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Image Not Available for Elder Building, William Street, Melbourne
Elder Building, William Street, Melbourne
Image Not Available for Elder Building, William Street, Melbourne

Elder Building, William Street, Melbourne

Artist (1898 - 1980)
Date1952
Object number00032233
NamePainting
MediumOil on canvas, framed
DimensionsOverall: 820 x 1210 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from John Hunter
DescriptionAn oil painting by John Goodchild of the Elder Building on William Street in Melbourne. This painting was part of a collection of items relating to the Pacific Australia Direct (PAD) Line and the Transadantic Steamship Company (known by its Swedish name as "Rederiaktiebolaget Transatlantic"). The building was demolished in 1985.HistoryThe Transadantic Steamship Company of Gothenburg was founded by Swede Captain W.R.Lundgren in 1904 to operate a trade between the Scandinavian countries and South Africa. Two vessels, the KRATOS and the ATLANTIC, began operations carrying mainly timber products from Scandinavia. Because of the impossibility of securing return cargoes from South Africa, Transatlantic's vessels began to visit Australia to load grain for Europe. More ships were added to the fleet in order that cargo could also be taken to Australia, both from Europe and South Africa. Wool was exported from Australia using two vessels purchased in 1918 which were specifically designed for this trade, the BULLAREN and the TISNAREN. Other vessels from the cloud series, the NIMBUS, the STRATUS, the CIRRUS, and the CUMULUS, which were added later were the fastest vessels employed in the trade between Europe and Australia and so began a long history of Transadantic's shipping of fresh fruit from Australia. The most important exports from Australia carried by Transatlantic vessels were wool, wheat, cereals, sugar, lead, concentrates, fresh fruit, meat, hides and skins, scrap metal, iron, and sand. Following the discontinuation of some trade routes by the United States government after World War I, members of the Steamship Corporation of San Francisco together with the Transatlantic Steamship Company formed the Pacific Australia Direct (PAD) Line in 1921 to operate a shipping line between Australia and the west coast of America. While numerous manufactured goods could be exported from America to Australia, little cargo travelled in the opposite direction. As a result, PAD vessels would often return to America via Europe or the Philippines where they would deliver coal and pick up copra and sugar. The onset of World War II saw a turn around in this situation with PAD vessels playing a vital part in supplying the United States, Canada and Australia with essential supplies. From America would come trucks, aircraft, other war machinery, tools and farm machinery, and from Australia the ships would return with wool (about a third of the wool required by the US government during the war), skins, metals, and concentrates. PAD operated during this period with five vessels including the MV KOOKABURRA and the MV GOONAWARRA making 138 trans-Pacific crossings and because it remained the only passenger carrying line during the war, it carried around 800 passengers per year. By the late 1960s it was believed more tonnage was needed for the line, and in order to increase Australian involvement, PAD undertook negotiations with the Australian government. As a result, the Australian National Line was authorised to form a company with Trans-Austral Shipping Pty Ltd (a wholly owned Australian subsidiary of the Transatlantic Group) and Elder Smith & Company Ltd which was called PAD Shipping Australia Pty Ltd. Elder Smith & Company were a firm of shipping agents, acting for the Transatlantic Group, but with a long history in the pastoral industry. Founded by Alexander Elder in 1839, the company was best known originally as woolbrokers before diversifying into other rural interests. By the 1980s, the Transatlantic Group comprised lines that plied the waters from Europe to North America, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. In the late 1980s, profit margins fell greatly resulting in the sale of PAD to French interests, and the merging of the Transatlantic Group with the sea and land transport giant, the Bilspedition Group. The donor of this material, Mr John Hunter, has spent a life time working in the shipping industry, principally for the Transatlantic Group of Companies. In 1950 he began work in the Elder Building in Melbourne depicted in the oil painting included in the donation, and worked overseas before returning to Australia in 1970 with Trans Austral Shipping P/L (a subsidiary of the Transatlantic Steamship Company). Mr Hunter reached the position of Director before leaving in 1985 ,though he continued for sometime longer in a consulting role. The artist John C.Goodchild (1898-1980) emigrated from London to South Australia with his family in 1913. He took several jobs including sign writing before concentrating on an artistic career after World War I. He is best known for his engravings but also worked in watercolours, and painted a series in oils depicting the offices of Elder Smith & Co around Australia. He also taught art, was an official war artist in World War II, a cartoonist, and a board member of the Art Gallery of South Australia.SignificanceThis painting is significant as part of a record of two affiliated shipping lines which were major cargo carriers to and from Australia. PAD Lines eventually became part owned by Australian interests. PAD Lines provided essential supplies of materials between Australia and America during World War II, receiving official acknowledgment for their effort from the Australian government.