Australian Army ship Crusader ( AV 2767 ) " Crusader " ( AV2767 ) was an Australian Army amphibious operations support ship of World War II . She was launched shortly before the war ended and entered service in late 1945 . From 1945 to 1947 she was mainly used to return Australian Army equipment from the islands off New Guinea . She was also loaned to the Australian Shipping Control Board in early 1947 and transported earth moving equipment and timber between Melbourne and Tasmania . However , the Army did not need a ship with " Crusader " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s capabilities after the war , and she was sold in 1947 to the Queensland Cement and Lime Company which operated her as a coral barge on the Brisbane River until the mid - 1980s . The ship was scuttled in 1986 and subsequently became a popular dive wreck . Design and construction . During late 1944 and early 1945 the Australian Army suffered from a shortage of shipping , leading to delays in moving heavy equipment and small watercraft from Australia to operational areas in the South West Pacific . While several British and United States vessels were eventually made available in mid - 1945 , the Australian Army ' s chief engineer , Major General Clive Steele , chose to design and build a heavy lift ship for the Army . Steele personally designed the ship , which was intended to support amphibious operations and transport supplies . He deliberately underestimated the project ' s cost in order to gain approval for the ship ' s design and construction . The ship ' s design incorporated a number of unusual features . " Crusader " had a shallow draft to allow her to operate close to the shore , as well as four rudders and six engines driving six propellers to give her a high degree of manoeuvrability . While the ship required engines capable of generating a total of , the largest engines which were available in Australia at the time each generated only horsepower . Only six of these engines could be fitted into the ship , and she was considered under powered during her Army service . Her hold could carry of stores and an additional 40 vehicles could be embarked on her deck . The ship also had six cranes to move heavy equipment , as well as six bridge - like structures which were used to embark and disembark vehicles . This equipment allowed her to discharge cargo at the rate of at any one time . " Crusader " had a ' box - like ' appearance , and her design did not impress naval engineers . " Crusader " was built by the Melbourne Harbour Trust at Williamstown Dockyard in Williamstown , Victoria . She was the largest all - welded steel vessel to have been constructed in Australia at the time , and her final price of £124 , 000 was considerably more than Steele ' s deliberate underestimate . The ship was launched on 8 August 1945 after being named by Steele ' s wife , and later became the largest ship to be commissioned by the Australian Army during World War II . Construction of a sister ship , to be called AV2768 " Corsair " , was also begun , but this ship was cancelled when the war ended . Service history . The ship completed her sea trials in late November 1945 , and subsequently entered service with the Army ' s No . 2 Ordnance Craft Park . In February 1946 " Crusader " sailed to Rabaul in New Britain and later Torokina , Bougainville . During these and later voyages she proved successful in her intended role , and returned supplies and equipment from the islands to Australia . She also transported the bodies of 600 Australian servicemen killed during the fighting in the Solomon Islands to Port Moresby for permanent interment in the war cemetery there . Other unusual tasks undertaken by the vessel included transporting 800 native New Guineans from Aitape , Madang , Torokina and Wewak to a dispersal centre located in Rabaul and moving 44 tank s from Torokina to Sydney . By January 1947 the Army no longer needed a ship with " Crusader " ' s capabilities , and she was loaned to the Australian Shipping Control Board . In February that year she transported a load of earth moving equipment from Melbourne to Launceston , and carried a cargo of timber back to Melbourne . She continued to be manned by an Army crew and made several further trips between Tasmania and the mainland , but in April 1947 it was reported that the ship was to be scrapped on the grounds that she was considered unseaworthy . Gil Duthie , the Federal member for Wilmot , sought to have " Crusader " retained in service until the shortage of shipping capable of transporting heavy loads to and from Tasmania was rectified . The Shipping Control Board rejected Duthrie ' s representations on the grounds that " Crusader " would need extensive alterations before she could be permanently used for commercial trade , and it would take at least a year to complete the necessary works . However , the Board gave a commitment to make other ships available to transport timber from Tasmania . " Crusader " was subsequently offered for sale , and was purchased by the Queensland Cement and Lime Company ( QCL ) . She arrived at Brisbane on 28 September 1947 and was subsequently renamed " Cementco " . QCL used " Cementco " as a self - propelled coral barge . The ship was converted to this role in Brisbane by the firms Evans Deakin , Evans Anderson and Phelan . Modifications included moving the wheel - house from the aft superstructure to about from the bow and extensively altering the cargo holds to carry up to of coral . After these works were completed in July 1948 " The Courier - Mail " reported that they had " made the strangest vessel on the Australian waterfront even stranger " . " Cementco " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s stern was later extended so that each member of her crew had their own cabin . In her new role the ship carried coral which had been dredged from Moreton Bay by the converted Landing Ship Tank " Coral " ( the former HMAS " LST 3022 " ) to QCL ' s cement factory at Darra in Brisbane . Like the rest of QCL ' s small fleet , " Cementco " underwent a period of extensive maintenance at the Cairncross dry dock in Brisbane once every three years . During the 1974 Brisbane flood the ship ' s crew had to fasten " Cementco " to the pylons of the Story Bridge to prevent her from being carried down the Brisbane River . " Cementco " continued to transport coral until the mid - 1980s , when QCL was acquired by the firm Holderbank and another ship was purchased to transport clinker to the company ' s new factory at Gladstone . She was subsequently laid up at Mary Street Wharf while attempts were made to sell her ; during this period she was renamed " Crusader II " to avoid confusion with a new ship named " Cementco " . A buyer was not found , and in 1986 " Cementco " was sunk at Flinders Reef off Cape Moreton where she later became a popular dive wreck .