This image depicts the removal of the 12-inch guns from HMAS AUSTRALIA I at Garden Island, Sydney in preparation for the ship's scuttling on 12 April 1924.

An article in 'The Sydney Morning Herald' describes the scene of dismantling:

'A glance from her decks down ... afforded a small glimpse of what had been taken from her. There was an array of boilers, pumps, winches, portion of her steel topmast, hawsers, ventilators, solid shells, dynamos, boiler drums and tubes, a propeller with only three blades, great lengths of piping, and a host of fittings that go to make up a fighting ship.

On her main and quarter decks there was a scene of devastation. Her eight 12-inch guns still point fore and aft, but they are no longer guns. The oxy-acetylene flame has cut the barrels half through in the middle, and just enough remains to keep the barrel rigid.'

['Desolate Scene’, The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 12 April 1924, p 17]

This photo is part of the Australian National Maritime Museum’s Samuel J. Hood Studio collection. Sam Hood (1872-1953) was a Sydney photographer with a passion for ships. His 60-year career spanned the romantic age of sail and two world wars. The photos in the collection were taken mainly in Sydney and Newcastle during the first half of the 20th century.

The ANMM undertakes research and accepts public comments that enhance the information we hold about images in our collection. This record has been updated accordingly.

Photographer: Samuel J. Hood Studio Collection