US Great White Fleet entering Sydney Harbour
Date1908
Object number00050217
NamePhotograph
MediumSilver gelatin print
DimensionsOverall: 330 x 380 mm
Sight: 255 x 300 mm
Sight: 255 x 300 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection
Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionThis silver gelatin print depicts the arrival of the United States naval fleet into Sydney Harbour in 1908. The image was taken from a harbourside vantage point with a crowd of onlookers in the foreground. The photograph commemorates the visit of the American Great White Fleet to Australia in 1908.HistoryIn December 1907 United States President Theodore Roosevelt sent a US Atlantic Battle Fleet of 16 battleships on a 14 month goodwill cruise around the world. The fleet was a chance for the Navy to practice seamanship and express America's world power. Roosevelt was also concerned about rising Japanese aggression and their expansionist foreign policy. The cruise would be a political and public relations exercise to build domestic support for more naval construction.
Led by the flagship, USS CONNECTICUT, the Great White Fleet as it became known, consisted of 16 battleships painted white, as was the practice of all US Navy ships in times of peace. The ships sailed in four divisions of four ships each. Early in the voyage the order of the ships was altered to allow the best-looking vessels to be at the front of the fleet. The cruise incorporated six continents, 26 countries and 32 ports with 614 officers and 13,504 crew. It consumed 435,000 tons of coal, more than any other naval expedition and was the largest fleet to ever accomplish a circumnavigation of the globe.
Australia was not originally on the itinerary route of the Great White Fleet, who only decided to visit after receiving a direct invitation from the Prime Minister Alfred Deakin. One quarter of the Australian population, over one million people, saw the Great White Fleet during its three-week visit to Sydney, Melbourne and Albany. Public holidays were declared and enthusiastic crowds flocked to see the ships and parades. Vast arrays of souvenirs were produced for a population caught up in the euphoria.
SignificanceThis photograph commemorates the important visit of the Great White Fleet to Australia in 1908, a US exercise to demonstrate their naval strength and build national alliances. It is representative of the production of souvenir items for the visit.
