Eighty years on, Cunard’s flagship Queen Mary 2 took centre stage in Sydney Harbour yesterday, as she moored at almost the same spot as her magnificent predecessor Queen Mary.
The original Queen Mary, painted in her wartime grey, moored in Sydney Harbour’s Athol Bay while in Australia on troopship duty taking Australian forces to the Middle East, early in World War Two. The black and white photo showing a Sydney landscape of the 1940s is part of the State Library of NSW’s amazing collection of historic maritime photos.
In contrast, Queen Mary 2 was anchored at the same spot yesterday with 2,600 guests enjoying the Australian section of Cunard flagship’s current World Voyage. Queen Mary 2 has been visiting additional destinations in Australia after calls in Asia were cancelled due to the uncertainty caused by travel restrictions and port closures.
The original Queen Mary made a number of calls to Sydney during her wartime service. The majestic Transatlantic liner was first here on April 17, 1940. Her first voyage from Sydney was to transfer the Australian Army’s Ninth Division. On return journeys, Queen Mary brought wounded Diggers home and prisoners of war. In one celebrated event in 1941, Queen Mary and sister ship Queen Elizabeth crossed at Sydney Heads, an event that was recalled in 2011 with a Royal Rendezvous of Queen Mary 2 and the contemporary Queen Elizabeth.
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