HMAS Arunta HMAS Westralia with US Navy Light Cruser

by Phil Belbin

Medium:

Oil on Canvas

Place made:

St Ives, Sydney

Date:

1986

Setting:

WW II (1939-1945)

Image courtesy of the Royal Australian Navy

HMAS Arunta (foreground) is displaying some signal flags, HMAS Westralia, US Navy Light Cruiser (background).

About Phil Belbin
Phil Belbin was interested in art from a young age and a prolific drawer. He is said to have produced his first comic book at the age of eleven and had his first published work, a calendar for a metallurgist, at the age of thirteen. He studied art for two years at East Sydney Technical College. In 1942 Belbin had further training for one year at Sydney's The Sun newspaper as an intern in the art department.

In 1943 Belbin enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force and served as an armourer in the Pacific Islands. Following his demobilisation in March 1946, Belbin found work at Frank Johnson Publications as an illustrator. In 1947 Belbin went to work for K.G. Murray Publishing Company. He created cartoons, comic strips and artwork for the company over the next 30 years.

Throughout his time at the publishing house Belbin also worked as a freelance illustrator for other publications and illustrated campaigns for advertising agencies and numerous private commissions. Belbin's list of commercial art clients grew to include local and international engineering, aerospace, and transportation companies.

In 1974 Belbin was awarded a 'Citation of Merit' by the New York Society of Illustrator and in 1984 he was elected as a fellow by the Royal Society of Arts, London.

Throughout his life Belbin had maintained a keen interest in steam transport - ships and trains. In addition to his print illustrations, Belbin also painted scenes of shipping and steam trains whose accurate details were highly regarded.

Belbin was asked to illustrate the book “The Royal Australian Navy: the first seventy-five years”. This book contains twenty-six outstanding ship paintings and several drawings by Phil Belbin. The text was by Ross Gillett. It was published by Child & Henry in 1989.

Phil Belbin passed away in 1993, succumbing to motor neurone disease.

More paintings by Phil Belbin
About Ships and aircraft in companyHMAS Arunta (I)HMAS Westralia (I)
HMAS Westralia was an Armed Merchant Cruiser/Landing Ship Infantry. She started out as Westralia twin screw motor passenger vessel, built in Scotland. She was requisitioned for war service as an Armed Merchant Cruiser. Her active career was spent almost continuously on convoy protection duty. In July 1944 she began transporting troops to the forward areas operating from New Guinea bases. At the end of WW 2 the ship was chartered to the British Ministry of Transport for use as a Troop Carrier.

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