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Christmas dinner crew menu from MV BRISBANE TRADER

Maker Australian National Line (1956 - 1998)

Date1977

Object number00004296

NameMenu

MediumInk on paper

DimensionsOverall: 130 x 210 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from ANL Container Line Pty Ltd

Terms

DescriptionThis dinner menu, which was on board the Australian National Line’s MV BRISBANE TRADER in 1977, features the ship’s logo printed above the details of the Christmas banquet hosted for the crew.HistoryIn 1969, Evans Deakin and Company Pty Ltd built BRISBANE TRADER for the Australian National Line. The vehicle-deck carrier provided a weekly service between Melbourne and Brisbane. In 1986, BRISBANE TRADER was sold and renamed ATHENS EXPRESS. The ship continued to serve as a roll-on/roll-off vessel before finally being sold and dismantled in 2010. 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 Christmas menu offers a rare glimpse into the social life of crew members on board a merchant vessel. The menu would have served as a decorative keepsake for crew members travelling Australia’s coastal waters between Melbourne and Brisbane.SignificanceShipboard menus were the most common type of souvenir collected by passengers. This particular menu was collected by a crew member of BRISBANE TRADER. It illustrates how key social or cultural occasions, such as Christmas dinner, were celebrated amongst the crew.