Collection of 36 diaries belonging to Captain Robert McKilliam
Date1876-1938
Object numberANMS0241
NameArchive series
MediumPaper
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Robert D and Robert Laurence McKilliam
DescriptionThis collection of 36 diaries were kept during the maritime career of Captain Robert Basil Vincent McKilliam. They span the period 1876 – 1938.HistoryScottish-born Captain Robert Basil Vincent McKilliam served in the Aberdeen White Star Line between 1876 and 1908. A native of Aberdeen, he was apprenticed at 14. He served under famous clipper captains like Robert Kemball and on famous clippers like THERMOPYLAE and SALAMIS, mostly in the Britain-to-Australia service. He also served in the modern steamers of the day. After 32 years he retired from the sea and soon after, in 1910, he married. In 1913 he brought his family to live in Sydney. Appointed Assistant Manager of Darling Island Wharf, he worked as a superintendent stevedore in Sydney from World War One up to the Great Depression. He died at his home in North Sydney in 1934.