The S.S. Maheno was an Edwardian liner on the Tasman Sea crossing between New Zealand and Australia, and was used as a hospital ship by the New Zealand division of the Royal Navy during World War I.
Maheno was originally built in 1905 by William Denny and Brothers in Dumbarton, Scotland as a luxury passenger ship for trans-Tasman crossings.
In 1935, the ship was declared outdated and on June 25, 1935 the ship was being towed from Melbourne to Japan for scrap metal for the Japanese war preparations when it was caught in a strong cyclone and broke away from the tow. A few days later, on July 9, 1935 she drifted ashore and was beached on the eastern shores of Fraser Island. During the Second World War the Maheno served as target bombing practice (most of which seemed to have missed) for the RAAF. Since then, much of the ship has either been destroyed or slowly disintegrated on Seventy Five Mile Beach on Fraser Island.
Ref: The Wreck Of The S. S. Maheno.
Location: Fraser Island,Queensland,Australia,
Photographer: © Ron Sutton / www. ronsuttonimages.com