HMNZS Phyllis - Formerly The Star III steamboat -history and photos - HMNZS “Phyllis” – New Zealand auxiliary ship from World War II . Before the war, it served as a Star III whaling boat , later as a trawler , and during the war it was purchased by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) and as HMNZS Phyllis (T22) adapted for the role of a dan buoy layer , after the war it served again as a trawler.

 

History

The Star III steamboat was built at the Seattle Construction & Dry Dock Company in Seattle in 1912 [1] for the whaling company US Whaling Company – a listed company founded by an American financier. Most of its shareholders came from Scotland, but the ships were registered in the United States under the American flag [2] . By building ships in the United States, the company saved significant transport costs compared to if it would be built in Norway, as well as three months, as it usually took to sail from Norway to the United States [2] .

Star III had a steel hull, it was 96.1 feet long, 19.5 feet wide, its draft was 10.6 feet (29.3 x 5.9 x 3.2 m), the tonnage was about 150 BRT [a] . The drive was a triple expansion steam machine with three boilers with a capacity of 43 BHP [1] .

Along with Old III, its twin Star II and a slightly larger Star I were built (hull length about 117 feet – 35.6 m) [3] . Units were considered very successful [3] .

All three whaling boats ( whale chaser ) went to the first fishing in Arctic waters in April 1912, accompanied by the floating Sommerstad processing plant [2] . In the first year of operation of the cutters, they killed a total of 314 whales, of which 8,500 barrels of whale oil were produced [2] . The year ended with a considerable financial loss for the company – income from oil sales amounted to 554 thousand crowns, which resulted in a loss of 255 thousand crowns with liabilities of 420 thousand crowns [2] . In 1913, 9,333 barrels of oil were produced, but the cutters’ activities continued to lose – this time in the amount of 85,000 crowns [2]. The fishing from 1913 was described as generally unsatisfactory, but the cutters managed to find a rich habitat of sperm whales , which bode well for the future [4] . Sperm whales were valued much higher than other whales, each of them was sold for about a thousand dollars at that time [4]

Beginning in 1914, three boats and accompanying ships based in Eagle Harbor near Seattle went on whale hunting in May and returned to their winter quarters in September [4] . During the war, the largest of the Old Towns – Star I – was commandeered by the United States Navy , where it served as the USS “Star I” [4] . The smaller Star II and III did not interest the Navy [4] . In 1918, all three boats worked together again, this time killing only 121 whales [4]. The beginning of the 1920s ruined many whaling companies, including the US Whaling Company, which was caused by the decreasing number of whales in Arctic waters, very high own costs and decreasing demand for whaling products [4] . In 1922, the last year of the company’s operations, only 117 whales (including 60 sperm whales) were killed [4] .

In October 1923, all three cutters were sold into Norwegian hands and they sailed under the Norwegian flag to Auckland , New Zealand, from where they operated in Antarctic waters [4] .

According to contemporary press reports, in 1925 Star III discovered the previously unknown cove of the Ross Sea and sailed further south than any other ship [5] .

Around 1928, Star III and his sister units ceased to be used as whaling cocks. In the same year, the steam rudder mechanism from Stara III was transferred to the Te Whaka dredger [6] .

In 1929 the ship was sold to a New Zealand owner, renamed Phyllis and he started working as a trawler [7] . It was the only boat that survived the war, later other units of this type were offered to RNZN, but due to the poor condition of the hulls and machines they were only scrapped 

 

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On June 8, 1954, the ship reached the rocks near Waikanae Beach (35 miles north of Wellington) and was almost completely wrecked

HMNZSPhyllis (T22)at the Devonport Naval Base -

HMNZS Kiwi (T102) in background

Phylllis and  “Nora Niven” were commandeered around 1 or 3 September 1942 [8] . Phyllis entered service on January 11, 1943 and five days later went on a trip to Auckland , but due to problems with steam engines, he was forced to stay in Wellington for a long time [8] . After arriving in Auckland, the ship became part of the 25th Minesweeping Flotilla as a buoyer but, like Nora, Niven often broke down and was transferred to the reserve in December 1943 [8] .

In October 1944, the ship temporarily raised its flag and was manned by the RNZN, sailed to Wellington, where it arrived on October 29 and was finally decommissioned [9] . The ship was sold into private hands and rebuilt into a trawler [9] .

On June 8, 1954, the ship reached the rocks near Waikanae Beach (35 miles north of Wellington) and was almost completely wrecked

An original black and white photograph of four Fairmiles in the Calliope Basin preparing for deployment to the Solomon Islands. Q400 is on the right. Behind the Fairmiles are HMNZS KIWI and HMNZS PHYLLIS. On the outboard side of the wharf are the DUCHESS (twin funnels) and ahead of her is a Castle class minesweeping trawler with HMNZS KAIWAKA (T14) alongside.