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Builder's half model of the cargo ship SS OORAMA
Builder's half model of the cargo ship SS OORAMA

Builder's half model of the cargo ship SS OORAMA

Model Maker (Scottish, 1880 - before 1932)
Date1921
Object number00048224
NameModel
MediumWood, glass, mirror
DimensionsOverall: Height: 417 mm, width: 1630 mm, depth: 200 mm
ClassificationsModels
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Svitzer Australasia
DescriptionBuilder's half model of SS OORAMA in a case with a mirror back by model maker Hugh MacMillan, Greenock, Scotland. The model features a MacMillan label providing handwritten instructions for care. A plaque inside the case reads SS OORAMA / BUILT BY / JOHN FULLERTON & CO / SHIPBUILDERS / PAISLEY / LENGTH 210'-0" / DEPTH TO M.D. 15'-3" / BREADTH 35'-0", QD 19'-20".HistorySS OORAMA was built as SS TUGGERAH by Fullerton's at Paisley, Scotland, in 1921. It was bought from its British owners the same year by Adelaide Steamship Company, which operated it on the South Australia to Sydney run carrying gypsum, cement and plaster and returning with coal. In 1949 the vessel was purchased by Wallarah Coal Company. OORAMA operated on the coastal runs until 1956 when it was broken up. The Adelaide Steamship Company was originally founded in 1875 by a group of South Australian small ship operators to trade between Melbourne and Adelaide. They also capitalised on the need for passenger services on this route and the company grew rapidly, quickly becoming a household name in Australia. Many of the company's ships were requisitioned during the World War I with one vessel, WARILDA, sunk by a submarine in August 1918. By World War II, the company owned thirty ships and many served with distinction during the war. One such ship was MANUNDA, a passenger vessel that had been converted to a hospital ship in 1940. MANUNDA saw service in several different campaigns and was present in Darwin during the Japanese air raids. MANUNDA was damaged during the bombing, however proved a vital resource during this incident, acting as a casualty clearing station and later carrying injured patients to Freemantle. Throughout the latter half of the 20th Century the Adelaide Steamship Company continued to grow and expanded its interests into activities such as airline operations and shipbuilding. 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, its 103rd year of operation, sold its shipping related businesses, and ceased connection with ship owning and operating, retaining interests only in tugboat operations. 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. SignificanceBefore a ship was built a half model such as this was created as a means of planning a vessel's design and to demonstrate the vessel's dimensions to clients and ship builders. These skilfully crafted models are replicas of their full scale counterparts and provide important information relating to the design and build of individual vessels. This model represents one of the many small coastal cargo ships that operated on the Australian coasts in the first half of the 20th century.