SS Ben Dearg

SS Ben Dearg also known as the Thomas Alexander, Etoile Polaire, Daily Express and the Turcoman. The Castle-class trawler was originally built in 1920 for the United Kingdom Admiralty as the Thomas Alexander, and served most of its life as a trawler in French and English fisheries. It was renamed as Ben Dearg in 1936 and was requisitioned as a minesweeper in World War II in 1939 by the British Admiralty.[1]

HMT Ben Dearg during World War II
History
United Kingdom & Australia
Name: Ben Dearg
Owner: Anglo-Australian Fishing Company
Builder: Cook, Wellington and Gemmell Ltd
Laid down: Beverley
Launched: 1920
Stricken: Scuttled 1956
Fate: scuttled
General characteristics
Class and type: Castle-class trawler
Tons burthen: 280 tons
Length: 38.3 metres (126 ft)
Beam: 7.2 m (24 ft)
Draught: 3.9 m (13 ft)
Propulsion: triple expansion steam engine
Notes: [1]

The iron hulled trawler arrived in Albany in 1949.[2]

The single screw steamer[3] was coal burning, with a single ended boiler that generated 180lbs. per square inch of pressure of steam.[4] Both Ben Dearg and the sister vessel Commiles were considered to be obsolete and unsuitable for fishing in the Great Australian Bight by 1951, and were looking for fishing grounds closer to Albany which they could trawl safely.[5]

An attempt was made to sell the vessel by Anglo-Australian Fisheries Limited in February 1954.[4]

Following the liquidation of Anglo-Australian Fisheries Limited, the trawler was sold to Krasnostein and Company, a company based in Perth, in June 1954.[6] It was advertised later in the year for £8000.[7]

The single screw steamer was scuttled on 14 April 1956 off Ben Dearg Beach near Swarbricks Beach, between Herald Point and Islet Point along the coast to the east of Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia,[3] very close to the coal hulk Margaret.[2]

The ship's propeller is on display outside the Western Australian Museum, Albany.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Ben Dearg (19097) Ben Dearg Beach, Swarbricks Beach (Herald Pt and Islet Pt)". Western Australian Shipwrecks. Western Australian Museum. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  2. "Shipwrecks of the Southern Coast" (PDF). Western Australian Museum. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  3. "View Shipwreck - Ben Dearg". Australian National Shipwreck Database. Department of the Environment and Energy. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  4. "Advertising". The West Australian. 70 (21, 083). Western Australia. 16 February 1954. p. 20. Retrieved 13 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Two Trawlers "Unfit" For Fishing In The Bight". The West Australian. 67 (20, 255). Western Australia. 20 June 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 13 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "An Idle Albany Trawler Sold To Perth Firm". The West Australian. 70 (21, 173). Western Australia. 2 June 1954. p. 4. Retrieved 13 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Advertising". The Courier-mail. Queensland, Australia. 11 October 1954. p. 4. Retrieved 13 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.

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