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Unidentified commander on board SS SHIRALA of the British India Steam Navigation Company Ltd
Unidentified commander on board SS SHIRALA of the British India Steam Navigation Company Ltd

Unidentified commander on board SS SHIRALA of the British India Steam Navigation Company Ltd

Photographer (Australian, 1899 - 1953)
Date1901-1918
Object number00021132
NameNitrate negative
MediumEmulsion on nitrate film.
DimensionsOverall: 80 x 138 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionSS SHIRALA was built in 1901 for the British India Steam Navigation Company Ltd. On 2 July 1918, the vessel was en route from London to Bombay when it was torpedoed portside and sunk by German submarine UB-57. Eight crew died, however, the 213 passengers on board survived the wreck.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.