Thomas Ismay had purchased the houseflag of the Pilkington and Wilson's White Star Line which had prospered during the Australian gold rushes of the 1850s.

[4] After twelve years of uneventful peacetime service, Afric was requisitioned for use as a troopship by the Australian government in 1914 on the outbreak of World War I.

During the maiden voyage her rudder stock broke, and Persic had to remain at Cape Town until a replacement could be shipped out from Belfast and fitted.

On 12 September 1918 while carrying American soldiers Persic was torpedoed off the Isles of Scilly, but remained afloat and was able to reach port for repairs.

[1][2][7] Runic was launched on 25 October 1900, and entered service with her maiden voyage on 19 January 1901, on 25 November that year she towed the liner Dunottar Castle which had broken down to the port of Dakar.

Runic was commissioned by the Australian government as a war transport in January 1915, and on 1 May that year she collided with and sunk the collier Horst Martini in fog whilst in the English Channel, but there were no deaths.

On 20 September 1940 New Sevilla was sailing in a convoy from Liverpool to Antarctica when she was torpedoed off the coast of Ireland, she sank the next day with the loss of two lives.

After an uneventful early career, on 17 March 1907, Suevic ran aground on rocks near Lizard Point, Cornwall due to a navigational error which led to her position being miscalculated.

On 2 April Suevic was successfully divided with dynamite, and the freed stern section was made seaworthy and then towed to Southampton, with the original bow left on the rocks.

She initially remained in commercial service following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, but was taken up as an Australian troopship in May 1915, and made one dedicated trooping journey to the Gallipoli Campaign.

In 1928 she was sold to Yngvar Hvistendahl's Finnhval A/S of Norway, and like her sisters Medic and Runic was converted into a whale factory ship and renamed Skytteren.