HMAS Canberra (l)
A dramatic presentation of HMAS Canberra underway in a turbulent sea.
Sadly, Canberra was lost during the Battle of Savo Island which set the scene for the subsequent bitter Guadalcanal Campaign. In addition to Canberra the Japanese sank the cruisers Quincy and Vincennes; the cruisers Astoria, and the destroyers Ralph Talbot and Patterson were badly damaged.
At the request of US President Franklin D Roosevelt, a Baltimore class cruiser commissioned by the US Navy on 14 October 1943 was named USS Canberra to commemorate the loss of the Australian ship, the only US Navy vessel to be named after a foreign capital city or vessel.
- About Frederick Elliott
Fred Elliot was born in England in 1865 and came to Queensland with his family in 1876. He started work as a lithographic artist at the Queensland Government Printing Office in 1896 and worked there until 1903. He then moved to Sydney.
He specialised in marine watercolour studies, travelling up and down the coast by ship and sketching scenes that he later turned into paintings. Elliott was active in Sydney from the 1890s to the 1920s, mainly painting Sydney Harbour including views and individual ships.
His watercolours are characterised by a high key and strong atmospheric effects. He showed his paintings in the Queensland National Association’s exhibitions and with the Queensland Art Society and the NSW Society of Artists.
- About HMAS Canberra (l)
HMAS Canberra was one of two 10,000 ton County Class Heavy Cruisers ordered by the Australian Government in 1924. In the following nine years leading up to the outbreak of the World War 2, Canberra remained in commission with several periods as the Flagship of the Australian Squadron.
More reading
- Additional resources for Frederick Elliott
- Additional resources for HMAS Canberra (l)
