HMAS BRISBANE
Artist
Frank Norton
(1916-1983)
Date1935
Object number00033507
NameDrawing
MediumPencil sketch with white crayon highlights on green paper.
DimensionsOverall: 155 x 232 mm
Copyright© Lynne Norton
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionFrank Norton has drawn the broadside of HMAS BRISBANE (I) at a wharf. BRISBANE was one of the first cruisers built for the Royal Australian Navy and was a regular fixture in Australian coastal defence after World War I.HistoryHMAS BRISBANE, a Town class light cruiser, was launched from Commonwealth Naval Dockyard, Cockatoo Island, Sydney in 1915 and commissioned in 1916. It was one of the first cruisers built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) along with HMA Ships MELBOURNE and SYDNEY. She departed Australia in December 1916 for service in World War I and arrived in Malta in February 1917. However, BRISBANE stayed in the area only a short time before being deployed to the Indian Ocean to search for German vessels. Between October 1917 and October 1918, BRISBANE served as a patrol vessel in Pacific and Australian waters and was then ordered to Britain for active service. The Armistice was signed in November 1918 as the ship was en route, thus ending hostilities. Instead, BRISBANE proceeded through the Mediterranean and arrived in Portsmouth in January 1919 for a three-month refit.
The voyage back to Australia commenced in April 1919 and BRISBANE arrived in Sydney in June. Until moved to the reserve fleet in 1922, the cruiser was involved in patrolling Australian waters, and for the next few years spent time in both the active and reserve fleets. For six months in 1925 she served on exchange in the Far East with the China Squadron of the Royal Navy and HMS CONCORD replaced her in the Australian fleet. In 1927 it underwent a major refit to be converted into a training vessel for the next few years until being placed in the reserve fleet in 1930. In 1935 BRISBANE was recommissioned and steamed to Britain were she was decommissioned and broken up in 1936.SignificanceThis drawing represents an important naval ship from the Royal Australian Navyand is a fine example of the work of naval artist Frank Norton.
