in obtaining water
supplies and one convoy was
missed. The ship was directed join
another convoy (SJ6) on 21 Feb
but there was no convoy in sight
when the Mangola reached the
rendezvous. The
captain decided
to proceed alone and the ship
reached Fremantle
on 2 Mar.
After repairs to hr steering gear
she sailed for and reached Sydney
on 2 April still with her cargo of
flour.
1943 (Dec) in a voyage from
Darwin
the ship was caught in a cyclone
off Charlotte Bay, North
Queensland,
and was blown on to Corbett Reef
and left high and dry at low
tide.
The
ship was salvaged by blasting a
channel in the reef to deep water
and
lightening the ship.
A spare propeller,
tail shaft, derrick and guns were
dumped overboard (and retrieved
| after
the War). The ship
was refloated
with the aid of tugs.
There was no dry
dock when she reached Sydney
and
arrangements to repair her in New
Zealand were scuppered by the
threat
of industrial action.
1944 (Sep) returned to
voyages to
Darwin, Thursday Island and the
RAAF
base at Melville Bay.
1948 returned to the
Singapore
cargo
trade with Burnside
1957 sold r/n Torres
Breeze
1958 sold to
Taiwan buyers
r/n Foochow
1964 scrapped
Postcard in author's collection
Malabar - scm 4512gt Glasgow
1925
slv photo uw
(Burns, Philp's first motor vessel) Image
No. Gr001005
1926 (Jan) first
voyage from Sydney
Ashore on the rocks
to Java and Singapore
Image No. A09725
1931 went ashore
in a fog and was sln
album 17 postcards
wrecked at Miranda Point, Long Bay, 2
aq, 1 uw, others on
close to Sydney on a voyage from rocks
at Long Bay
Melbourne. (The Sydney suburb Digital
Order No.
where the wreck occurred was Album
ID 824438
renamed 'Malabar'.)
Postcard in author's collection
Neptuna (ex-Neptun, Rio Panuca)
- twscm 5944gt 1924 Keil – and
her sister:
Postcard in author's collection
Merkur (ex-Rio Bravo) - twscm 5952gt
1924 Keil
Both ships were built for the
Flensburg
S.S. Co.'s South American passenger
service
1931 the two ships
were laid up because
of the depression
1934 the two
ships were purchased by
Nord Deutscher Lloyd (NDL) to
expand
their services between Australia,
New
Guinea and Hong Kong. The Neptun
arrived in Sydney in Dec 1934 and
departed for Hong Kong with cargo
and
a full complement of passengers.
The
NDL service was resented in the shipping
trade, and in particular by Burn,
Philp.
NDL agreed after government
intervention
to
end their
service. The Australian
Government provided an
interest free
loan for Burns, Philp to
purchase both
ships.
1935
Burns Philp purchased the two
ships - the Neptun while
returning to
Sydney
from
Melbourne after her first
return journey
from Hong Kong, and
the Merkur while on her way
to Sydney
from Europe.
(a) Neptuna
The Neptun
was kept on the same route slv
photo uw
as the NDL service to Hong
Kong with Image
No. gr001013
Saigon added to the return journey.
She
remained on this route until
Japan
entered the war.
1935 (Mar)
while the ship was
between Hong Kong and Sydney,
Burns, Philp announced that
the
Neptun
had been renamed Neptuna.
1941 (Dec) while
not requisitioned
was engaged, with other
vessels, in
the evacuation of women and
children from Rabaul and New
Guinea.
1942 (Feb) the
Neptuna, with other
vessels had been sent to
Darwin with
military supplies and was
alongside
a wharf when the Japanese air
attack
on Darwin took place on 19
Feb. She
suffered several bomb hits
and was
on fire. The fire reached
the cargo
of explosives which exploded
shattering
the ship. Forty-five lives
were lost in
this disaster.
(b) Merkur
slv photo uw
1934 (Feb) arrived in Sydney and (in
harbour)
a refrigeration plant was
installed
Image
No.
gr001016
(Jun) she
began her first sailing in awm
aerial photo am
the service to Java-Singapore and
(at Townsville as
joined Marella on this
route a store
issuing ship
1941
(Dec)
commissioned in the in
June 1943)
Royal Australian Navy and
was ID
No. 301049
fitted out as a
"victualling storage
stores issuing
supply ship"
She
supplied stores to
Australian and
allied naval
vessels across the
Pacific theatre from New
Guinea
to the Philippines.
1945
at the end of the war Merkur
carried relief supplies to
Borneo
1946-1948
carried supplies from
Australia to Kure,
Japan for the
occupation troops
1949 (Sep)
handed back to
Burns, Philp after an
extensive refit
and returned to the
Singapore service.
In this service for three
years with
Burnside and Braeside.
1953
scrapped
www.greatsoutherncards.com.au
Burnside - scs
5659gt Glasgow 1940
Ordered by Burns, Philp but
taken
on completion under charter
by the
U.K. Ministry of
War Transport.
She
spent the
war years under the
management of the
Britsh India
S.N. Co. in
the Persian Gulf and
Indian
Ocean area.
1946
the wartime charter ended
(Nov)
First voyage for Burns, Philp
on the
Singapore route.
1946-1964
Singapore route with calls
at Indonesian and
Malaysian ports .
1964
(Feb) sold to Singapore buyers
1966
scrapped
Photo
in author's collection
Braeside - scm
5867gt 1949 Glasgow
1949 (Nov)
first voyage to Indonesian
and Malaysian
ports. The vessel was
in the
Singapore-Malaysia-Indonesia
trade for
fourteen years.
1964
(Jan) Burns, Philp stopped calls
at Indonesian
ports because of the
problems caused
by Indonesia's
Confrontation
policy towards
Malaysia and
Singapore
1965
transferred to the Melbourne-
New Guinea route
1970
sold to a Panamanian subsidiary
of a Philippines
company r/n Sula
1972
after grounding at Bassein in
Burma the vessel
was refloated and
taken to Rangoon
and left there
1974 sold
to a Liberian company,
and resold to
Taiwan ship breakers.
The vessel was
towed to Taiwan
for scrapping.
Sources:
1. B.A. Wilkinson
& R.K. Willson's
"The Main Line Fleet of Burns Philp"
(The Nautical Association of Australia Inc., Canberra, 1981
2. Ronald
Parsons' "The Ships of Burns,
Philp & Company"
(Ronald Parsons, Murray
Bridge, South Australia, 1978, revised 1992)
3. Peter Plowman's
"Passenger Ships of Australia and New Zealand",
Vol. I 1876-1912 & Vol. II
1913-1980
(Doubleday Australia,
Sydney 1981)
4. The
website of the Australian Merchant Navy Community. The section
dealing with the ships of Burns, Philp.
(http://
www.merchant-navy-ships.com)
5. The
Old Ship Picture Galleries
http://www.photoship.co.uk