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You are here: Home / Artworks / HMAS Australia (I) / HMAS Australia (I) at the surrender of the German fleet in the Firth of Forth

HMAS Australia (I) at the surrender of the German fleet in the Firth of Forth

by Arthur Burgess

HMAS Australia (I) at the surrender of the German fleet in the Firth of Forth by Arthur Burgess
Dimensions:
137.5 cm x 230 cm
Medium:
Oil on linen
Place made:
London
Date:
1919-1920
Setting:
WW I (1914-1918)
Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial

On 21 November 1918 the German High Seas Fleet of five battle cruisers, nine battleships, seven light cruisers and 49 destroyers surrendered at sea to the British Grand Fleet following the defeat of Germany. Three ships of the Royal Australian Navy were present on the occasion, Melbourne, Sydney and Australia, the latter being accorded the honour of leading the capital ships of the British port line. In this work HMAS Australia is shown in the foreground leading HMS New Zealand, of the 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron, followed by the 1st Battle Squadron of which the leading ships are HMS Revenge, Resolution and Royal Sovereign. The destroyer veering off to the left is the Ophelia. In the distance may be seen HMS Cardiff, followed by the long line of German ships, the first being SMS Seydlitz followed by, Moltke, Hindenburg, Derfflinger and Von der Tann. Beyond them again, but not visible in the picture, is the starboard division of the Grand Fleet.

  • About Arthur Burgess

    Arthur Burgess was born in NSW. He studied art in Sydney and then moved to England in 1901 to further his art studies. He exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy, London and in Paris Salons from 1904 and worked as an illustrator for The Graphic and the Illustrated London News.

    In 1913 Burgess was commissioned to paint the Australian Fleet entering Sydney Harbour for the Art Gallery of NSW, where his work is now represented.

    Burgess was appointed the official naval artist for the Commonwealth of Australia in 1918 and went on to become the art editor of Brassey's Naval and Shipping Annual from 1922 to 1930.

    Burgess specialised in maritime art, both during peacetime and war, and is noted for his paintings of naval and commercial shipping ranging from battleships at sea through to barges on the Thames.

    More paintings by Arthur Burgess
  • About HMAS Australia (I)

    The Australian Navy’s first flagship, the battle cruiser HMAS Australia  was the centrepiece of the ‘Fleet Unit’, whose acquisition signalled the RAN’s arrival as a credible ocean-going force.

More reading

  • Additional resources for Arthur Burgess
    • H.M.A.S. Australia by Arthur Burgess, Art Gallery of NSW
    • Arthur James Wetherall Burgess, Prices of Art at Auction (aasd.com.au)
  • Additional resources for HMAS Australia (I)
    • HMAS Australia (I), The Sea Power Centre (navy.gov.au)
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Other works featuring HMAS Australia (I)

HMAS Australia (l) in Farm Cove by Frederick Elliott (1864-1949)

HMAS Australia (l) in Farm Cove

by Frederick Elliott

The Passing of the Flagship, HMAS Australia (I)by John Allcot

The Passing of the Flagship, HMAS Australia (I)

by John Allcot

HMAS Australia (l) 1913 by Charles Dixon

HMAS Australia (l) 1913

by Charles Dixon

HMAS Australia (I) in Sydney, 1916 by John Allcot

HMAS Australia (I) in Sydney, 1916

by John Allcot

HMAS Australia (I), 1913 by Gerald Maurice Burn

HMAS Australia (I), 1913

by Gerald Maurice Burn

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