Menu for a river trip and luncheon onboard SS KOOPA.
Date1913
Object numberANMS0518[006]
NameMenu
MediumInk, paper.
DimensionsHeight: 220mm, width: 139mm.
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionMenu for a river trip and luncheon onboard SS KOOPA. The front cover features a photo with the caption "Redcliff, looking towards Scott's Point", and the text "River trip and luncheon tendered to delegates to the / Seventeenth Annual Conference / of the / Local Authorities Association / of Queensland / by / the Hon. J.G. Appel, Home Secretary". Inside contains images and the menu.HistorySS KOOPA was built by Ramage and Ferguson of Scotland for the Brisbane Tug and Steamship Company and the vessel's name was derived from the Aboriginal word for 'flying fish'. KOOPA was launched in October 1911, arriving in Brisbane on Christmas Eve and, wasting no time, KOOPA's first trip was made on Christmas day 1911. The first commercial voyage for paying passengers occured the following day, on Boxing Day.
KOOPA transported holiday makers from Brisbane to Woody Point, Redcliffe and Bribie Island for a period of thirty-one years, interrupted only by her contribution to the war effort during both world wars. After World War I, in 1919, the vessel transported thousands of troops as they returned home. In 1942, like many merchant and passenger ships, KOOPA was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy as a supply ship, training ship and base tender, continuing with the RAN until the end of the war in 1945.
KOOPA was returned to the Brisbane Tug and Steamship Company in the early months of 1947 and resumed service to Redcliffe and Bribie. On 1960 however, KOOPA was taken to Bulwer Island for dismantling, with the two masts donated to St Paul's School in Bald Hill and a sawmilling yard in Nundah.
SignificanceSS KOOPA became well a known and much loved fixture on Australian waterways between 1911 and 1960. Shipboard menus such as these were often printed to be souvenirs and were collected as mementos of their travels by crew and passengers. Many shipping companies produced their own series of collectable menus with themes such as exotic destinations or historic events.
