SS Canberra was an ocean liner, which later operated on cruises, in the P&O fleet from 1961 to 1997. She was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland at a cost of £17 million. The ship was named on 17 March 1958, after the federal capital of Australia, Canberra. She was launched on 16 March 1960, sponsored by Dame Pattie Menzies, wife of the then Prime Minister of Australia, Robert Menzies. She entered service in May 1961, and made her maiden voyage starting in June.
Royal Australian Navy Today marks the 79th anniversary of the loss of #HMASCanberra (I) during the Battle of Savo Island. The County Class Heavy Cruiser had been part of a naval force supporting the American landings at Guadalcanal and Tulagi when a Japanese task force attacked in the early hours of the morning. Canberra was struck by two torpedoes on her starboard side and over 20 salvoes of 8-inch shellfire. With power lost and the ship listing, the wounded and survivors were transferred to USS Patterson and USS Blue and Canberra was scuttled. In 2020, 78 years after the Battle of Savo Island, the Ship’s Company of HMAS Canberra (III) took pause during a Regional Presence Deployment to pay tribute to the 84 souls lost that day with a memorial service at Ironbottom Sound, near Savo Island, where Canberra (I) still rests today. She is far from her homeport again today, continuing the proud tradition of the name Canberra.
She appeared in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever.[1] In the 1982 Falklands War she served as a troopship.
In 1997 the singer and songwriter Gerard Kenny released the single "Farewell Canberra" which was specially composed for the last voyage.https://www.wikiwand.com/en/SS_Canberra
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