In 1955 River Burnett became notable as the first ship ever to survive hitting Corsair Rock in Port Phillip, Victoria.

[2][3][4][5] The single screw was powered by a combination of a three-cylinder triple expansion engine and a Bauer-Wach low pressure steam turbine.

The turbine drove the same shaft as the reciprocating engine via a Föttinger fluid coupling and double reduction gearing.

[9][10][11] Evans, Deakin launched River Fitzroy in February 1944 and completed her that November,[7] 35 months after her keel was laid.

The Shipbuilding Board ordered her from Evans, Deakin at the same time as River Norman, in January 1943, but her keel was not laid until 2 November 1944.

[5] In July 1955 River Burnett was carrying a cargo of 7,800 tons of coal from Callide, Queensland, bound for Port Melbourne.

[18] On the night of 17–18 July she was passing through The Rip of Port Phillip in an ebb tide that was running to the southwest at about 5 knots (9 km/h).

The ship then "gave a wild sheer south", so at about 0105 hrs O'Toole asked the engine room to check her steering gear.

[20] Her crew used her three pumps to stem the rise of water in her forward holds, and O'Toole tried to navigate her to a part of the shore where she could be safely beached.

10 men stayed aboard River Burnett to work her pumps and starboard boiler try to keep her stern afloat.

[22] Also on 18 July a salvage expert, Captain JP Williams, came aboard to take charge of raising River Burnett from the seabed.

[22] Williams had made his name in 1941 by being part of the syndicate that recovered 555 bars of gold bullion from the wreck of RMS Niagara in New Zealand.

[23] On 18 July the tug Vigorous from Melbourne brought a floating coal grab belonging to the Harbor Trust alongside River Burnett.

The grab was to start discharging coal from her holds, reducing the strain on the ship's hull and helping her to regain buoyancy.

[26] On Thursday 21 July two tugs, Batman and Vigorous, tried to turn River Burnett to improve conditions for the salvage men working aboard her.

On 7 August another "A"-class cargo ship, River Hunter, got into difficulty outside Port Phillip Heads, and the tug Batman went to her aid.

[28] On the night of 7–8 August a northwesterly gale dislodged River Burnett's bow from the seabed and drove her about a quarter mile closer to shore.

[29] By Friday 2 September, cables had been laid connecting River Burnett to the shore near Davy Point, a distance of about a mile.

[21] On Friday 9 September Captain Brunton brought River Burnett into Melbourne under her own power, and she docked at South Wharf to discharge the remaining 5,550 tons of her cargo of coal.

[31] On Tuesday 12 September fire broke out in the 1,250 tons of coal in number 5 hold, at the stern of the ship, as it was being discharged.

There was a series of small explosions in the cargo, and firefighters poured thousands of gallons of water into the hold to extinguish it.

[32] On Tuesday 27 September three tugs, including Howard Smith and Taronga, towed River Burnett to Duke and Orr's dry dock to be repaired.

He told the court that he held a pilot's exemption certificate for Port Phillip, and he had taken ships in and out through the Heads 25 times.

[19] On 1 September the Court reached its verdict that O'Toole made a navigational error that caused River Burnett to hit Corsair Rock, and this amounted to misconduct.