The MV Duntroon was a 10,346 ton passenger liner built for the Melbourne Steam Ship Co. by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson's yard, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in 1935. One of the last purpose-built passenger & general cargo ships for the Australian coastal trade, the Duntroon was also known for its role as a troopship (1942-1949) and for the tragic incident on 20 November 1940 when she hit and sank the small auxiliary minesweeper HMAS Goorangai off Queenscliff with the loss of all 24 of Goorangai's crew. This was the first RAN ship to be lost during the Second World War.
In November 1943, Duntroon collided with the US Navy destroyer USS Perkins (DD-377) off the north coast of New Guinea which resulted in the sinking of the Perkins with the loss of four lives. In 1945, the Duntroon carried former prisoners of war back to Australia. After being used for Pacific cruise services from Australia in the 1950s, Duntroon was sold and used on Pakistan-East African routes (as MV Lydia) until 1967 and was scrapped at Taiwan in 1973.
The ship's bell is preserved at the Royal Military College, Duntroon in Canberra as part of a memorial to RMC graduates killed on active service.
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