HMAS Yarra, named for the Yarra River

Yarra River

The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...

, was a River-class torpedo boat destroyer

River class torpedo boat destroyer

The River class was a class of six torpedo-boat destroyers operated by the Royal Australian Navy. Three were ordered for the Commonwealth Naval Forces in 1909; two were built in the United Kingdom, while a third was partially built, disassembled, then transported to Australia for reassembly...

 of 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). Ordered in 1909 for the Commonwealth Naval Forces (the predecessor of the RAN), Yarra was temporarily commissioned into the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 on completion in 1910, and handed over to Australian control on arrival in Australia.

From 1914 to 1917, Yarra was involved in wartime patrols in the Pacific and South East Asian regions, before she and her sister ships were transferred to the Mediterranean for anti-submarine operations. She returned to Australia in 1919, and was used primarily to train naval reservists. Decommissioned into reserve then reactivated on five occasions between 1919 and 1928, Yarra was paid off for the final time in 1928, was taken to Cockatoo Island Dockyard for stripping, then was sunk in 1932 as a target ship

Target ship

A target ship is a vessel — typically an obsolete or captured warship — used for naval gunnery practice or for weapons testing.-Rationale:Sinking redundant warships is an effective way of testing new weapons and warships in as realistic a manner as possible. Whilst practice torpedoes are fired...

.

Design and construction

Yarra had a displacement of 700 tons, a length overall of 245.75 feet (74.9 m), and beam of 24 foot, and a maximum draught of 8 in 10 in (2.69 m). The destroyer was powered by three Yarrow oil-burning boilers connected to Parsons turbines, which delivered 10,000 shaft horsepower to three propeller shafts. Yarras designed maximum speed was 26 knots (14.2 m/s) (although she achieved a full knot higher during full-speed trials), and she had a cruising speed of 11.5 knots (6.3 m/s), giving the ship a range of 2690 nautical miles (4,981.9 km). The ship's company consisted of between five officers and 68 sailors.

The destroyer's main armament consisted of a single BL 4-inch Mark VIII naval gun

BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VIII

The BL 4-inch gun Mark VIII was a British medium-velocity wire-wound naval gun introduced in 1908 as an anti-torpedo boat gun in smaller ships whose decks could not support the strain of the heavier and more powerful Mk VII gun.-Mk VIII History:...

, supplemented by three QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun

QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun

The QF 12 pounder 12 cwt gun was a common calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick and used on Royal Navy warships, and exported to allied countries...

s. She was also fitted with three .303-inch

.303 British

.303 British, or 7.7x56mmR, is a .311 inch calibre rifle and machine gun cartridge first developed in Britain as a blackpowder round put into service in December 1888 for the Lee-Metford rifle, later adapted to use smokeless powders...

 machine guns and three single 18-inch torpedo

British 18 inch torpedo

There have been a number of 18 inch torpedoes in service with the United Kingdom. These have been used on ships of the Royal Navy and aircraft of both the Fleet Air Arm and Royal Air Force...

 tubes. Later in Yarras career, the destroyer was fitted with four chutes and two throwers for depth charge

Depth charge

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...

s, and one of the torpedo tubes was removed.
Yarra, along with sister ship

Sister ship

A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...

s and , were ordered on 6 February 1909; the first ships to be ordered for the Commonwealth Naval Forces, the post-Federation

Federation of Australia

The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...

 amalgamation of the Australian colonial navies

Colonial navies of Australia

Before Federation in 1901 five of the six separate colonies maintained their own naval forces for defence. The colonial navies were supported by the ships of the Royal Navy’s Australian Station which was established in 1859...

. Yarra was laid down by William Denny and Brothers

William Denny and Brothers

William Denny and Brothers Limited, and often referred to simply as Denny, were a Scottish shipbuilding company.-History:The Company was founded by Peter Denny in 1840 and based in Dumbarton, on the River Clyde. Although the Denny yard was situated near the junction of the River Clyde and the River...

, at their shipyard in Dumbarton. She was launched on 9 April 1910 by the wife of Newton Moore

Newton Moore

Major-General Sir Newton James Moore KCMG , was the eighth Premier of Western Australia and a member of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1932....

, the Premier of Western Australia

Premier of Western Australia

The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...

. Construction was completed in August 1910, and the ship was commissioned into the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 as HMS Yarra on 10 September 1910 for the voyage out to Australia. Yarra and Parramatta sailed from Portsmouth on 19 September. Once the ships arrived in Broome, they were transferred to the control of the Commonwealth Naval Forces. The destroyer's name comes from the Yarra River

Yarra River

The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...

 in Victoria.

Operational history

During the early stages of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Parramatta operated with the Australian fleet in the search for the German East Asia Squadron

German East Asia Squadron

The German East Asia Squadron was a German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the 1870s and 1914...

, then was involved in the capture of German colonies in the South Pacific region, including German New Guinea

German New Guinea

German New Guinea was the first part of the German colonial empire. It was a protectorate from 1884 until 1914 when it fell to Australia following the outbreak of the First World War. It consisted of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups...

, and the consolidation of Allied occupation in these regions. On 5 February 1915, Yarra, Parramtta, and sailed for Australia, where they were used for convoy escort duties along the continent's eastern coast until August. The ships were refitted at Sydney, then sent to patrol the Far East. Yarra returned to Australia on 8 May 1916, and patrolled home waters until May 1917, when she and her sister ships were ordered to Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

.
The Australian vessels underwent anti-submarine training, then were deployed to Brindisi

Brindisi

Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...

 for anti-submarine patrols of the Adriatic. On 17 October 1919, Yarra was assigned to the Black Sea, before sailing to England at the start of 1919. The ship earned two battle honour

Battle honour

A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....

s for her wartime service: "Rabaul 1914" and "Adriatic 1917–18".

On 6 March 1919, Yarra sailed for home, in company with several other Australian ships. Yarra and Parramatta ran out of fuel on 26 April, less than a day out from Darwin, and had to be towed into port by Warrego. The destroyer was placed into reserve then recommission on five occasions between 1919 and 1928, with most of her operations facilitating the training of naval reservists.

Decommissioning and fate

On 10 May 1932, Yarra was decommissioned for the sixth and final time. The destroyer was sent to Cokatoo Island Dockyard for stripping on 30 September 1929. After this was completed, the hulk

Hulk (ship)

A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Although sometimes used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, the term most often refers to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipment removed, retaining only its flotational qualities...

 was towed to sea and sunk as a target

Target ship

A target ship is a vessel — typically an obsolete or captured warship — used for naval gunnery practice or for weapons testing.-Rationale:Sinking redundant warships is an effective way of testing new weapons and warships in as realistic a manner as possible. Whilst practice torpedoes are fired...

.

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