Introduction

I chose this topic because I was very interested in the ship.I saw pictures of it in the hallway at our school and wondered about what it did and when.

I found it great to learn about because it’s an amazing ship with a sad history.

The 400 foot S.S. Maheno was built in 1905 in Scotland for speed and comfort.

The Maheno was the world’s first triple-screw steamer, which means she had three propellers at the back of the ship. She held the record for the fastest Trans-Tasman crossing travelling between Sydney and Auckland in 2 days and 21 hours, powering through the waves at 16 knots.

After 9 years of transporting the rich and famous between New Zealand and Ausralia she was re-fitted and enlisted by the Navy as a hospital ship for service in the First World War. She transported some 25,000 sick, wounded and dying soliders from the battle at Gallipoli, from England to New Zealand and from France to England.

After the war she was returned to her former glory as a luxury liner and made six New Zealand to England voyages.

However with the invention of cleaner, faster and newer engines, the Maheno ship was soon not in use so in 1935 she was sold to a Japanese company for scrap metal. On the 8th July 1935 as she was being towed to Japan, a winter cylone hit, and the Maheno ship was grounded at Cathedral Beach on Fraser Island, off the coast of Australia.

The R.A.A.F used the wreck for bombing practice in World War II.

The S.S. Maheno is now a popular tourist attraction and is rusting away into the sand. It is covered in barnacles and its anchor is at least 500 metres away from the back end of the ship.

In 1967 the Maheno ships bells were kindly given to Maheno School in Oamaru by F K MacFarlane Esq. who was the managing director of the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand. These bells hang with pride in the hallway of our school.

The Maheno ship used to be named H.M.N.Z.H.S. which stands for Her Majesty New Zealand Hospital Ship.

©Thomas

Maheno School 2007

The S.S. Maheno

Photo courtesy of North Otago Museum.

The Bell from the Maheno

Photo courtesy of Melissa & Logan.