HMAS Westralia (1939)

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The first HMAS Westralia was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Glasgow for the Huddart Parker company as a twin screw motor vessel, being completed in 1929. Westralia was requisitioned for war service by the Australian government in 1939 as an armed merchant cruiser. She was fitted with 6 inch guns, and 3 inch AA guns, commissioning into the Royal Australian Navy in January 1940.

Westralia's time as an AMC was spent escorting convoys in the Pacific and Indian oceans, especially from Australia and New Zealand. One major event occurred in May 1942 when Westralia, in company with the cruiser USS Chicago, sighted a Japanese submarine just outside Sydney Harbour. This was just before the infamous attack on Sydney Harbour by midget submarines which led to the sinking of HMAS Kuttabul.

In 1943, Westralia was converted into a landing ship infantry (LSI). In this role, Westralia was utilised primarily for the trapsort of United States Marine and Army units. The ship took part in landings at Cape Cretin, Leyte Gulf, the Philippines and Borneo. After the end of the war, Westralia was used for the repatriation of Australian troops, before being paid off in September 1946. However, as she was being refitted for a return to civilian service, Westralia was taken up again for use on the run between Sydney and Kure for the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. However, she was not commissioned into the RAN in this role, instead having a merchant navy crew. She ended her time with the BCOF in April 1949. However, she was then chartered as a troop carrier by the British Ministry of Transport, and served in the Mediterranean until March 1950. Westralia was finally returned to her owners in March 1951. Westralia was sold to the Asian and Pacific Shipping Co Ltd in 1959, serving as a livestock carrier, until she was eventually sold for scrap in 1961.