Menu from SS EASTERN SAGA

Date16 November 1950

Object number00028005

NameMenu

MediumCardboard, ink

DimensionsOverall: 197 x 123 mm, 2 mm, 0.007 kg

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Joan Felton

Terms

DescriptionThis menu, which was on board the Indo-China Steam Navigation Company’s SS EASTERN SAGA on 16 November 1950, features a colour print of a Chinese junk on the front cover with a list of Indo-China fleet ships printed on the inside cover. The back cover is filled with a number of signatures.HistoryIn 1948, the Indo-China Steam Navigation Company Ltd (ICSNC) purchased a passenger liner and named it SS EASTERN SAGA. It was employed for the Hong Kong to Australia passenger service. In 1957, however, EASTERN SAGA was embroiled in an illegal shipping operation. After arriving in Calcutta in October, customs officials searched the vessel and found a hole in the wall panelling. In the hole, customs officers found 1,458 bars of gold. Customs officers ordered the vessel to be confiscated; however, the ICSNC was able to pay a fine in place of the vessel being seized. EASTERN SAGA continued to sail under the ICSNC until it was sold in 1967 to Southern Shipping & Enterprise Company, Hong Kong. There are a large number of shipboard menus in the museum’s collection and a vast majority of these menus appeared in passenger liners serving international routes. This shipboard menu offers a glimpse into life on board the passenger vessel before its encounter with Indian customs authorities.SignificanceShipboard menus were the most common type of souvenir collected by passengers and crew. This particular menu was collected by a passenger on EASTERN SAGA. The image on the cover demonstrates how the concept of the ‘Far East’ was promoted to passengers. It contains a colourful illustration of a junk, famed for its distinctly Chinese and ancient origins.