Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/265/1 - 1916 - 1938 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.
Diaries and Notebooks
Item number: 3DRL606/265/1

Title: Folder, 1916 - 1938
Covers the merchant navy includes cuttings,
lists of ships, an interview with Capt J Slim (SS
WAROLDA) and information on SS
AUSTRALBROOK (ex STRATHERK).
AWM38-3DRL606/265/1

1st SET.
MERCHANT SERVICE.
No. 265
AWM38 3DRL 606 ITEM 265[1]
DIARIES AND NOTES OF C. E. W. BEAN
CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914 - 1918

THE use of these diaries and notes is subject to conditions laid down in the terms
of gift to the Australian War Memorial. But apart from these terms, I wish the
following circumstances and considerations to be brought to the notice of every
reader and writer who may use them.
These writings represent only what at the moment of making them I believed to be
true. The diaries were jotted down almost daily with the object of recording what
was then in the writer's mind. Often he wrote them when very tired and half-asleep;
also, not infrequently what he believed to be true was not so - but it does not
follow that he always discovered this, or remembered to correct the mistakes when
discovered. Indeed, he could not always remember that he had written them.

These records should therefore, be used with great caution, as relating only what
their author, at the time of writing believed. Further, he cannot, of course vouch
for the accuracy of statements made to him by others and here recorded. But he
did try to ensure such accuracy by consulting, as far as possible, those who had
seen or otherwise taken part in the events. The constant falsity of second-hand
evidence (on which a large proportion of war stories are founded) was impressed
upon him by the second or third day of the Gallipoli campaign, notwithstanding that
those who passed on such stories usually themselves believed them to be true. All
second-hand evidence herein should be read with this in mind.
16 Sept., 1946.                   C. E. W. BEAN.
 

SM Herald
29/4/38
WHITE STAR LINE.
Commonwealth Claim of
£766,584.
CANBERRA. Thursday.
The Prime Minister, Mr. Lyons, in the
House of Representatives to-day, said that a
claim for £766,584 was being made by the
Commonwealth Government against the Liquidator
of the White Star Line, to which the
Commonwealth Line of Steamers had been
sold.
The amount the Commonwealth would receive
as a dividend depended on a claim for
a much larger sum by the Royal Mail Steam
Packet Company, which was rejected by the
liquidator.
Under a decision that there was a liability
to the Royal Mail Packet Company of
£1,802,000 against the liquidator, the Commonwealth
might, however, be in a position to
receive an additional £130,000.
 

x2
THE KAROOLA.
WELL-KNOWN COASTAL
LINER.
SALE REPORTED.
26/2/37
The sale, subject to confirmation, was reported
yesterday of the McIlwraith, McEacharn
interstate steamer, Karoola, which has
been laid up near Double Bay since being
replaced by the new motor vessel Kanimbla,
in June of last year. It is understood that
th  vessel was purchased by an oversea buyer,
and that she is not destined to be broken up.
The Karoola, a twin-screw steamer of 7391
tons, was built at Belfast in 1909, by Harland
and Wolff, Ltd., but she has been so well
cared for and so frequently overhauled and
re-conditioned during her long period of service
that she is considered to be in first-class
condition, and was classed 100AI at Lloyds
in 1936.
During the war the Karoola was used as
a hospital ship. She re-entered the Australian
trade after the war, being completely
refitted in Sydney some years later. She
has a number of fast inter-capital voyages
to her credit.

SALE OF KAROOLA
To Eastern Buyers.
1/3/37
MELBOURNE, Sunday.
The managing director of McIlwraith,
McEacharn, Ltd. (Mr. Kelso) on Saturday
confirmed the report that the interstate
steamer Karoola had been sold to Eastern
buyers. He could not disclose the actual price,
but said it was satisfactory.
The Karoola was the first ship for the Australian
coastal trade to come from the famous
shipbuilding yards of Harland and Wolff at
Belfast, where the new motor ship Kanimbla,
which replaced the Karoola, was built.
At the outbreak of the war the Karoola
was requisitioned by the British Admiralty,
and was used as a hospital ship. She brought
many sick and wounded soldiers home from
England to Australia. Including ocean
voyages and cruises, in addition to her regular
coastal runs, it is estimated that the
Karoola has travelled more than 125,000
miles.
The vessel will leave Sydney for the East
in about a month. It is not known whether
she will make the passage alone or if she
will undertake a towage task. It could not be
stated if she would be broken up or used for
trade in Eastern waters.
 

TELEPHONE Nos.
F 2597.
F 2598
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA.
TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS
"AUSWARMUSE."
COMMUNICATIONS TO BE ADDRESSED TO
"THE DIRECTOR"
IN REPLY PLEASE QUOTE
NO. .......................
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
POST OFFICE BOX 214 D.
EXHIBITION BUILDINGS, MELBOURNE.
"They gave their lives. For that public gift they
received a praise which never ages and a
tomb most glorious - not so much the tomb in
which they lie, but that in which their fame
survives, to be remembered for ever when occasion
comes for word or deed . . . . ."
27th March, 1934.
Dear Mr. Bazley.
When I was in Sydney you asked me if I could let you
know the position with regard to the award of war medals to members
of the Mercantile Marine.
Admiralty Weekly Orders No. 3973, dated 10th December,
1919, intimated that "provided the claims are approved by the
Admiralty the (British war) medal will be granted to those of the
under-mentioned classes who performed 28 days' mobilised service,
or lost their lives in active operations before completing that
period, between the 5th August, 1914, and 11th November, 1918, both
dates inclusive." The "under-mentioned classes" include "(b)
Mercantile Marine officers and men serving in His Majesty's
 Commissioned Ships and Auxiliaries under special naval engagements
(T.124 and its variants, including T.299)."
Admiralty Weekly Orders No. 3974, dated 10th December,
19919, intimated that "provided the claims are approved by the
Admiralty the (Victory) medal will be granted to the under-mentioned 
classes who were mobilised and rendered approved service
either (i) at sea between midnight 4/5th August, 1914, and midnight
11/12th November, 1918, or (ii) on the establishment of a unit
within a theatre of military operations." In this case the
"under-mentioned classes" include "(b) Mercantile Marine officers
and men serving under special naval engagements (Form T.124 and
its varients, including T.299) in H.M. Ships of War and Commissioned
Fleet Auxiliaries."
Board of Trade Circular M.5261/1919 announced the
award of a special Mercantile Marine medal to officers and men who
had six months' service at sea including one voyage through a danger zone
Copies of the above authorities can be supplied if they
would be of any use to you.
Does the above information satisfy your requirements?
If not, please let me know what further particulars are needed.
Your sincerely
[[J Treloar?]]
Mr. A. W. Bazley,
C/- Official Historian,
Victoria Barracks,
PADDINGTON, N.S.W.
 

SMHerald
4/8/31
FREIGHTER CALULU.
Sold to the East.
After a long period of idleness in Rose Bay,
the freighter Calulu, formerly a unit of the
now defunct Austral-China Navigation Co.,
Ltd., has been sold to Eastern owners. The
sale was arranged through a firm of brokers
in Shanghai, and the purchase price is reported
to have been £7000. The new owners
will take delivery next month.
The Calulu was formerly the German
steamer Osnabruck, and was built in 1907 at
Flesburg. When the Austral-China Company's

service was discontinued in 1929 she 
was laid up in Rose Bay with the Cabarita,
another vessel of the same line. The Cabarita
was sold last year to the Bank Line, Glasgow
(Andrew Weir and Company). The Calulu
is the sixth idle Australian freighter which
has been sold to the East in the last two
months.
 

SMHerald
10/3/31
THE ORVIETO.
Famous War Vessel.
TO BE BROKEN UP.
Cabled advice was received in Sydney
yesterday that the Orient Royal mail liner
Orvieto had been sold to shipbreakers. The
vessel was withdrawn from the Australian
service last year after 22 years' service.
A popular liner, the Orvieto will be remembered
mainly for her famous war career,
which commenced with the departure of the
first contingent of Australian and New Zealand
troops for the seat of war. With General
Bridges, the staff of the 1st Australian division,
the 5th Battalion under Lieutenant-
Colonel D. S. Wanliss, and the 2nd Field Company
of Engineers on board, she left Port
Melbourne on October 21, and, when the
rendezvous of Albany was reached, became
flagship of the convoy. The voyage proved
uneventful until H.M.A.S. Sydney left the
convoy to engage in the now famous battle
with the German raider Emden off Cocos
Island. The Orvieto was linked up with
that historic fight shortly afterwards, when,
at Colombo, Captain Von Muller, commander
of the Emden, Prince Franz Josef of Hohenzollern,
a doctor, an engineer-officer, and 48
members of the crew of the raider were taken
on board.
In March, 1915, numerous alterations were
made to the Orvieto, and she became a mine-
layer. Fitted to carry 600 mines on each
voyage, she laid, altogether, more than 3000
mines in various parts of the North Sea. At
times the experiences of those on board were
exciting. On one occasion the vessel, unattended,
was laying mines near Heligoland
when a searchlight from the island began to
search the ocean. Twice the beam flashed
across the mine-layer, but she remained
unperceived. When she rejoined the Grand
Fleet a special message of commendation was
helioed from the Commander- in-Chief. On
another occasion she was fortunate enough to
escape an attack by enemy aircraft.
At a later stage the Orvieto became an
armed cruiser, attached to the 10th Cruiser
Squadron, and carried the flag of the second
in command, Admiral Sir Morgan Singer. In
the course of her duty she sent 200 vessels
back into port. In 1918 she went back to her
first war-time duty as a troopship, transporting
United States troops to France.
A model of the Orvieto has been presented
to the Commonwealth by the managers of
the Orient line. It will eventually be housed
in the War Memorial Museum at Canberra.
The vessel is of 12,133 tons gross, and was
built in 1912 by Workman Clark and Co.,
Ltd., Belfast.
 

AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH LINE OF STEAMERS.
TELEPHONES: B6851
                             B6852
                             B6853
                             B6854
15 O'CONNELL STREET
SYDNEY
P.O. BOX NO. 2697
AFTER OFFICE HOURS:
WHARVES NOS. 4 & 5, WALSH BAY
B5853
CABLES          }
TELEGRAMS  } COGOLINE
CODES: BENTLEYS
IN REPLY PLEASE QUOTE
Marine Superintendent
ANY FURTHER COMMUNICATION
ON THIS SUBJECT SHOULD BE
ADDRESSED TO THE BRANCH
MANAGER
18th March, 1926
C.W.E.Bean Esq.,
Commonwealth of Australia Historian,
Victoria Barracks,
SYDNEY.
Dear Sir,
COMMONWEALTH SHIPS - NAMES OF MASTERS.
In reply to your further communication of the 5th
instant, we attach hereto the list sent by you containing the
names of all vessels owned by the Line during the war-period,
showing their respective speeds and gross tonnages.
We also forward a separate list which has been compiled
giving the names of the various Masters who held command in
those ships during the war-period. This is as complete as our
records show, and will, we trust, enable you to take up the
matter further, if so desired, with any who may be available.
The following particulars, which are extracts from an
official Admiralty publication, may be of service to you:
"AUSTRALDALE", 4379 Gross Tons, was sunk on 19th October,
1917, at a position, 165 miles, NW bN¾N from Cape
Villano, by submarine. She was attacked without warning
and sunk by torpedo, with a loss of life of 27 members
of the crew.
"AUSTRALBUSH", 4398 Gross Tons, was sunk on 13th November,
1917, at a position, 7 miles E½N from the Eddystone, by
submarine. She was attacked without warning and sunk by
torpedo - 2 lives lost.
"BARUNGA", 7484 Gross Tons, was attacked by submarine on
7th July 1918 in the English Channel - torpedo missed.
On 15th July, 1918, in a position 150 miles WbyS½S from
the Bishop Rock she was again attacked by submarine
without warning and sunk by torpedo - no lives lost.
Yours faithfully,
G. E. KNEEN,
GENERAL MANAGER.
Per. HEU.
Enc. (2).
86494
 

MARITIME  MASTERS.

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