On 16 September 1939, whilst carrying 139 people during World War II, the ship struck a mine that had been laid by the German submarine on 4 September. She was damaged, with one person being killed, but managed to make it to port for repairs. She was requisitioned shortly afterwards and from 1940 she was used as a troopship. In 1941 she carried artillery equipment to Ethiopia for use in the Battle of Gondar (November 1941). In early February 1942 she carried the &lt;a href="2/14th%20Battalion%20%28Australia%29"&gt;2/14th Battalion&lt;/a&gt; of the Australian Army from Bombay to Australia, arriving in Adelaide, South Australia, on 24 March 1942.