fremantle

looking SE from the near the round house towards what is now the esplanade and the fishing boat harbour. bather's beach on the right. the large building in the middle is now the maritime museum.

The large building was then called the Commissariat building.

The 'Cathay' (P&O, built 1925) was eventually bombed and sunk off North Africa in 1942 - www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=4063 . She lost a propeller / screw in 1933 between Colombo and Freemantle and had to wait in Sydney for a replacement. Trove makes this too easy! Read all about it - SMH 16/12/1933 - trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/17033221 SMH 03/01/1934 - trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/17037291 I have not yet found which dry dock the 'Cathay' was in. Probably Sutherland Dock?

beachcomber australia Thanks again beachcomberaustralia for those articles!

This article says she was in 'Cockatoo Dock', which could be either Fitzroy or Sutherland - trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/17057748

beachcomber australia Thanks beachcomber, if only Flickr recognised Cockatoo Island as a location! It's great to be so precise though. :-)

beachcomber australia Hi Beachcomber, we recently received an email from a gentleman who used to manage CI Dockyard who confirmed that CATHAY was in Sutherland Dry Dock. Mystery solved! :)

See comments and links -

The ship was trying to make up voyage time when she lost the prop. Passenger ships ran to a tight schedule prewar.

There are a lot of online photos of SS Zephyr at the State Library of Western Australia. I have found many newspaper references on the Trove website as well. Zephyr operated on the Swan River well into the late 1930s it would seem. As well as operating as an excursion ferry on the Swan, it also made regular trips to Rottnest Island. Remarkably in February 1908 there is a detailed account of an ocean excursion from Perth to Rockingham, which is some 45 km south of Perth on the coast trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/77335752

Nev Thanks for the links & info! We've added it all to our collection records :)

The SS Zephyr operated regularly to Rottenest Island and later Garden Island until the 1960's. It eventually sank or was scuttled in the mouth of the Canning River. Rowan Holgate

SS Zephyr was built in Brisbane and eventually steamed to Fremantle.

Rowan Holgate Thanks Rowan - by any chance did you have a connection with the vessel? If so, it would good to follow-up with you. You can email web@anmm.gov.au if you'd like to pass on any other information directly. We love hearing about personal stories.