HMAT Bulla was built as the steamer Hessen for the German Line Norddeutscher Lloyd in 1905.[1] It could carry 3300 tons deadweight.[2]
1914 seizure
The NDL liner Hessen was seized by Australian forces on 3 September 1914,[3] when it sailed from Bremen into Melbourne, the German crew being unaware of the outbreak of World War I.[4] The vessel did not have a wireless radio, and had sailed from Antwerp on 19 July 1914, with hostilities in progress from 4 August 1914.[5] The seven crew and master Dietrich Reimers were taken into custody then released on parole in accordance with Articles 5(2), 6, and 7, of the Hague Convention.[6] Its cargo was then offloaded in Sydney and Brisbane.[7][8]
Australian WWI troopship
It became a troop transport for the war, becoming HMAT Hessen (A45) by February 1915,[9] and by September 1915, renamed as the HMAT Bulla (A45).[10][11] It was initially under the command of Captain R. A. T. Wilson,[12] initially ferrying troops and horses to Egypt, and formed part of the Gallipoli campaign.[13] It was subsequently considered unsuitable for troop transport.[14] Captain E. Clutterbuck took over from Wilson,[12] where the vessel was part of a storeship for that campaign.[15]
It was transferred to the Commonwealth Government Line of Steamers in 1918,[citation needed] with Captain A. R. Pascall being the master about this time.[17] In 1920 the SS Bulla was used to transport 6400 bales of wool and 1400 bags of barley from Adelaide to London via Durban.[18]
The steamer was sold for £13 500[2] in 1926 to W. Schuchmann, who renamed it Weissesee (meaning 'white sea').[19][20]
WW2 sinking
Weissesee was bombed and sunk by aircraft at Hamburg, Germany, on 25 July 1943. The wreck was raised in 1949 and scrapped.[21]
↑"In the thick of it". Sunday Times (Perth). No.920. Western Australia. 22 August 1915. p.12 (Second Section). Retrieved 29 April 2026– via National Library of Australia.
↑"Australian ships". The Sun. No.2724. New South Wales, Australia. 25 March 1919. p.7. Retrieved 29 April 2026– via National Library of Australia.
↑"Shipping movements". The News. Vol.VIII, no.1, 100. South Australia. 22 January 1927. p.2 (Home edition). Retrieved 29 April 2026– via National Library of Australia.
