Reports and financial documents
Date1880 - 1950
Object numberANMS0022
NameArchive series
MediumPaper
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from P&OSNCo
DescriptionThis archive series consists of Pacific Steam Navigation Co and Orient Steam Navigation Co balance sheets, interim reports, annual reports, statements of accounts and prospectus between 1881 and 1951.
P&O bought 51% of the shares in the Orient Line in 1919 but the Orient Line maintained a separate identity. By March 1965, P&O had acquired all of the Orient Line shares.SignificanceIn 1987, on its 150th anniversary, P&O donated a large collection of archival documents, pamphlets and photographs, originally housed in their Sydney office, to the Australian National Maritime Museum. P&O ships have been coming to Australia since 1852. The collection spans a period of more than a century, and ranges from early passenger lists to latter-day posters; from annual reports to menu covers. Information booklets intended to promote the superior functioning of P&O vessels include instructions to commanders, guides to career opportunities and such gems as 'Asian Crew: an officer's guide'.
No less valuable than the 'official' material is the vast amount of ephemera, which for many researchers evokes the special quality of tourism. To the credit of the company, it preserved items such as brochures, flyers, press releases, publicity images, postcards and crossing the line certificates, which are now in the museum's collection. Subsidiary collections of documents relating to companies with which P&O has been associated, including the Orient Line and the British India Steam Navigation Company, provide further perspective and historical context.
October 1962 - January 1963