MV BOONAROO, of Australia.

[Captain Kong]

My younger brother sent me this article about one of his old ships, the BOONAROO, the Australian MN.,
The ship was a cargo ship, working on the Sydney to Cairns and Townsville on the Queensland coast.
It was ordered to go to Sydney to load Military stores for Viet Nam , The Union stopped them even tho` he and others volunteered to take the ship to Viet Nam.so they all had to pay off and they got another crew to take it.


HMAS Boonaroo
HMAS Boonaroo (also known as MV Boonaroo) was an Australian National Lines cargo vessel used to support Australian forces fighting in the Vietnam War. She was the first Australian ship to be commissioned after the introduction of the Australian White Ensign.
Boonaroo was constructed for Australian National Lines by Mort's Dock and Engineering in Sydney.[1] Displacing 1,789 tonnes (standard) and 3,542 tonnes at full load, Boonaroo was 391 ft (119.18 m) long, with a beam of 53 ft (16.15 m) and a draught of 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m). Powered by two Doxford diesel developing engines producing 4,250 horsepower (3,170 kW), the ship had a top speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).[1]
The ship was completed in 1953, and operated as a merchant vessel until she was chartered by the Department of Shipping and Transport in 1966 to carry Australian soldiers and supplies to Vietnam.[1] She completed one voyage to Vietnam as a merchant vessel, leaving on 17 May 1966 and arriving back in Australia on 8 July 1966.[1] However, members of the Seamen's Union of Australia refused to sail the vessel for subsequent voyages to Vietnam in protest against Australia's involvement in the conflict.[1]
To keep the ship operational, she was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at 21:00 on 1 March 1967, and became the first Australian ship to be commissioned under Australian White Ensign.[1][2] The crew were replaced by RAN personnel (most were drafted at short notice from Victorian naval base HMAS Lonsdale, while two ANL engineers aboard had their reserve commissions activated), and spent from 3 to 10 March at Point Wilson, loading a cargo of bombs for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and general cargo for the establishment and support of Australian facilities in Vietnam, including prefabricated kitchen structures, telegraph poles, and a fuel tanker.[2] Boonaroo sailed on 10 March, refuelled at Cairns on 17 March, and reached Cam Ranh Bay on 28 March.[2] The general cargo was unloaded that day by United States Army personnel.[2] On 29 March, the freighter moved to the ammunition pier to offload the bombs.[2] After unloading was complete, Boonaroo shifted to Cape St Jacques at Vung Tau on 2 April, was replenished by a RAAF helicopter airlifting stores and
Construction
Operational history
Vietnam War 1967 Fate: Returned to civilian service General characteristics
Type: Cargo vessel Displacement: 1,789 tons (standard) 3,542 Gross tons (full load) Length: 391 ft (119.18 m) o/a Beam: 53 ft (16.15 m) Draught: 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m) Propulsion: 2 x Doxford diesel developing engines, 4,250 horsepower (3,170 kW) Speed: 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
provisions to the ship on 3 April, and sailed later that day.[1] After stopping at Singapore on 5 and 6 April, then at Darwin from 12 to 20 April, Boonaroo sailed to Sydney, arriving on 29 April.[1] The cargo ship left Sydney for Melbourne on 3 May, arrived on 5 May, and was decommissioned from RAN service on 8 May.[1] The 69day commission was one of the shortest in RAN history: the duration meant that Boonaroo remained in ANL livery during her voyage, and no cap tallies were created for the ship's company.[2] Because of the RAN's usual self-maintenance practices while at sea, Boonaroo was returned to ANL in better condition than she was received.[2] Following a reorganisation of RAN battle honours in 2010, Boonaroo was retroactively awarded the honour "Vietnam 1967".[3][4]
In January 1971, she was sold to Collin Navigation Co., S. A. Hong Kong, and renamed Collin Four and in 1972 transferred to a subsidiary company. The ship was sold to Uni-Ocean Lines Pty Ltd, Singapore in February 1976 and renamed Reunion and again sold in November 1977 to United Orient Lines Ltd, Singapore. She was scrapped at Chittagong, Bangladesh in November 1985.[5]

Boonaroo was constructed for Australian National Lines by Mort's Dock and Engineering in Sydney. Displacing 1,789 tonnes (standard) and 3,542 tonnes at full load, Boonaroo was 391 ft (119.18 m) long, with a beam of 53 ft (16.15 m) and a draught of 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m). Powered by two Doxford diesel developing engines producing 4,250 horsepower (3,170 kW), the ship had a top speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).

[Des Taff Jenkins]

HI Brian.
Australia once built some fine ships, all gone now, as an island continent we should have our own fleet, but are dependent on countries that could be hostile,
great outlook. Thanks for the story.
Des

[happy daze john in oz]

Funny thing is BAE, who at one time made ships here in Melbourne is still active.
My brother has to service all their electrical systems monthly and they could open at any time if there was a demand.
But the way things are now I doubt we will even build a life boat now.

As to the Vietnam war, there are still, after all these years, some who still hold a grudge against those who went.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

There must come a time when Australia will wake up and realize that they must return to having a Merchant fleet, there is talk now that we are short of petrol, most of our refineries have closed; and we have to import the finished product using overseas tankers; which leaves us at the mercy of any outside influences. with the vast distances we have here we might have to revert to the camel, there are millions out in the desert areas.
Des

[happy daze john in oz]

Des, whilst I agree with your sentiments there is one small problem, it is the 'Greens'.
If they get their way, and if we get another Labor federal gov they will, we will not be requiring petrol.

But all the iron ore and gas we send overseas is in foreign ships wither on lease to BHP, or others ships all with foreign crew.
They will not employ locals as they would have to pay local rates, much higher than overseas.

That is another reason it may be hard to get an Australian ship building industry up again.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John.
That is the same reasoning that sent all Australia's manufacturing to China, Korea and any cheap labour country they could find. When I lived in NZ back in the 60s the Company Fisher and Paykel that was making fridges and washing machines sent their factories to Thailand, the Company said it was cheaper for them to do it, people called for the govt to refuse entree to their goods, but to no avail, the goods were still the same price as when they were manufactured in NZ, it was pure greed.
Des

[happy daze john in oz]

Des mate, that is commerce for you.
The capitalistic system looks for the cheapest way out for them, not always the consumer.
There have been numerous companies here that have gone the same way.

One of the major safety wear companies sends the cut out parts to Indonesia to sew up, then they come back her to be finished.
It is cheaper that way even with the air fare incorporated into it.

Somehow I do not see any form of major manufacturing here again.

[Norm Anderson]

Happy days John in Oz ... The Labor party or the Greens are not in power now and there is Buckley's-chance the the LNP would support an Australian Merchant fleet ... that was one of the reforms that Bill Shorten was taking very seriously until he got hood-winked ... don't want to get into politics but that's the truth.

[happy daze john in oz]

Norm, I recall that bit from Shorten and thought at the time he was taking something.
The chances of any form of regular shipping company here is remote to the extreme.