TSS AWATEA departing, July 1937

Photographer Samuel J Hood Studio (Australian, 1899 - 1953)

Date1937

Object number00021327

NamePhotograph

MediumSilver gelatin print

DimensionsOverall: 206 x 153 mm

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionTSS AWATEA, built in 1936, was owned by Union Steamship Company and was known as the 'Queen of the Tasman Sea'. It was a luxury liner that serviced the trans-Tasman route. AWATEA was requisitioned by the British Government during World War II and was sunk in 1942.SignificanceThe Samuel J Hood photographic collection records an extensive range of maritime activity on Sydney Harbour, including sail and steam ships, crew portraits, crews at work, ship interiors, stevedores loading and unloading cargo, port scenes, pleasure boats and harbourside social activities from the 1890s through to the 1950s. They are also highly competent artistic studies and views - Hood was regarded as an important figure in early Australian photojournalism. Hood’s maritime photographs are one of the most significant collections of such work in Australia.