Japanese sailors probably on board naval vessel TAISEI MARU

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

Date1906-1934

Object number00034704

NamePhotograph

MediumGlass plate negative

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionThis image depicts Japanese sailors probably on board the Japanese naval training vessel TAISEI MARU. The four-masted steel barque was built in 1904 by Kawasaki Dockyard Company for the Japanese Imperial Government in Kobe, Japan. In December 1906, 'The Sydney Morning Herald' reported that 'the pioneer vessel of the Imperial Nautical College of Tokyo' had arrived in Sydney. The ship was moored in Woolloomooloo Bay and opened for inspection by the public. The vessel visited Australia again in 1911, 1913, 1926 and 1934.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.