Cultural Artefact: RCS Coral Queen

Details

The Coral Queen, the touring ship for the High Commissioner, was built in Hong Kong during 1957-1958 and arrived in Honiara in December 1958. The ship had an overall length of 31.6 metres and a beam of 8.2 metres, a speed of 10 knots and a range of 1,218 kilometres. High Commissioner Sir John Gutch (q.v.) chose the name and Lady Gutch formally named it. The Coral Queen was damaged on a reef off New Britain in May 1959 and sent to Australia for repair. In February 1965, the ship was stranded on Papari Reef during a voyage through New Georgia Sound. The Coral Princess tried to tow it to Australia for repairs, but failed due to stormy weather. (NS Aug. 1957, Nov. 1958, Dec. 1958, Feb. 1959, June 1959, 31 May 1965, 15 July 1965)

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Journals

  • British Solomon Islands Protectorate (ed.), British Solomon Islands Protectorate News Sheet (NS), 1955-1975. Details