HMS DANAE at the naval buoy number 9
Photographer
Frederick Garner Wilkinson
(1901-1975)
Date1924
Object number00037686
NameGlass plate negative
MediumEmulsion on glass
DimensionsOverall: 82 x 103 mm, 2 mm, 0.04 kg
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionHMS DANAE is shown at naval buoy number 9 on 11 April 1924. This photograph was taken by Frederick Wilkinson from a special cruise on board the ferry KARINGAL. DANAE was one of five light cruisers active in the Royal Navy's Empire Cruise of 1923-1924.HistoryDuring 1923-1924 HMS HOOD was flagship of the Special Service Squadron on the Empire Cruise, a world tour that stopped at many countries who fought and held allegiance with Britain in World War I. The tour started on 27 November 1923 and lasted until 28 September 1924. It was largely a public relations exercise to express Britain's world sea power, particularly relevant in the aftermath of World War I. The fleet consisted of H M Ships HOOD, REPULSE, the light cruisers DELHI, DRAGON, DAUNTLESS, DANAE and DUNEDIN with nine other supporting vessels.
The Royal Navy's HMS DANAE was launched on 26 January 1918 and scrapped at Barrow, England on 27 March 1948. The ship was a Danae class cruiser and one of the fastest vessels of its time. DANAE was active in the last few months of World War I conducting patrol duties. In the interwar period it conducted patrol and escort duties and participated in the British Special Service Squadron's world tour in 1923-1924. During World War II DANAE served in the Southern Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Yellow Sea and also provided support during the Invasion of Normandy. The ship's last years of service were spent as a transport vessel for the Polish Red Cross.
SignificanceThis photograph is representative of HMS DANAE in Sydney Harbour in 1924 as part of the Royal Navy's Special Service Squadron. The print is part of the F G Wilkinson Photograph Collection, comprising more than 700 glass plate negatives of ships in Sydney Harbour between 1919 and 1936. The collection provides an extensive and well-documented coverage of the changing styles of shipping in the port of Sydney before the decline of the coastal trade. The backgrounds also reveal the changing face of the city and harbour foreshores.
