Big queens cruise into Sydney

Feb 19, 2007, 3:23 GMT

Sydney - Australia's big ship buffs are in for a treat this week when the cruise liners Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2 berth in Sydney's fabulous harbour.

'These two vessels will be back in Sydney Harbour again and we're absolutely delighted to be here,' Cunard president Carol Marlow said Monday.

The last time Cunard liners named after British monarchs were in Australia's biggest city was April 9, 1941, during their war services as superfast troopships.

The 151,000-ton QM2, the biggest ocean liner ever built, is the largest moving object ever to visit Australia. Its length and its draft mean the QM2's too big to fit under the harbour bridge or join other pleasure craft tied up in Circular Quay.

Instead it will dock at Garden Island naval base just round the corner from the Opera House.

The new Mary will be followed into the harbour by the QE2, which is small enough to take up a spot at Circular Quay.

The Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth were frequent visitors to Sydney in the war years. They were too big for any of the berths and had to ride at anchor in the harbour. So big, in fact, that the harbour could only accommodate them one at a time.

Cunard plans to mark the occasion of both queens being together in the harbour with a firework display.