SS Mahia
From Our Contribution
 | |
 The fire brigade poured so much water into holds to exstinuish the fire, that the ship developed a dangerous list to port. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SS Mahia |
| Owner | Shaw, Savill & Albion Line |
| Builder | Workman Clark and Company, Belfast |
| Launched | 1917 |
| In service | 1917 |
| Out of service | 1953 |
| Fate | scrapped 1953 at Faslane |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | passenger / cargo (refrigerated) |
| Tonnage | 10,835 tons |
| Propulsion | twin screw |
| Speed | 14 knots (25.93 km/h) |
Remarks
Built for Shaw, Savill & Albion Line. Sister ship to Pakeha, she was the last of the coal burning ships for the Shaw, Savill Line.
A fire and explosion occurred in the deck cargo of Sodium Chlorate on 7 Aug 1947 at Victoria Dock in Melbourne leaving 3 crew members dead. To extinguish the fire in No. 4 and No 5 holds, the Fire fighters used so much water that the ship settled on the bottom. The ship was refloated several days later after the fire was extinguished, repaired and re-entered service in 1948. 'The Age' newspaper on Friday 8 Aug 1947 reported a total of 6 deaths and 4 missing.