HMAS Sydney

Painting –  Oil on board
91 x 61 cm

The painting depicts the HMAS Sydney(FFG 03) an Adelaide class guided missile frigate which was launched in 1980 and decommissioned in 2015. She was the fourth ship with this name and operationally was involved in Australia’s responses to various conflicts including the Fijian coups d’état and the Bougainville uprising. She was also deployed on five occasions to the conflicts in the Persian Gulf.

I completed this painting in relation to an exhibition which had a theme ‘ The relationship between Humanity and the Sea’.  When I heard that this ship was to be decommissioned I thought about all those sailors who had lived on the ship for a long period and how they felt about the decommissioning and loss of their ship, and water based home.

Specifications
Class Adelaide class guided missile frigate
Displacement       4,100 tons
Length                   138m
Beam                     13.7m
Speed                     29 knots

(Painting developed with reference to several RAN photos)