HMT BENALLA

Artist John Allcot (Australian, 1888 - 1973)

Date1919

Object number00049107

NamePainting

MediumWatercolour on board, timber and glass frame.

DimensionsOverall: 375 x 475 x 25 mm, 135 g
Sight: 220 x 324 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection Norma Dorothy Free Bequest

Terms

DescriptionA watercolour painting of HMAT BENALLA by John Allcot in 1919. HMAT BENALLA was a troopship in World War 1 and was part of the first convoy of ships to depart Australia in 1914.HistoryThe HMAT BENALLA was owned by the P&O SN Co, London, and was until 6 August 1917. She was part of the first convoy of the Australian and New Zealand Imperial Expeditionary Forces leaving Australia1 November 1914 from King Georges Sound, Western Australia. This was the first stage in a great adventure for most troops a local paper enthusiastically wrote of the HMAT BENALLA, "The "BENALLA"' A24 on which some of our men are leaving, originally belonged to the P & 0 branch service. Carpenters and painters have been working almost day and night turning it into a troopship. Everything is arranged for the comfort of the men, whose quarters are spotlessly clean and airy, with good bathrooms and lavatories attached. The officers occupy the ordinary cabins, which have been all done up, but the men sleep in hammocks slung 12 in a row over their mess tables and in the morning these are rolled up and put away. The large kitchens are interesting, look most business-like with their huge saucepans and boilers full of food, and they both have excellent cooks at the head of affairs" (The Mildura Cultivator, 10 October 1914). SignificanceJohn Allcot was a well respected marine painter, known for his impressionistic oil paintings and watercolours of shipping of all kinds, both contemporary and historic. He often depicted vessels entering or sailing on Sydney Harbour.