| Place | Mediterranean |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | ART91910 |
| Collection type | Art |
| Measurement | Overall: 51 cm x 76.6 cm x 2 cm; unframed: 69.3 x 94.7 x 6.8 cm |
| Object type | Painting |
| Physical description | oil on canvas |
| Maker |
Borstel, Reginald Arthur |
| Place made | Australia: New South Wales, Sydney |
| Date made | 1916 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Hospital ship "Kanowna"
Description
Hospital ship 'Kanowna' depicts the twin-screw steamer at full steam sailing out of the Mediterranean sea at dawn with a destroyer accompanying it in the background as an escort. The 'Kanowna' was built in London in 1903 and was manned by Australian officers and crew. During the First World War it was requisitioned as a troop transport ship, taking the first Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) to German New Guinea. In 1915 it was converted into a hospital ship with accommodation for 452 patients, 88 nursing staff and 114 crew. From 1915 to 1917 it transported British, Australian and New Zealand sick and wounded between Australia, England and Egypt. Commonwealth control of the ship ceased in 1919 and she was lost in Bass Strait in 1929.