HMAS Moresby (I) Refitting at Garden Island
Courtesy of the Australian National Maritime Museum
This drawing of HMAS Moresby being refitted was drawn when artist Frank Norton was a student. It demonstrates his competency in technical drawing, an ability that was well-suited to maritime subjects.
- About Frank Norton
Frank was born in New Zealand but moved with his family to Sydney in 1917. From a young age Frank showed he was a gifted artist and went to study painting at the East Sydney Technical College from 1931 and worked on 'sixty milers', the coal ships running between Sydney and Newcastle.
Whilst studying, he observed and sketched the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships at Garden Island and upon graduating in 1936 he earned a scholarship to join and document naval ships travelling between New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia and Western Australia. After graduation, Norton also produced work for P&O and E&A Lines, travelling to Japan and China, before arriving in England in April 1939.
With the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Frank was unable to find work as an artist and returned to Australia in 1940. The following year Frank joined the RAN and was appointed by the Australian War Memorial (AWM) as an official war artist. In this capacity he documented RAN, and occasionally RAAF, operations in the Mediterranean and the Pacific. The collection, held by the AWM, highlights his strength in draughtsmanship and his ability for the faithful depiction of ships even during intense fighting.
At the end of the war, Frank was employed at the National Art School for the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme for ex-servicemen. Frank received leave in 1952 when he was once again appointed an official war artist to document the RAN during the Korean War (1950-1953).
After the war he resumed work at the East Sydney Technical College until 1958. He then became director of the Art Gallery of Western Australia between 1958 and 1976. As Director of the Art Gallery of Western Australia he concentrated mainly on building up the contemporary, Indigenous and sculpture collections.
He continued to sketch and paint the maritime subjects he knew so well throughout his later years and died in 1983.
- About HMAS Moresby (l)
HMAS Moresby was originally commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Silvio on 25 May 1918. She was built as one of the 24 Class of Royal Navy minesweeping/survey sloops. During World War I she performed convoy escort duties. After the war she was refitted as a surveying vessel in 1924-25 and was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy and commissioned as HMAS Moresby. She carried out escort duties during WW 2.
More reading
- Additional resources for Frank Norton
- Additional resources for HMAS Moresby (l)
