URALBA

Location

Off Carrum, Port Phillip Bay

VHR Number

S688

Date lost

05/11/1971

Year of construction

1942

Official number

174694

Statement of Significance

Physical Description

Construction Material Wood

Rig Hulk

Hull Details One deck; straight stem, counter stern; carvel built; bulkheads; wooden frame Turpentine construction, hold capacity 18,340 cubic feet, hold length 76 ft, hatch dimensions 40ft X 60ft. Water tanks 2 X 10 tons boiler feed tanks, 4 X 8.5 tons and 1 X 11.

Propulsion Steam - Unknown

Number of Masts 2

Length / Breadth / Depth 154.5 Feet / 37.0 Feet / 9.3 Feet

History

Builder Ernest Wright

Built Date 1942

Built Port / Country Tuncurry, New South Wales / Australia

Registration Number 9 of 1942

Registration Port / Country Sydney / Australia

Details
The Uralba was the last vessel built for the North Coast Steam Navigation Co.,and fitted with second-hand machinery. It was also the last wooden coal burner built in Australia. Scuttled, with an old pleasure boat (condemned by Marine Board), by the Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands as part of their artificial reef program. This program resulted in a number of reefs being established in Port Phillip Bay and Western Port, including the George Kermode off Phillip Island. The Uralba had been a wartime boom defence vessel, and served in Milne Bay, New Guinea. Purchased by State Electricity Commission of Victoria in 1946, running concrete cargoes between Tasmania and the mainland. Two ownership changes followed. Then Benny Gelbart of Footscray bought the vessel for conversion to a Northern Territory cattle boat but it sank when moored in Yarra -caulking had deteriorated. It was salvaged, re-caulked, and towed to a mooring adjacent to the Charles Grimes Bridge. Eleven of its natural knees were used in the reconstruction of the Golden Plover, now in Queensland. The Uralba remained there until, filled with ballast, it was towed by the Ports and Harbors tug Fury to reef-site and blown with 20 sticks of gelignite by 'Buck' Taylor - debris went everywhere. Sydney registry closed 8 Dec. 1958 - no longer required.

Voyage Details

Date Lost 05/11/1971

Voyage from Towed to Carrum for sinking as artificial reef.

Cargo
Not applicable

Owner Fisheries and Wildlife Division, Victorian Government

Cause of Loss
Hulked and scuttled as artificial reef

Further Details

Number of Passengers 0

Number of Crew Members 0

Physical Description
Construction Material	Wood
Rig	Hulk
Hull Details	One deck; straight stem, counter stern; carvel built; bulkheads; wooden frame Turpentine construction, hold capacity 18,340 cubic feet, hold length 76 ft, hatch dimensions 40ft X 60ft. Water tanks 2 X 10 tons boiler feed tanks, 4 X 8.5 tons and 1 X 11.
Propulsion	Steam - Unknown
Number of Masts	2
Length / Breadth / Depth	154.5 Feet / 37.0 Feet / 9.3 Feet

Builder	Ernest Wright
Built Date	1942
Built Port / Country	Tuncurry, New South Wales / Australia
Registration Number	9 of 1942
Registration Port / Country	Sydney / Australia
Details	The Uralba was the last vessel built for the North Coast Steam Navigation Co.,and fitted with second-hand machinery. It was also the last wooden coal burner built in Australia. Scuttled, with an old pleasure boat (condemned by Marine Board), by the Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands as part of their artificial reef program. This program resulted in a number of reefs being established in Port Phillip Bay and Western Port, including the George Kermode off Phillip Island. The Uralba had been a wartime boom defence vessel, and served in Milne Bay, New Guinea. Purchased by State Electricity Commission of Victoria in 1946, running concrete cargoes between Tasmania and the mainland. Two ownership changes followed. Then Benny Gelbart of Footscray bought the vessel for conversion to a Northern Territory cattle boat but it sank when moored in Yarra -caulking had deteriorated. It was salvaged, re-caulked, and towed to a mooring adjacent to the Charles Grimes Bridge. Eleven of its natural knees were used in the reconstruction of the Golden Plover, now in Queensland. The Uralba remained there until, filled with ballast, it was towed by the Ports and Harbors tug Fury to reef-site and blown with 20 sticks of gelignite by 'Buck' Taylor - debris went everywhere. Sydney registry closed 8 Dec. 1958 - no longer required.


Date Lost	05/11/1971
Voyage	from Towed to Carrum for sinking as artificial reef.
Cargo	Not applicable
Owner	Fisheries and Wildlife Division, Victorian Government
Cause of Loss	Hulked and scuttled as artificial reef

Number of Passengers	0
Number of Crew Members	0

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