HMS DUNEDIN in Sydney Harbour
Photographer
Frederick Garner Wilkinson
(1901-1975)
Date10 April 1924
Object number00037679
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 DUNEDIN is depicted anchored on the northern side of Sydney Harbour on 10 April 1924, one day after it arrived at Sydney as part of the Special Service Squadron's world tour. The photograph was taken by Frederick Wilkinson whilst on board the special ferry cruise KANANGRA.HistoryDuring 1923-1924, the British ship HMS HOOD with the Special Service Squadron undertook the Empire Cruise, a world tour that stopped at countries who fought for and held allegiance with Britain in World War I. Starting on 27 November 1923 and lasting until 28 September 1924 the tour was largely a public relations exercise to express Britain's sea power and dominance, particularly relevant in the aftermath of World War I.
HMS 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 photograph is representative of HMS DUNEDIN in Sydney Harbour during 1924 as part of the Special Service Squadron's world tour. 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.
