Although originally ordered as a support ship for the Australian submarines AE1 and AE2 she was used by the Royal Navy between 1917 and 1919. In the meantime were both submarines lost. Her motto was “Nothing Too Diffcult”. Laid down at the yard of John Brown and Company at Clydebank, Scotland on 14 October 1914, launched on 28 October 1916, commissioned in the Royal Navy on 21 March 1917, decommissioned from Royal Navy service in 1919, handed over to the Australian navy and commissioned on 25 March 1919, between 1922-1929 used as destroyer tender, , renamed HMAS Penguin in 1929, between 1929-1930 used as a submarine tender, between 1930-1941 used as a depot ship, renamed HMAS Platypus in 1941, between 1941-1944 as a base ship/training ship and between 1944-1946 as a maintenance ship (Jane‘s called her a depot and repair ship in those years), decommissioned and placed in the reserve on 13 May 1946, paid off on 1 November 1956, stricken on 20 February 1958 and sold to be broken up in the same year.
With a displacement of 3,476 tons were her dimensions 94 (waterline)-99 (over all0 x 13 x 4,78 metres or 310’x 325’x 44 x 15’8” (according to Jane’s 1944-1945 maximum 15¾’). The two sets of triple expansion reciprocating steam engines and four cylindrical return tube boilers supplying 3,500 ihp allowed while driving one screw a speed of 15,5 knots. Her crew numbered in wartime 357 men. Her armament consisted of 1-4.7” gun, although Jane’s said that in 1944-1945 no armament was reported.
