Falie The Falie is a ketch that traded for many years in Australian waters . Originally built in 1919 as the motor schooner collier Hollands Trouw , she was purchased by the Spencer ' s Gulf Transport Company , renamed , and used for coastal trading in South Australia . The vessel commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy ( RAN ) as HMAS " Falie " during World War II , serving first as an inspection vessel primarily patrolling the Port of Sydney , Australia , then as a stores ship . Returned to her owners in 1946 , " Falie " was used to transport explosives around Australia before resuming the South Australian coastal trade to Kangaroo Island and on occasion carrying bulk Gypsum from Stenhouse Bay from 1968 . She was retired in 1982 , then purchased by the South Australian government for preservation . Although initially used for day and overnight sails , by 2005 the ship had fallen into disrepair . Design and construction . She was built in Maassluis , Netherlands by W . Richter , as a gaff rigged motor schooner in 1919 and named " Hollands Trouw " . At the time she was built as a speculation by the builder , in the hope of selling her to a prospective buyer . As a result , she sat idle after her launch in 1919 until purchased by Spencer ' s Gulf Transport Company in 1922 . Operational history . She was bought by the Spencer ' s Gulf Transport Company Limited in 1922 . In 1923 , she sailed to South Australia where she was renamed as the " Falie " and participated in the extensive ketch trade to isolated towns along the coast of South Australia . Later she was converted from her original configuration to a ketch . During World War II , the Royal Australian Navy requisitioned the " Falie " , renaming her as HMAS " Falie " . Initially she was used as an inspection vessel . On the night of 31 May , she was acting as a watchdog outside Sydney Harbour , when she struck a Japanese midget submarine trying to infiltrate the harbour . The " Falie " was converted in 1943 to a stores vessel , and was deployed to Papua New Guinea , where she saw action landing troops in enemy territory by night . In 1946 , she was paid off and returned to her owners . For the next 15 years , she carried explosives around the Australian coast . In 1968 , she returned to South Australian waters where she continued to operate as a trading vessel until she retired in 1982 , the last ketch to operate commercially in South Australian waters , and the last sail powered trading vessel in Australian waters . Operating as an overnight charter vessel between 1986 and 2005 , Falie supported fishing and diving tours around the South Australian coastline . Between 1990 and 2005 , Falie was the primary vessel used for Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions . Here she featured in many international nature documentaries , filming and photographing great white sharks off South Australia ' s coast , and entertaining tourists from Australia and around the world on shark cage diving adventures . Preservation . The " Falie " was then purchased by the Government of South Australia for preservation as a community and educational resource . The ship was restored for the state ' s sesquicentenary celebrations in 1986 , with re - masting , new sails , and the fitting of accommodation and a galley . With this arrangement , she could carry up to 70 passengers on day trips , or 20 passengers plus nine crew overnight . In 2005 , a survey revealed that her hull plates had corroded to the point where she was unseaworthy . She was not returned to seaworthiness as no sponsor could be found to cover the cost of repairs , estimated to be more than a million dollars . In 2007 , it was proposed to move the " Falie " to the wharf at American River , Kangaroo Island as an interpretive maritime museum , but by 2009 , this had not been acted on . It was suggested that the South Australian government was looking to divest itself of the " Falie " , and that the estimated cost of repairs to the hull was in excess of $ 3 million . " Failie " is currently owned by the SA Department of Planning , Transport and Infrastructure ( formerly DTEI ) .