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SS WESTRALIA
SS WESTRALIA

SS WESTRALIA

Artist
Date1915
Object number00040025
NameOil painting
MediumOil painting, board, timber frame, glass
DimensionsOverall: 485 x 640 x 20 mm, 2.26 kg
Sight: 450 x 600 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Doris Marshall
Collections
DescriptionOil painting on board of the Huddart Parker & Co. passenger steamship WESTRALIA in a high sea. The artist Hugo Lupi is thought to have been wokring as crew on the vessel in 1915 when the painting was completed. There is another surviving view of the same vessel signed by Lupi.HistoryWESTRALIA (I) was an Australian coastal steamer built in 1897 by Sir James Laing at Deptford Yards, Sunderland, United Kingdom for Messrs Huddart, Parker & Co Limited. The single screw steamer was capable of carrying 180 first class passengers, 200 steerage and cargo with a gross tonnage of 2742 tons. For a time it was the largest passenger ship operating in Australian waters and was regarded as a luxurious ship, with electric lights, modern bathrooms and finely carved oak and teak panelling in the public rooms. Its design was considered to be so successful that the company ordered three more ships based on the dimensions of the WESTRALIA between 1899 and 1904. WESTRALIA undertook the coastal service on Australia's eastern ports travelling from Melbourne to Fremantle to take advantage of the economic boom generated from the Victorian gold rush in the 1850s. After this it served for 20 years on the Sydney to Hobart run. It was sold in 1927 and towed to New Guinea where it was used as a store ship after having its engines removed. Based in Rabaul the vessel was used to hold Copra waiting to be shipped to Australia. A Japanese bomb sunk WESTRALIA on 22 January 1942 while it was in Rabual Harbour. Huddart Parker was formed in Geelong in the 1850s and grew on the trade produced by the Victorian gold rush to become a major Australian shipping company by the 1890s. The discovery of gold in Western Australia in the 1890s sparked a boom and several companies competed for service in the trade. They rapidly expanded in the 20th century and became publicly listed in 1911 with the name Huddart Parker Ltd. Five ships were requisitioned during the First World War, with the loss of one. During the inter-war period Huddart Parker expanded into servicing Tasmania with a New Zealand company. Its three passenger ships, ZEALANDIA, WESTRALIA (II) and WANGANELLA were once again requisitioned for the Second World War with ZEALANDIA sinking during the Japanese raid on Darwin in February 1942. Huddart Parker was taken over by Bitumen and Oil Refineries Australia Ltd in 1961.SignificanceThis painting shows the WESTRALIA in its role in interstate Australian passenger travel during the first half of the 20th century. It is an interesting and rare example of Hugo Lupi's work in the style of the Italian school.