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HMT QUEEN MARY in Sydney Harbour with ferry in foreground
HMT QUEEN MARY in Sydney Harbour with ferry in foreground

HMT QUEEN MARY in Sydney Harbour with ferry in foreground

Photographer (Australian, 1899 - 1953)
DateMay 1940
Object number00020461
NameNitrate negative
MediumCellulose acetate negative, black and white
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionSydney ferry SS KOONDOOLOO in Sydney Harbour with RMS QUEEN MARY behind, was taken when the Cunard Line's RMS QUEEN MARY had been converted into a troopship after arriving in Sydney from New York in March 1940. In May 1940 it left Sydney bound for the United Kingdom with Australian troops.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.