P&O liner SS STRATHMORE in Sydney Harbour

Date1949-1963

Object number00046727

NamePhotograph

MediumColour photographic print on paper.

DimensionsOverall: 194 x 243 x 1 mm

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Warwick Abadee

Terms

DescriptionThis hand-coloured photograph shows RMS STRATHMORE in Sydney Harbour, with the Circular Quay ferry wharves visible in the background. HistoryRMS STRATHMORE was the third of five "Strath" liners built by Vickers-Armstrong for P&O during the 1930s. Unlike the first two Straths, STRATHNAVER and STRATHAIRD, STRATHMORE had only one funnel and carried fewer passengers. STRATHMORE was launched on 4 April 1935, with accommodation for 445 first and 665 tourist class passengers and air conditioning in the first class dining room - a first for a P&O vessel. It departed Tilbury on its maiden voyage to Bombay and Australia on 26 October 1935, setting a new record for the run to Bombay. STRATHMORE was requisitioned as a troopship during the Second World War. It was involved in the North African landings and was then used to repatriate troops after the war. In 1948 STRATHMORE was refitted in Newcastle to accommodate 497 first and 487 tourist class passengers. In the early 1960s, as demand for assisted migrant passages declined, it was converted to a one-class ship for 1,200 passengers. STRATHMORE completed its final voyage to Australia in 1963 and was then sold to Greek ship owner John S Latsis. It was renamed MARIANNA LATSI and used to transport pilgrims to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, before being broken up in Italy in 1969.SignificanceRMS STRATHMORE was the third of the renowned P&O "Strath" liners, which carried thousands of post-war British migrants to Australia until the early 1960s. This photograph is aesthetically interesting, with the use of hand-colouring techniques to highlight elements of the white-hulled, single-funnelled Strath liner in Sydney Harbour after the Second World War.