AN UNUSUAL VIEW - DISASTER AND PROGRESS

H.M.A.S. CANBERRA passing under the incomplete Sydney Harbour Bridge - 1930.

In happy times - H.M.A.S. CANBERRA "Dressed Overall"to mark some State occasion apparently firing a Saluting Gun. 

U.S.S. CANBERRA

A picture is said to be "worth a thousand words". The top picture showing H.M.A.S. CANBERRA passing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the course of its construction, could easily provoke a thousand words to deal with the various streams of thought it calls forth. Thoughts of Progress and Disaster.

The completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge some two years later , was to transform the life of the City of Sydney which lies behind H.M.A.S. CANBERRA in the picture which is looking South from Dawes Point on the North Shore of the Harbour. No more would train,trams,buses and cars transfer their passengers to ferries into the City and return to collect them in the evening, no more would the car ferry ( later to cruise the Harbour as the Showboat "Kalang"), ply its trade taking cars and trucks to and fro.The old Sydney would receive a second jolt, which, together with the first, the Underground Railway, would transform its life entirely.There was a strong sense that the Bridge had demonstrated the great achievements Australia was capable of once we shook off the gloom of the Great Depression.

H.M.A.S. CANBERRA was one of two Kent Class Heavy Cruisers in the Royal Australian Navy, the other being H.M.A.S. AUSTRALIA.The two 10,000 ton vessels were built by John Brown & Sons on Clydebank and CANBERRA was only two years old when the photo was taken .The ships had been built under the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty which limited their armament and armour.

H.M.A.S. AUSTRALIA was refitted as the coming of war threatened and her armour at the waterline was increased. She survived the war. H.M.A.S. CANBERRA was not refitted due to budgetary restraints in the wake of the Great Depression.She did not survive even the early years of the war. On the night of 8/9 August, 1942 CANBERRA formed part of the Cruiser Screen protecting the Allied Amphibious Force supporting the landing on Guadalcanal. Ships of the Cruiser Screen had been continuously at Action Stations for nearly two days and fatigue resulting from this factor is thought to have played a part in what happened.

A superior Japanese Heavy Cruiser force with Destroyer Screen attacked during the night and, using the very advanced and fast steam powered heavy "Long Tom"torpedoes and maximum heavy armament fire, they quickly knocked CANBERRA out of action, and sank U.S.S.s  Quincy, Astoria and Vincennes . CANBERRA remained afloat but could not be saved.She became a hazard to navigation and had to be sunk. Ironically this took two hours to achieve. The Allied forces were forced to withdraw leaving the seaway to the Japanese, and abandoning the United States Marines on Guadalcanal. The Marines heroic fighting on the Island has become legendary. Some months later the Allies returned for good and the Marines were relieved.

In an extraordinary gesture which seems to have no parallel in world naval annals, the United States Navy apparently at the decision of President Franklin D.Roosevelt, named one of its Baltimore Class Heavy Cruisers, U.S.S. CANBERRA. This must have been a decision encountering very strong opposition among traditionalists ( and most Navy folk ARE traditionalists around the world) - imagine the furore if it was decided to name a major ( or any) Australian warship H.M.A.S. WASHINGTON!  It was a grand tribute to the heroism and support of the men of the R.A.N. and the people of Australia. U.S.S. CANBERRA was one of the first ships converted to a Guided Missile Cruiser in the post war period. She gave long service and was frequently used on representative visits around the world. When she came to the end of her life , a second U.S.S. CANBERRA, a frigate, was commissioned.

The loss of the CANBERRA left a gap in the Australian Fleet and this was filled by the gift of H.M.S. SHROPSHIRE a London Class Heavy Cruiser, which like the Kent Class, belonged to the County Class  design family.  King George VI had announced the gift saying that SHROPSHIRE would become the new H.M.A.S. CANBERRA. But then the exceptional tribute by the UNITED STATES was announced and it was thought best to retain the name she had.As H.M.A.S. SHROPSHIRE she served with distinction through the remainder of the Pacific War and proved to be a "lucky"ship - only five of her crew died during the war - one drowning and four accidents - none to enemy action. SHROPSHIRE was scrapped in 1949. I have clear personal memories of seeing her on Sydney Harbour on several occasions as a young boy.

I wonder how many other tranquil pictures can so readily conjure up so many memories?