SS ZEALANDIA
Artist
Fred Dawson
(c 1890-1925)
Date1913
Object number00000440
NamePainting
MediumWatercolour on paper.
DimensionsOverall: 355 x 605 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThe Huddart Parker Limited passenger liner SS ZEALANDIA painted by Fred Dawson in 1913.HistoryThe SS ZEALANDIA was built in 1910 for Huddart Parker Limited but chartered to the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand for the first years of its service to 1913.
It was requisitioned by British Admiralty at the end of WWI (from 1918 to 1919) to transport Australian and American troops to Europe, and then return them after the end of the war.
In 1940, during WWII, it was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy. It was kept on transport duty around Australia, the Pacific and Asia, most notably to Singapore and Timor. On 19 February 1942 it was moored in Darwin having transported an anti-tank company from Sydney. That morning the Japanese carried out an air attack. The SS ZEALANDIA was hit and once the stored ammunition on board began to explode the ship was abandoned with the loss of two crew members, 142 others survived.
SignificanceThe SS ZEALANDIA was a familiar sight in Australia from 1910 when it was involved in the trans-Tasman route to New Zealand.
