Shaw, Savill & Albion Co's SS IONIC

Maker Shaw Savill & Albion Line (British, founded 1882)

Datec 1912

Object number00028209

NamePostcard

MediumPaper

DimensionsOverall: 88 x 140 mm, 4.39 g

ClassificationsPosters and postcards

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from HM Hignett

Terms

DescriptionThese black and white postcards depict the Shaw Savill & Albion Line vessels SS IONIC, SS PAKEHA and SS TAMAROA.HistoryThe Shaw Savill & Albion Line was formed in 1882 through the merging of Shaw Saville & Co (founded in London in 1858) and the Albion Line (founded in Glasgow in 1856). The Shaw Savill & Albion Line operated a joint service to New Zealand with the White Star Line from 1884 to 1933. SS IONIC was built by Harland and Wolff, Belfast for the White Star Line in 1903. IONIC was built specifically for the New Zealand refrigerated meat trade, and was the first ship on the New Zealand route to be fitted with radio telegraphy equipment. It was requisitioned as a troopship during World War I, and later acquired by the Shaw Savill & Albion line in 1934. IONIC was broken up in Japan in 1936. SS PAKEHA was built by Harland and Wolff in 1910, specifically for the Shaw Savill & Albion Line's Australian and New Zealand emigrant trade. PAKEHA is the Maori word for 'white man.' PAKEHA sailed via the Cape of Good Hope, returning to England with refrigerated meat. It operated on the Liverpool-Fremantle-Wellington route from 1911, before being requisitioned as a troopship during World War I. In 1939 PAKEHA was sold to the Admiralty and renamed HMS REVENGE. It was later transferred to the Ministry of War Transport, renamed EMPIRE PAKEHA and operated as a refrigerated cargo vessel. In 1946 EMPIRE PAKEHA was repurchased by the Shaw Savill & Albion Line and reverted to its original name PAKEHA. The donor Captain Harry Hignett spent a couple of days on PAKEHA in 1950 (shortly before it was scrapped), when it anchored in the Thames Estuary with a load of frozen meat bound for London warehouses, which were full at the time. SS TAMAROA was originally known as SOPHOCLES, and was built by Harland and Wolff for the Aberdeen Line in 1922. It was chartered by the Shaw Savill & Albion Line in 1926 and renamed TAMAROA for use on the Southampton-Panama-Wellington route. In 1932 TAMAROA came under the ownership of the Shaw Savill & Albion Line when it took over the Aberdeen Line. It was requisitioned as a troopship in 1940, returning to commercial service in 1948 on the London-Panama-Wellington route with accommodation for 372 tourist class passengers. TAMAROA was broken up at Blyth, England in 1957.SignificanceThese postcards are souvenirs of three Shaw Savill & Albion Line passenger ships that operated between Britain, Australia and New Zealand in the first half of the 20th century. The SS PAKEHA postcard is of particular historical interest, depicting the vessel passing beneath the yet to be completed Sydney Harbour Bridge on Christmas Day 1930.