Australian Army ship Crusader later renamed to Cementco
- The Crusader in December 1945
The Crusader (AV2767) was an amphibious operations support vessel from the Australian Army that operated in the second World War. She was launched on 8 August 1945 and entered service in late 1945. After the war the Australian Army didn't need a vessel with those capabilities. The Crusader was sold to the Queensland Cement and Lime Company in 1947 and she was used on the Brisbane River until 1984.
Service history
The Crusader was built in Williamstown, Victoria at the Williamstown Dockyard. At that time, she was the largest all welded steel vessel built in Australia. She later became the largest vessel commissioned by the Australian Army in World War II. The construction of Crusader's sister ship was cancelled when the war ended in 1945.
By 1947 the Crusader was no longer needed by the Australian Army and she was sold to the Queensland Cement and Lime company who renamed her Cementco.
The Cementco was used as a self propelled coral barge on the Brisbane River. The wheel house was moved closer to the bow and the carve holds where modified so that Cementco could carry up to 2000 tonnes of coral. The vessel carried coral dredged from Moreton Bay to QCL's cement factory in Darra. When QCL moved the factory to Gladstone, Cementco retired in 1984. After her retirement QCL tried to sell her and renamed the vessel to Crusader II to avoid confusion with a new ship what was named Cementco. After a while it became clear that no one wanted to buy the Crusader II and she was sunk north of Flinders Reef and became a popular dive spot.
