Kuramia
Passenger steam ship / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kuramia was a "K-class" ferry on Sydney Harbour. Commissioned in 1914, the timber-hulled steamer was built for Sydney Ferries Limited during the early twentieth boom in cross-harbour ferry travel. At 353 tons, she was the largest wooden ferry on Sydney Harbour.[5]
Kuramia near Milsons Point | |
History | |
---|---|
Australia | |
Name | Kuramia |
Owner | Sydney Ferries Limited |
Builder | David Drake, Balmain |
Cost | £20,027[1] |
Launched | 7 November 1913 |
In service | 1914 |
Out of service | 1932 |
Identification | O/N: 136383 [2][3] |
General characteristics | |
Type | Harbour ferry |
Tonnage | 353 GT |
Length | 170 ft (52 m) |
Beam | 35 ft (11 m)[4] |
Propulsion | Triple expansion engine built by Mort's Dock, Balmain |
Australia | |
Name | HMAS Kuramia |
Owner | Royal Australian Navy |
Commissioned | 20 February 1942 |
Decommissioned | December 1945 |
Identification | UK official number: 136383 |
Fate | Sunk as a target 10 October 1953 |
She was a typical example of the "K class"; a group of double-deck, double-ended, steam-powered screw ferries.
Kuramia was built for the short but busy cross-harbour route between Circular Quay and Milsons Point. Made redundant by the 1932 opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Royal Australian Navy converted her to a boom defence vessel.
Kuramia followed Sydney Ferries Limited's tradition of naming their vessels after Australian Indigenous words starting with "K".[6] Kuramia was reported to have been named after a village on the Transcontinental railway route.[7]