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SS Maheno Shipwrek | Fraser Island | Australia

SS Maheno Shipwrek | Fraser Island | Australia

SS Maheno was an ocean liner belonging to the Union Company of New Zealand that operated in the Tasman Sea, crossing between New Zealand and Australia, f...
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SS Maheno was an ocean liner belonging to the Union Company of New Zealand that operated in the Tasman Sea, crossing between New Zealand and Australia, from 1905 until 1935. She was also used as a hospital ship by the New Zealand Naval Forces during World War I.

On 3 July 1935 the Maheno left Sydney under tow by the 1,758 ton ship Oonah, a former Tasmanian Steamers Pty. Ltd. Bass Strait ferry, built in 1888, which along with the Maheno had been sold to an Osaka shipbreaker. The ships were linked by a 900-foot (270 m) 6.75-inch (17.1 cm) wire rope.

On the afternoon of 7 July, while about 50 miles from the coast, the towline parted during a severe cyclone. Attempts to reattach the towline failed in the heavy seas, and the Maheno, with eight men aboard, drifted off and disappeared. The Oonah, with her steering gear temporarily disabled, broadcast a radio message requesting assistance for the Maheno, whose propellers had been removed.

The ship was finally found on 10 July by an aircraft piloted by Keith Virtue, beached off the coast of Fraser Island. The crew of the Maheno set up camp onshore, waiting for the Oonah to arrive, which it eventually did on 12 July. The ship was subsequently stripped of her fittings, but attempts to refloat her failed, and eventually the wreck was offered for sale, but found no buyers.

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