Portion of paying off pennant from SS EDINA, 1938
Date1938
Object number00051996
NamePennant
MediumFabric, ink
DimensionsOverall: 85 x 100 mm
ClassificationsClothing and personal items
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Peter Trebilco
DescriptionThis portion of a paying off pennant relates to the farewell voyage of the passenger steamer SS EDINA from Melbourne to Geelong in June 1938. During this voyage EDINA 'followed the naval custom of hoisting at the truck a paying off pennant 84ft in length, a foot for every year of her life' (Argus, 30 June 1938, p3).HistoryEDINA was built by Robert Barclay & Curle in Glasgow in 1854 and served during the Crimean War and American Civil War before being diverted to the Australia-New Zealand gold rush trade in 1862. From 1863 it operated passenger and cargo services in western Victoria and along the Queensland coast. In 1875 EDINA was purchased by Howard Smith & Co for the Melbourne-Geelong passenger service, which it operated for the next 63 years. It was converted to a lighter in 1938 and operated around Melbourne until it was broken up in 1958.SignificanceThe portion of a paying off pennant relates to a significant event in the Howard Smith passenger trade before World War II. SS EDINA is remembered with great affection as one of the oldest continuously operating passenger steamships in the world.
