Mark Baber
RIP
Earlier today I mentioned Ypiranga in Captains William and Henry Smith Here's what information I have on her service under White Star management and the command of Harry Smith:
28 March 1919: NDL's Frankfurt and Hapag's Ypiranga are ceded to
Great Britain as war reparations and placed in White Star management.
(Sources: Haws' Merchant Fleets; Anderson's White Star.)
15 May 1919: Flying the flag of the League of Nations, the war reparation
vessel (ex-Hapag) Ypiranga (Capt. Harry Smith) makes her first Australian
voyage under White Star management, taking home over 1000 officers and
troops. She will arrive at Sydney on 11 July, after calling at Brisbane.
Continued 27 July. (Sources: The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 May and 12 July
1919; The Brisbane Courier, 7 July 1919; The Queenslander (Brisbane), 12
July 1919; Anderson's White Star; Captains William and Henry Smith ;
Smith's White Star officer record.)
27 July 1919: Ypiranga (see 15 May) becomes disabled when her steering gear
breaks while she is moving from Newcastle to Geelong to load a cargo of
wheat. She will be taken into tow by the tug Racer and towed to Port
Melbourne, where she will be repaired. She will then head back to Geelong
and after loading her cargo, return to Sydney. Continued 13 August.
(Sources: The Argus (Melbourne), 29 July 1919; The Sydney Morning Herald, 31
July 1919.)
13 August 1919: Ypiranga (see 15 May and 27 July) leaves Sydney with over
1,000 German detainees and 150 women and children on board. The detainees,
many of them sailors, are described as "particularly happy and cheerful" as
evidenced by their singing and making offensive comments to Australian
military personnel on the pier as the ship leaves. Ypiranga will call at
Plymouth on 7 October on her way to Rotterdam, where the detainees will
disembark. (Sources: The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 August 1919; The Times
(London), 9 October 1919.)
15 November 1919: War reparation vessel Ypiranga (Capt. Harry Smith) leaves
Liverpool on her second (and apparently last) trip to Australia under White
Star management, carrying over 1,000 returning military personnel. She will
disembark 142 troops at Fremantle on 26 December and another 97 at Adelaide
on New Year's Day. Continued 4 January. (Sources: The Times (London), 18
November 1919; The West Australian (Perth), 27 December 1919; The Advertiser
(Adelaide), 2 January 1920 ;Captains William and Henry Smith .)
4 January 1920: Ypiranga, see 15 November, arrives at Melbourne. Late
tonight, a Private Frost, a military prisoner serving a 15 year sentence,
will escape from the ship; he will be recaptured and returned to military
authorities on board on 6 January, after being identified to police by two
other soldiers. Ypiranga will leave Melbourne on 7 January and arrive at
Sydney two days later, and on 20 January she will leave Sydney for England,
arriving at Hull on 28 March. (Sources: The Argus (Melbourne), 7 and 8
January 1920; The Camperdown Chronicle, 8 January 1920; The Sydney Morning
Herald, 10 and 21 January 1920; The Times (London), 30 March 1920.)
23 October 1920: The Times reports that the war reparation ship Ypiranga,
which has been under White Star management since last year, see 23 March and
15 May, has been purchased by the Anchor Line for its Liverpool-Bombay
service. (Source: The Times (London), 23 October 1920.)
28 March 1919: NDL's Frankfurt and Hapag's Ypiranga are ceded to
Great Britain as war reparations and placed in White Star management.
(Sources: Haws' Merchant Fleets; Anderson's White Star.)
15 May 1919: Flying the flag of the League of Nations, the war reparation
vessel (ex-Hapag) Ypiranga (Capt. Harry Smith) makes her first Australian
voyage under White Star management, taking home over 1000 officers and
troops. She will arrive at Sydney on 11 July, after calling at Brisbane.
Continued 27 July. (Sources: The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 May and 12 July
1919; The Brisbane Courier, 7 July 1919; The Queenslander (Brisbane), 12
July 1919; Anderson's White Star; Captains William and Henry Smith ;
Smith's White Star officer record.)
27 July 1919: Ypiranga (see 15 May) becomes disabled when her steering gear
breaks while she is moving from Newcastle to Geelong to load a cargo of
wheat. She will be taken into tow by the tug Racer and towed to Port
Melbourne, where she will be repaired. She will then head back to Geelong
and after loading her cargo, return to Sydney. Continued 13 August.
(Sources: The Argus (Melbourne), 29 July 1919; The Sydney Morning Herald, 31
July 1919.)
13 August 1919: Ypiranga (see 15 May and 27 July) leaves Sydney with over
1,000 German detainees and 150 women and children on board. The detainees,
many of them sailors, are described as "particularly happy and cheerful" as
evidenced by their singing and making offensive comments to Australian
military personnel on the pier as the ship leaves. Ypiranga will call at
Plymouth on 7 October on her way to Rotterdam, where the detainees will
disembark. (Sources: The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 August 1919; The Times
(London), 9 October 1919.)
15 November 1919: War reparation vessel Ypiranga (Capt. Harry Smith) leaves
Liverpool on her second (and apparently last) trip to Australia under White
Star management, carrying over 1,000 returning military personnel. She will
disembark 142 troops at Fremantle on 26 December and another 97 at Adelaide
on New Year's Day. Continued 4 January. (Sources: The Times (London), 18
November 1919; The West Australian (Perth), 27 December 1919; The Advertiser
(Adelaide), 2 January 1920 ;Captains William and Henry Smith .)
4 January 1920: Ypiranga, see 15 November, arrives at Melbourne. Late
tonight, a Private Frost, a military prisoner serving a 15 year sentence,
will escape from the ship; he will be recaptured and returned to military
authorities on board on 6 January, after being identified to police by two
other soldiers. Ypiranga will leave Melbourne on 7 January and arrive at
Sydney two days later, and on 20 January she will leave Sydney for England,
arriving at Hull on 28 March. (Sources: The Argus (Melbourne), 7 and 8
January 1920; The Camperdown Chronicle, 8 January 1920; The Sydney Morning
Herald, 10 and 21 January 1920; The Times (London), 30 March 1920.)
23 October 1920: The Times reports that the war reparation ship Ypiranga,
which has been under White Star management since last year, see 23 March and
15 May, has been purchased by the Anchor Line for its Liverpool-Bombay
service. (Source: The Times (London), 23 October 1920.)