HMS DUNEDIN

Date1919 - 1941

Object number00029671

NamePostcard

MediumSilver gelatin print and ink on paper

DimensionsOverall: 87 x 137 mm

ClassificationsPosters and postcards

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from I J Sorensen

Terms

DescriptionThis photographic postcard shows HMS DUNEDIN from broadside starboard view just off shore. Spectators in two open rowboats can be seen in the foreground.HistoryHMS DUNEDIN was a Danae class light cruiser of the Royal Navy commissioned at Newcastle-on-Tyne on 13 September 1919. In the decades prior to World War II DUNEDIN was attached to the New Zealand division of the Royal Navy. During the war it was used for searching out German battle cruisers and merchant ships as part of the Northern Patrol, then the West Indies Station and finally the South Atlantic Station. On 24 November 1941 DUNEDIN was sunk after it was hit by torpedoes from the German U-boat (U-124) off the coast of Brazil. In total 419 men lost their lives; there were only 67 survivors.SignificanceThis postcard of HMS DUNEDIN is an important record of a vessel that holds a significant place in Australian maritime history as part of the Special Service Squadron which visited Australia in 1924.