Kelat was a 1894 gross ton iron hulled fully rigged three masted sailing ship built in Stockton-on-Tees

Stockton-on-Tees

Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in 1881. She was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

 (RAN) in 1941 and sank as a result of damage suffered during the Japanese air raid on Darwin on 19 February 1942.

Construction and design

The vessel was built in 1881 by Richardson, Duck and Company

Richardson, Duck and Company

Richardson, Duck and Company was a shipbuilding company in Thornaby-on-Tees, England that traded between 1855 and 1925.-History:The yard was founded as the South Stockton Iron Ship Building Co in 1852. Its premises were the former yard of engine builders Fossick of Stockton and its first vessel was...

 at Stockton-on-Tees

Stockton-on-Tees

Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...

, England for E. Bates & Sons of Liverpool. She was a iron hulled fully rigged sailing ship consisting of three masts and two decks.

Operational service

She plyed the London to Australia cargo route until she was requisitioned in 1903 by L. Gundersen and renamed Hövding. She continued plying the cargo trade to Australia until she was damaged in a storm and condemend at Melbourne on 9 July 1914. She was sold as a hulk to Mcllwrath, McEachern Propriety Ltd, who converted her into a coal hulk. Sometime afterward she was renamed back to her original name Kelat. She was requistioned as a coal hulk by the RAN in 1941.

Fate

After being requistioned by the RAN, she was towed from Fremantle to Darwin fully laden with coal in February 1942. She sank at her mooring several days after arriving in Darwin after being machine gunned and badly damaged during the Japanese air raid on Darwin on 19 February 1942. The sinking may have been by neglect as in the confusion after the raids it is possible no one remembered to continue to run her pumps to keep her afloat. Her wreck is located at 12°02′00"S 130°05′00"E.