SS Ganges
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S.S. Ganges was the third Nourse Line ship to be named Ganges. Ganges I was built in 1861 and wrecked in 1881. Ganges II was built in 1885 and sold to Norway in 1904. S.S. Ganges was a 3,475 ton steam ship, built by Charles Connell & Company of Glasgow and launched on the 9 March 1906. This ship made an incredible seven trips carrying Indian indentured labourers from Calcutta and Madras to Fiji, ten trips to Trinidad and also trips to Surinam as shown in the table.
| Destination | Date of Arrival | Number of Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| Trinidad | 25 October 1906 | 479 |
| Trinidad | 10 October 1907 | 344 |
| Suriname | 17 February 1908 | n/a |
| Trinidad | 20 July 1908 | 642 |
| Trinidad | 16 June 1909 | 819 |
| Trinidad | 24 November 1910 | 842 |
| Trinidad | 25 March 1911 | 776 |
| Fiji | 22 July 1911 | 860 |
| Trinidad | 9 December 1911 | 428 |
| Suriname | 7 April 1912 | n/a |
| Fiji | 18 July 1912 | 843 |
| Fiji | 8 November 1912 | 846 |
| Fiji | 21 February 1913 | 771 |
| Fiji | 29 May 1913 | 848 |
| Fiji | 9 September 1913 | 784 |
| Fiji | 21 June 1915 | 846 |
| Trinidad | November 11, 1915 | 325 |
| Trinidad | April 18, 1916 | 200 |
| Trinidad | April 22, 1917 | 421 |
Having been in operation during the last years of the Indian indenture system, the S.S. Ganges was the last ship to carry Indian indentured labourers to Trinidad, and the last ship to carry Indian indentured labourers to British Guiana, docking in Georgetown on 18 April 1917.
Between the 7th and 31st of August 1914 she was requisitioned for use as a Royal Navy collier and in the September of the same year through until the following January became an Indian Expeditionary Force transport. For periods of 1916 and 1917 she was requisitioned to transport various bulk cargoes including coal, sugar and wheat. From the 6 January 1918 through to the 19 April 1919 she came under the Liner Requisition Scheme. She was sold out of the fleet in 1928 to F. B. Saunders of London who sold her on the following year to Sea Products of London. She became Seapro in 1930 and served for a further four years before being sold for breaking to T. W. Ward in 1934.
Two other ships had were later also named Ganges.
[edit] Famous passengers
The parents of Fiji Indian businessman Sir Sathi Narain, Devara Suramma (Emigration Pass No. 52043) and Gompa Appalasamy (Emigration Pass No. 51617), arrived on this ship from India to Fiji in 1913.
