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Yannergee

Vessel numberHV000241

Vessel Registration NumberV G134 S

Builder General Motors Holden Ltd.

Previous owner Australian Army

Date1942

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 12 m x 3.4 m x 1.2 m, 15 tonnes (39.37 ft x 11.16 ft x 3.94 ft, 15.24 tons)

DescriptionYANNERGEE was at GMH's Fishermans Bend vehicle factory at a time when all available resources were directed toward the war effort. Late in 1942 the Australian Shipbuilding Board began letting contracts with various manufacturing firms to build small vessels for the services, even though these firms may have had no shipbuilding background. General Motors was one of these firms and this vessel was one of the first built.

Several similar craft were built at the Fisherman's Bend factory and others were made at different General Motors factories around the country in this period. A similar craft, ARCHIE BADENOCH (HV000140) was built by General Motors in South Australia.

These craft were put to work performing general duties between ship and shore in all the major Australian ports as well as parts of the Pacific War Theatre north of Australia. Some were kept in use after the war and YANNERGEE was not decommissioned until 1981 after nearly 40 years serving with the Army and RAN. It is thought to have had the numbers AM 410 and AM 1876.

The 12 metre long wooden craft was carvel built with closely spaced frames and a simple layout. It had two settee berths forward, a wheelhouse and enclosed saloon, with an open but covered cockpit and seats aft. The engine specified on the plans was a 128 kw (170 hp) General Motors diesel. The craft carried personnel, and small cargo items and some were involved with medical evacuations.

In 2008 YANNERGEE had found a new life as a recreational motor launch on the Murray River, retaining a similar arrangement to the original plan, but fitted out with a galley and head, and powered by a Perkins diesel.
SignificanceYANNERGEE is a World War II work boat built by General Motors Holden Ltd (GMH) in Melbourne Victoria in 1942/43. The vessel remains in its original form as an AWB with a recreational fitout. It is one of many surviving of this type of craft and represents the vessels that worked relentlessly throughout the war servicing ships and military installations.