HMAS Arunta (l) patrolling the Admiralty Islands
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) destroyer HMAS Arunta, together with American destroyers covered all the landings in the Admiralty Islands and shelled Japanese positions before the troops went ashore. She is shown here patrolling the coast of Manus Island after escorting Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) troops safely into Hyene Harbour.
- About Alan Moore
Alan was born in Melbourne. He began life drawing art classes at age 16 but was forbidden by his father from continuing because the subjects were nude. He took up his studies again when he turned 18, at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School, this time completing his studies to obtain a degree. He won several art and drawing prizes in Melbourne.
Following the outbreak of the Second World War he enlisted in the RAAF in 1942 and was assigned the task of drawing diagrams of Allied planes. Alan applied to become an official war artist and in February 1943 the Australian War Memorial Art Committee appointed him in November 1943 and attached him to the army, with the rank of lieutenant. His commission was to depict the activities of the RAAF working in New Guinea, the Middle East and Europe.
He did drawings and watercolours at Milne Bay but this work was destroyed by wet humid weather. He then started working in oils and in March 1944 Alan was painting in the Admiralty Islands and witnessed the battle on Los Negros Island. He later voyaged to Port Moresby and completed some works there.
Alan returned to Melbourne in April 1944 to complete several paintings. A few months later he set sail on a Merchant Navy ship bound for Cairo. He visited several places in the Mediterranean to depict RAAF activities, including Malta and Bari.
In March 1945 Alan was sent to London to sketch the reception of the Australian prisoners of war,then to Germany to sketch the prisoner of war camps. Alan recorded his observations in paintings, drawings and photographs. These distressing works convey the wretched atmosphere of the camp, and they describe some of the hellish scenes that confronted the artist.
At the end of his commission as an official artist Alan presented over 140 works to the Australian War Memorial. The Memorial commissioned Moore for several large paintings, including portraits of Generals MacArthur and Allen.
After the war Alan spent some years in Europe. He eventually returned to Melbourne, where he taught painting at Swinburne Technical College from c. 1963. Alan then moved to Avoca where he continued to paint at his studio until he was 95, stopped by arthritis and failing vision he moved into a nursing home. He died on 24 September 2015
- About HMAS Arunta (I)
HMAS Arunta (l) was the first of three Tribal Class destroyers built at Cockatoo Dockyard during World War 2. Arunta began escorting convoys and other shipping between Australia and New Guinea. Arunta (I) served with distinction in New Guinea and the Pacific from 1942 to 1944, the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944, and Lingayen Gulf in 1945.
More reading
- Additional resources for Alan Moore
- Additional resources for HMAS Arunta (I)
