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Image Not Available for Dinner menu painted on a silk fan from NIEUW HOLLAND
Dinner menu painted on a silk fan from NIEUW HOLLAND
Image Not Available for Dinner menu painted on a silk fan from NIEUW HOLLAND

Dinner menu painted on a silk fan from NIEUW HOLLAND

Maker (1947 - 1977)
Date14 December 1973
Object number00001280
NameMenu
MediumSilk
DimensionsOverall: 322 x 210 mm
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Wim Schroder
DescriptionThis menu, painted on a silk fan, was featured in the Chinese dinner service on board the Royal Interocean Lines passenger ship, NIEUW HOLLAND, on the 14 December 1973.HistoryIn 1947, two Dutch companies, the Royal Packet Company and the Java – China – Japan Line, merged to form (RIL). The passenger liners, TJIWANGI and TJILUWAH, were launched in 1950 and 1951 to serve the Dutch East Indies and Hong Kong trade route. Within ten years, RIL transferred them to serve the Hong Kong, Japan and Australia route. After numerous successful voyages throughout the 1960s, RIL announced that TJILUWAH was to be withdrawn from service. TJIWANGI remained in service for another two years, however, passenger numbers dwindled and she was eventually sold to Pacific International Line. In 1971, RIL purchased NIEUW HOLLAND to further serve the Hong Kong, Australia and Japan route. In addition to this route, the cruise liner also serviced voyages between Australia, New Zealand and parts of Southeast Asia. Declining passenger numbers again, however, instigated the end of NIEUW HOLLAND’s Australian passenger trade.SignificanceShipboard menus were the most common type of souvenir collected by passengers and this colourful example features Chinese designs depicting flowers and a blue bird. This menu was collected by a passenger on board NIEUW HOLLAND and serves as an elaborate memento of the voyage to Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.