Roll of Honour Board for Adelaide Steamship Company for staff who served in World War I

Maker Adelaide Steamship Company Limited (1875 - 1977)

Date1920 - 1925

Object number00048219

NameHonour board

MediumWood

DimensionsOverall: 1735 x 878 x 35 mm

ClassificationsCommemorative artefacts

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Svitzer Australasia

Terms

war memorials

DescriptionRoll of Honour Boards for the Adelaide Steamship Company for the 1914-1918 First World War. Merchant ships were requisitioned by the government during the war and the merchant navy lost many lives during the conflict.HistoryThe Adelaide Steamship Company was formed by a group of South Australian businessmen in 1875 with a view to monopolise goods transportation between Adelaide and Melbourne and profit from the need for an efficient and comfortable passenger service. The company expanded to include shipping operations on the Australian coast, primary products, consumer cargoes and extensive passenger services. Services were extended to Sydney and Queensland and the passenger fleet of the Adelaide Steamship Company became widely known across the country. Many of the company's ships were requisitioned during the First World War. The WARILDA was sunk by a submarine on the 2nd of August 1918. In the 1930s and 1940s, the company diversified into the airline operations, towage, shipbuilding, and the shipping of salt, coal and sugar. Adelaide Airways was formed in 1935, which continued in Australian National Airways (ANA) in 1936 and Ansett in 1957. During the Second World War the Company owned thirty ships, many serving with distinction during the war. In 1964, the Interstate fleet merged with McIlwraith, McEacharn & Co, and the partnership developed the world's first purpose built container ships. However, in 1973, the company ceased its shipbuilding operations, and in 1977, in its 103rd year of operation, sold its shipping related businesses, and ceased its connection with ship owning and operating, retaining interests only in tugboat operations. In the 1970s and 1980s the company became a thriving and successful 'corporate raider'. Hit by the recession of the early 1990s forced the company's liquidation In June 1997, the tugboat operations were floated on the Australian Stock Exchange under the name Adsteam Marine. In 2006, Adsteam Marine was acquired by AP Moeller-Maersk, removing the Adelaide Steamship name from the Australian Stock Exchange and Australian Company registers. Adsteam Marine Limited was acquired by Svitzer Australasia in 2007. SignificanceThe Adelaide Steamship Company was a prominent Australian shipping line from the 1870s to the 1970s. The service of the merchant navy during war was highly important to the war effort, but has often been overlooked in subsequent commemoration.