HMAS Kooronga

History
Australia
Name:	Kooronga (1917-1924) Cerberus II (1924-??) Kooronga (??-1948)
Builder:	Williamstown Dockyard, Victoria.
Launched:	1917
Commissioned:	1924
Decommissioned:	1948
Fate:	Sold in 1948
History
Australia
Name:	Black Witch II (1948-1958)
Owner:	Jim Anderson
Fate:	Ran aground and wrecked in 1958
General characteristics
Type:	Tug
Displacement:	60 tons
Length:	70 feet (21 m)
Beam:	14 feet (4.3 m)

HMAS Kooronga was a 60-ton tug boat and training ship operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was constructed at the Williamstown Dockyard, Victoria in 1917. Kooronga was commissioned on 6 June 1924 and named Cerberus II as a tender at the Flinders Naval Depot.^[1] The vessel was later renamed HMAS Kooronga. She ran aground in the Port Phillip channel and was stranded from 28 June until 14 July 1940.^[2] Upon being refloated she was refitted out.

Kooronga remained in RAN service until 1947. She was sold into private hands in 1948, renamed Black Witch II, and converted to a schooner.^[1][3] On 14 August 1958, the schooner ran aground at Apollo Bay beach during a gale.^[3] The wreck is believed to be buried under the sand.^[3]

Notes

1. Wilson, p.59.
2. Wilson, p.75.
3. "Black Witch II Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number S95". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 15 September 2011.

References

• Wilson, Michael; Royal Australian Navy 21st Century Warships, Naval auxiliaries 1911 to 1999 including Defence Maritime Services, Profile No. 4 - Revised Edition, Topmill Pty Ltd, Marrickville. ISBN 978-1-876270-72-8