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Christmas dinner crew menu from MV LYSAGHT ENDEAVOUR

Maker Australian National Line (1956 - 1998)

Date1983

Object number00004293

NameMenu

MediumInk on paper, green tinsel

DimensionsOverall: 210 x 125 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from ANL Container Line Pty Ltd

Terms

DescriptionThis handmade Christmas dinner menu, which was on board the Australian National Line’s merchant ship MV LYSAGHT ENDEAVOUR in 1983, features a coloured sticker of Santa Claus going down a chimney with green tinsel attached to the upper left hand corner.HistoryIn 1973, the New South Wales Government Engineering and Shipbuilding Undertaking in Newcastle built LYSAGHT ENDEAVOUR for service as a vehicle-deck carrier between Port Kembla, Westernport Bay and South Australia. In 1980, it was lengthened by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Company in South Korea to further serve this function. In December 1985, LYSAGHT ENDEAVOUR collided with the yacht GRUNTER off Beecroft Head in New South Wales, however, the incident resulted in no casualties. LYSAGHT ENDEAVOUR continued to service its coastal route until it was withdrawn in 1987. There are a large number of shipboard menus in the museum’s collection and a vast majority of these menus appeared in passenger liners. This shipboard menu offers a rare glimpse into the social life of crew members on board a merchant vessel. This handmade Christmas menu served as a decorative keepsake for crew members travelling on LYSAGHT ENDEAVOUR between Port Kembla, Westernport Bay and South Australia.SignificanceShipboard menus were the most common type of souvenir collected by passengers. This particular menu was collected by a crew member of LYSAGHT ENDEAVOUR. It illustrates how key social or cultural occasions, such as Christmas dinner, were celebrated amongst the crew, which in this case, was a handmade memento covered in Christmas decoration.