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Collection of 47 passenger-cargo line souvenirs

Date1930-1980

Object numberANMS1115

NameArchive series

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Stella Green

Terms

DescriptionThese 47 documents were collected from passenger-cargo line services by Stella Green from the 1930s to 1980s. They consist of 16 luggage tags from the P&O Line, Royal Interoceans Line, Blue Funnel Line, E & A Line; Dominion Line; The China Navigation Co Ltd, Messageries Maritimes, Princess Cruises, and Bibby Line; seven P&O luggage stickers; two deck plans; one P&O coaster; two P&O bookmarks; six cabin plans; and 13 brochures from Royal Interocean Lines, Wilhelmsen Line, Port Line Passenger Services, Pitt & Scott Line, Nedlloyd Line, Columbus Line, Dominion Line, Hamburg - Amerika Linie and Dutch Lines.HistoryDuring the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, ocean going vessels generally carried a mix of passengers and cargo. From the early 1900s with the age of large and luxury liners, passenger travel became increasingly separated from cargo transportation. However even dedicated cargo ships still kept a handful of berths for paying passengers. Before the introduction of large container ships from the 1950s, conventional cargo ships - where cargo was loaded and discharged over the side to and from ships holds by crane - still often made some income from passengers willing to put up with the rigors of a cargo ship. For some passengers, this added to the experience. Delays in loading cargo at ports meant an unexpected and not unwelcome extended stay in exotic ports and working sections of harbours. By the 1950s, passenger berths on cargo ships had become something of a 'hidden secret', and people actively sought out passages on small and unknown routes. Freighter Travel Clubs were formed during the 1960s and 1970s in Australia and the United States. Like passenger liners, cargo-passenger ships generated cabin and deck plans, advertising brochures and bookmarks. Such ephemera was collected by passengers as momentos of their travels. The increasing containerisation of cargo shipping from the 1980s made passenger cargo ship travel rarer in recent times - though a handful still do, and it is not unknown in smaller coastal trade and less developed countries.SignificanceThis collection reflects the appeal of travelling on a working ship and highlights the little known history of the dedicated cargo-passenger travel enthusiasts during this period.