HMS SUSSEX at naval buoy number 1 in Farm Cove
Photographer
Frederick Garner Wilkinson
(1901-1975)
Date1 December 1934
Object number00037677
NameGlass plate negative
MediumEmulsion on glass
DimensionsOverall: 82 x 103 mm, 2 mm, 0.04 kg
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionHMS SUSSEX is shown at naval buoy number 1 in Farm Cove on 1 December 1934. This photograph was taken by Frederick Wilkinson while he was travelling on board a ferry between Circular Quay and Clifton Gardens, Sydney.HistoryHMS SUSSEX was a County class heavy cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 22 February 1928. In 1934 SUSSEX carried Prince Henry the Duke of Gloucester on his Australian Royal tour from 4 October to 11 December 1934, when he attended the dedication of Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance during the visit. The main purpose of the Duke's visit was to celebrate the Centenary of Victoria but his tour included visiting Western Australia for six days, South Australia for six days, Victoria for 22 days, the Australian Capital Territory for two days, Tasmania for five days, New South Wales for 13 days and Queensland for nine days.
Prior to World War II SUSSEX served in the Mediterranean. During the war years the cruiser served in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The formal surrender of Singapore by the Japanese was signed on board HMS SUSSEX on 5 September 1945. In 1950 SUSSEX was sold for scrapping in Scotland.SignificanceThis photograph is representative of the Royal Navy's HMS SUSSEX in Sydney Harbour in 1934 as part of the Duke of Gloucester's Royal visit. The print is part of the F G Wilkinson Photograph Collection, comprising more than 700 glass plate negatives of ships in Sydney Harbour between 1919 and 1936. The collection provides an extensive and well-documented coverage of the changing styles of shipping in the port of Sydney before the decline of the coastal trade. The backgrounds also reveal the changing face of the city and harbour foreshores.
