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TSS OP TEN NOORT, Koninklijke Pakevaart Maatschappij, docked at east Circular Quay, January 1936
TSS OP TEN NOORT, Koninklijke Pakevaart Maatschappij, docked at east Circular Quay, January 1936

TSS OP TEN NOORT, Koninklijke Pakevaart Maatschappij, docked at east Circular Quay, January 1936

Date1936
Object numberANMS0047[155]
NamePostcard
MediumBlack and white photographic print on paper
DimensionsOverall: 84 x 139 mm
ClassificationsPosters and postcards
Credit LineANMM Collection Transfer from the Australian War Memorial
DescriptionThis postcard depicts TSS OP TEN NOORT at Circular Quay in Sydney.HistoryTSS OP TEN NOORT was a 6,076 ton Dutch merchant ship built in 1927 for the Dutch Royal Packet Steam Navigation Company. It was based in Batavia, Java. The vessel arrived in Sydney on 4 January 1936 and berthed at West Circular Quay, departing just over two weeks later on 20 January. In 1941, during World War II, OP TEN NOORT was taken over by the Royal Netherlands Navy and was refitted as a hospital ship. The vessel was bombed by Japanese aircraft in 1942 and soon after being repaired it came under Japanese control and was renamed TENNO MARU, operating for the Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Company. In 1944, it was yet again renamed HIKAWA MARU and was still used as a hospital ship. The vessel was scuttled in August 1945 at Wakasa Bay. In 1953, the Dutch Government lodged a claim against the Japanese Government for 700 million yen as compensation. The Japanese Government paid about 100 million yen in compensation to the Dutch Government in 1978.SignificanceThis postcard is an important document of the Dutch merchant ship TSS OP TEN NOORT before it was refitted as a hospital ship during World War II.