| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
| Name | Nimbin |
| Owner | North Coast Steam Navigation Company |
| Port of registry | Sydney, Australia |
| Route | North Coast Butter Run[citation needed] |
| Builder | Burmeister & Wain, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Launched | 27 April 1927 |
| Maiden voyage | 21 June 1927, from Copenhagen to Sydney in 65 days |
| In service | 14 September 1927 |
| Identification | Official Number: 155313 |
| Fate | Sunk by German naval mine 5 December 1940 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Steel Motor Vessel |
| Tonnage | 1,052 GRT, 516 NRT |
| Length | 65.53 m (215 ft 0 in) |
| Beam | 10.66 m (35 ft 0 in) |
| Draught | 3.352 m (11 ft 0 in) |
| Installed power | Burmeister & Wain diesel engine 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) |
| Propulsion | Single screw |
| Speed | 12.1 knots (22.4 km/h; 13.9 mph) |
| Capacity | 60,900 cubic feet, and fitted for refrigerated cargo |
| Crew | 20 |
The Nimbin was a steel screw steamer built in 1927 at Copenhagen, that was the first motor vessel placed into the New South Wales coastal trade. It was owned and operated by the North Coast Steam Navigation Company and was the first Australian registered merchant ship to be lost during World War II when it struck a mine laid by the German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin. The Nimbin was on its way from Coffs Harbour to its home port, Sydney, with a cargo of bundled three-ply timber and a cargo of pigs. One third of the ship was blown away and it sank in three minutes. Seven men were killed. The remaining thirteen clung to bundles of plywood. Some hours later an air force plane from RAAF Base Rathmines saw the survivors and directed the coastal ship SS Bonalbo to the scene to retrieve them.