CARNIVAL Australia has highlighted the discovery of a photo believed to show the first cruise ship to ever visit Brisbane.

The historic image from the archives of the State Library of Queensland shows the 22,300-tonne mail steamer Strathaird departing from the wharf which is still used by cruise ships.

In Dec 1932 Strathaird sailed from Sydney to Brisbane and then to Norfolk Island “marking the birth of Australian cruising,” Carnival said.

P&O’s Pacific Dawn has homeported in the Qld capital since Dec 2009 and has helped lead the state’s emergence as a major cruise source market in its own right, the company added.