SS WESTFALEN near Woolloomooloo Bay in Sydney

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

Date1906-1944

Object number00020726

NameNitrate negative

MediumEmulsion on nitrate film.

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionSS WESTFALEN was built in 1906 for the German company, Norddeutscher Lloyd. On 7 August 1944, the vessel was mined and sunk off the coast of Sweden. In total, 150 people lost their lives.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.