RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 visited my home town

These two photos below were sent to me by a friend which prompted my curiosity about this famous oceanliner, RMS Queen Elizabeth 2. This is what I found about this famous ship that made a cruise to my home province in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea in early March, 2007.

RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 anchoring in Simpsons Habour, Rabaul, PNG, 2007.Photo courtesy of Tourism Department, Divine Word University

RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 anchoring in Simpsons Habour, Rabaul, PNG, 2007.Photo courtesy of Tourism Department, Divine Word University, PNG.

This is what I found after google searching. The First RMS Queen Elizabeth.RMS Queen Elizabeth was the biggest oceanliner ever built in the world and it was named after Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mother of United Kingdom. She was built in Scotland in September 27, 1938 as a cruise ship and later served as a troop carrier during WW II. She retired from service in 1968.

RMS Queen Elizabeth during WWII. Photo courtesy of Google images.

RMS Queen Elizabeth was later sold to a group of Philadelphia businessmen in 1968 who were later forced to close due to loss of money and the ship was declared a fire hazard.

So in 1970, RMS Queen Elizabeth was sold to a Hong Kong tycoon named Cy Coy Tung. He wanted to convert her into a university, now known as the Seawise University. However in January 9 1972, the ship caught fire and toppled in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong.

RMS Queen Elizabeth lying in Hong Kong Habour. Photo courtesy of Google images.

Queen Elizabeth 2

Queen Elizabeth 2 in New York harbour. Photo courtesy of Google images

Queen Elizabeth 2 was named after the early RMS Queen Elizabeth. She was built smaller than her predecessor in 1965.

Recently, 1st of March 2007 to be exact, she made a cruise to my home province. The cruise ship visited the Simpsons Harbor in Rabaul. Simpsons Harbor is famosly known for its natural beautiful surroundings inside an active volcanoe and was the pacific headquaters for the Japanese Navy during WWII where admiral Yamamto was based. Simpons Habour is one of the best natural habours in the world, the crater of an extinct volcanoe. The habour has a narrow entry, surrounded by steep hills, forming a natural barrier to strong winds.

See a panoramic view of Simpsons Habour below.

Simpsons Habour, Rabaul, PNG. Photo courtsey of Tourism Department, Divine Word University, PNG,