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Apanie

Vessel numberHV000732

Previous owner Australian Army

Date1945

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 14.32 m × 14.02 m × 1.83 m (47 ft × 46 ft × 6 ft)

DescriptionThe “Australian Army Watercraft – The Unknown Fleet” indicates that 65 vessels were ordered during the war for Army use along another 12 for the Navy. By the end of the war 62 tow boats were under construction or delivered. These sturdy craft remained in Army service until the 1960s. The last Navy example (ex-Army tug AT1536 DOOEN) was paid off in 1993.

APANIE is identical or similar to KOWARRA (HV000462), CERBERUS IV (HV000392), NABILLA (HV000083) and BAREKI (HV000028). Records show it was attached to 2nd Australian Ordinance Small Craft in 1945 and ran trials at Clifton Gardens, Sydney. It is noted as having towed COBAKI (AB431) and later the requisitioned vehicular ferry GEORGE PEAT during WW2.

After the war at an unknown time it was sold into commercial service and it is known that between 1976 and 1982 it was a used as a tug at Port Adelaide with SA Dept. of Marine & Harbors. 1980 records record it towed a pontoon laden with salvage equipment back to DMH Dockyard at Glanville, and the equipment had been used to refloat capsized dredge H. C. MEYER.

APANIE’s history remains unclear from there until 2011 when the current owner bought the tow boat. It was kept at Yaringa Marina in Westernport, Vic, with registration No.ER 434 and the new name APANIE. It was used as a comfortable recreational fishing boat out of Westernport and around Phillip Island / Bass Strait. It was fitted with a Detroit diesel engine which had replaced its original motor.

The current owner saw opportunity to improve its layout and appearance and overhauled the cabin and superstructure that had been previously added. APANIA remains in good condition with its original hull and deck, repaired where required, and a more recent superstructure.

SignificanceAPANIE is a wooden 42 foot tow boat built in the early 1940s in NSW. The builder is unknown. It was originally tow boat number AT1520 COMBARA and was one of many that were built for the Army Water Transport during World War II. The design came from Bert Swinfield who had modified an American design. It a rare surviving example of the many craft built for service in utility roles during WW2, and later took on commercial work when sold out of the military.