HMAT A15 Port Sydney

HMAT A15 Port Sydney

History
Name	HMAT A15 Port Sydney (Star of England)
Owner	Commonwealth & Dominion Line Ltd, London
Builder	Workman Clark, Belfast
Launched	1914
Completed	1914
In service	1914
Out of service	19 Dec 1948
Fate	scraped
General characteristics
Type	Passenger / refrigerated cargo (twin screw)
Tonnage	9,136 tons
Length	503.3 ft (152.7m)
Beam	63.3 ft (19.3m)
Speed	13 knots (24.1 kph)
Capacity	crw plus 524 troops and 511 horses

Remarks

Built for the Commonwealth and Dominion Line Ltd, London (Port Line) as the SS Star of England. Requisitioned by the Commonwealth in 1914, and converted to a troopship HMAT A15 Star of England at Cockatoo Island Dockyard between 29 Aug 1914 and 12 Sep 1914 to carry 524 troops and 511 horses. A part of the first convoy from Albany, she made eight voyages from Australia. Renamed SS Port Sydney in 1916. The last voyage left Sydney 17 Aug 1917.

Resumed private ownership on 22 Nov 1917, although she obviously carried men home under contract until late 1919. During WW2 she was under British government control as a meat cargo ship operating between the River Plate in Argentina and the UK. Scrapped in 1948.

Soldiers carried

Melbourne to Alexandria 14 April - ? May 1915

• Arthur Thomas Orton MM

Sydney to England 4 September 1916 - 29 Oct 1916

Embarked in Melbourne on 7 September

• † Mark D'Esterre Brady
• George Turner

Sydney to Port Suez 9 May - 20 June 1917

• Frederick Charles Close
• Leslie St Clair Ward

Fremantle to Sydney 15 - 23 August 1917

• James Henry Larkin

Sydney to Suez 5 November - 12 December 1917

Embarked in Melbourne on 9 November

• Alfred Haddy Pearse
• William John Thompson

Port Suez to Fremantle 4 - 31 March 1919

• Alfred George Allanson

England to Fremantle 22 September - 4 November 1919

• William Henry Baldwin
• George Emanuel Harber
• Albert Hughes Michel
• Frank Sugden

Other Voyages

• 17 August 1918 from Sydney