HMAS Geranium was an Arabis-class sloop built in Scotland, launched on 8 November 1915, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 18 March 1916. Displacing approximately 1,250 tons, the vessel measured 267 feet 9 inches in length overall, with a beam of 33 feet 6 inches and a maximum draught of 11 feet 9 inches. Its propulsion system comprised a four-cylinder triple expansion engine driving a single propeller shaft, enabling a maximum speed of 16.5 knots. The ship had a range of around 2,000 nautical miles at 15 knots and could carry up to 250 tons of coal, suitable for extended operations. Designed primarily for minesweeping duties in European waters during World War I, Geranium was built by the Greenock & Grangemouth Dockyard Company in Greenock, Scotland. After her commissioning, she joined the Mediterranean Fleet, based at Malta. Following the war, Geranium, along with sister ships Mallow and Marguerite, was deployed to Australia to clear mines laid by the German auxiliary cruiser SMS Wolf. Despite challenging seas, they located only one mine during their operations. In October 1919, Geranium was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy, marking its transition from a minesweeper to a survey vessel. Adapted for survey duties, the vessel was not ideally suited for tropical Australian waters, given her design for the North Sea climate and a crew complement of 113, significantly larger than the intended 77. Throughout her service, Geranium encountered several incidents, including running aground on an uncharted reef off Vanderlin Island and later in the MacArthur River, both of which she managed to refloat and repair. Notably, in 1924, she was fitted to carry a Fairey IIID seaplane, becoming the first RAN survey ship to operate aircraft. She also participated in rescue operations, such as saving the civilian steamship Montoro after striking Young Reef in October 1923. In 1927, Geranium assisted the steamship Tasman after it ran aground off Clarke Island. Decommissioned in 1927, Geranium was broken up for scrap at Cockatoo Island Dockyard in 1932. Her hulks were later used as targets, sinking in the Tasman Sea outside Sydney Heads in 1935, marking the end of her maritime service.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.