HMAS Kanimbla ( C78 ) HMAS " Kanimbla was a passenger ship converted for use as an armed merchant cruiser and landing ship infantry during World War II . Built during the mid - 1930s as the passenger liner MV " Kanimbla for McIlwraith McEachern Limited , the ship operated in Australian waters until 1939 , when she was requisitioned for military service , converted into an armed merchant cruiser , and commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS " Kanimbla " . Initially used to board and take control of merchant vessels belonging to Occupied Europe and operating in Asian waters , " Kanimbla " led the raid to capture the Iranian port of Bandar Shahpur in August 1941 , and was present during the Japanese submarine attack on Sydney Harbour in 1942 . In 1943 , the ship was converted into a Landing Ship Infantry , transferred to the Royal Australian Navy , and operated throughout the South West Pacific Theatre until the end of the war . " Kanimbla " was decommissioned and returned to her commercial owners in 1950 . In 1961 , she was sold to the Pacific Transport Company and renamed Oriental Queen . The ship operated as a liner throughout the Pacific and to Japan until 1973 , when she was broken up for scrap Construction . The ship was laid down as motor vessel ( MV ) " Kanimbla " for McIlwraith McEachern Limited by Harland and Wolff Limited at Belfast in Northern Ireland in July 1933 . She was launched on 15 December 1935 and completed on 26 April 1936 . The ship was named for the Kanimbla Valley , west of Blackheath in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales . Operational history . Pre - war . The ship operated a passenger service between Cairns , Queensland and Fremantle , Western Australia until the outbreak of World War II . World War II . At the start of the war , " Kanimbla " was converted to an armed merchant cruiser at Sydney . She commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS " Kanimbla " , though with a largely Australian crew , on 6 September 1939 . The ship was assigned the pennant number F23 . " Kanimbla " was engaged in patrolling the coasts of Asia and boarding vessels of the countries of occupied Europe so that they could be taken into " Allied control " . On 24 August 1941 , " Kanimbla " led a raid to capture the Iranian port of Bandar Shahpur . The ship led seven other vessels , including the gunboat , the corvette , the naval trawler HMT " Arthur Cavannagh " , the sloop , an oil rig tugboat , and a dhow . In addition , " Kanimbla " carried 300 Indian troops , including Gurkha s and soldiers from 3rd Battalion , 10th Baluch Regiment , whose task was to board and capture the German cargo ship " Hohenfels " . " Kanimbla " used her armament in support of the raid , which resulted in the securing of the railhead , and the capture of eight Axis merchantmen , two gunboats , and a floating dock were captured as well as the railhead . " Kanimbla " was one of several Allied vessels located in Sydney Harbour during the attack by Japanese midget submarines on 31 May 1942 . She arrived back in Sydney on 2 April 1943 , was converted to a Landing Ship Infantry ( LSI ) and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS " Kanimbla " on 1 June 1943 . She received the pennant number C78 . In this configuration , she could carry 1 , 380 troops , and carried 10 LCA landing craft . The ship earned five battle honour s for her wartime service : " New Guinea 1944 " , " Leyte Gulf 1944 " , " Lingayen Gulf 1945 " , " Borneo 1945 " , and " Pacific 1945 " . Post - war . " Kanimbla " paid off at Sydney on 25 March 1949 and was returned to her owners on 13 December 1950 . In 1961 , the ship was sold to the Pacific Transport Company and renamed " Oriental Queen " . " Oriental Queen " served as a liner visiting various Pacific islands , and served on the Yokohama – Guam route . Her final voyage concluded in Yokohama on 6 October 1973 . She was laid up , sold to Taiwanese breakers , and delivered to Kaohsiung on 7 December 1973 for scrapping .