Images(2)

HMAT ZEALANDIA in dazzle camouflage

Photographer H Pardy

Date1918

Object number00033615

NamePhotograph

MediumBlack and white photographic print on paper mounted on card.

DimensionsDisplay dimensions: 435 × 590 mm B Fini

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection

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Stories in photographs

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DescriptionHMAT (His Majesty's Australian Transport) ZEALANDIA in dazzle camouflage paint paint scheme in Sydney Harbour during WW1.HistoryAt the outset of WW1 the Australian Government requisitioned ships to transport troops and supplies overseas. One such ship was the ZEALANDIA, nicknamed "Z". To aid in the safe voyage of the ships and their convoy, they were painted in camouflage designs called "dazzle", a new approach in war tactics. Despite its glaring pattern, the design was based on "natural history, perceptual psychology and modern art. It was linked with experiments where..seeing is deceiving". (Eilas, Anne "Camouflage Australia: Art, Nature, Science and War", Sydney University Press, 2011). Essentially the theory was to throw off enemy ships by making it difficult for them to accurately assess the ships statistics or battle potential. It became known as "disruptive patterning" (page 4, Eilas, Anne "Camouflage Australia: Art, Nature, Science and War", Sydney University Press, 2011) and was part of the larger development of camouflage techniques during WW1. SignificanceHMAT ZEALANDIA was one of 74 ships requisitioned by the Australian Government to serve as troopships in WWI. She was owned by Huddart Parker. The ZEALANDIA was chartered again in WWII, but was lost in the first bombing raid on Darwin on 19 February, 1942.