Reports relating to voyages nos. 3 and 9, on SS NANKIN, NELLORE and EASTERN

Date1949-1950

Object numberANMS1343[001]

NameVoyage reports

MediumPaper

DimensionsOverall: 261 x 203 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from the family of Burnham Walker Dun

Terms

DescriptionDocuments by Commander Burnham Dun, including; A handwritten note on white paper, which says New Guinea Ports / 1948 - 50. Three page typed letter from Commander Burnham Walker Dun of SS NANKIN, The Eastern & Australian Steamship Co Limited, to Messrs. Macdonald Hamilton & Co, Managing Agents for The Eastern & Australian Steamship Co. Limited. Dated 2nd July 1948, written at sea. The letter is titled Conditions at Torokina - Voyage 3 South. Follows NANKINS journey from Rabaul, to leaving Torokina. Information includes weather conditions, loading cargo on the ship, etc. Letter from Commander Dun of the SS NELLORE to Messrs. Macdonald Hamilton & Co, Managing Agents for The Eastern & Australian Steamship Co. Limited. Dated 13th October 1949, Milne Bay. The letter concerns damage to an old wooden wharf and piles at Gamadodo. Handwritten on the page is Voy 9. The letter recounts the details of the accident when damage was casued to the wharf. One page Casualy Report from Commander Dun, concerning the above mentioned accident at Gamadodo, Milne Bay, Papua, on the 12th October 1949. One page list; Damage to old wooden wharf and piles at Gamadodo / Extract from bridge movement book. Movements of NELLORE on voyage 9 listed between 1424 and 1544. Two page typed letter from Commander Burnham Walker Dun of SS EASTERN, The Eastern & Australian Steamship Co Limited, to Messrs. Macdonald Hamilton & Co, Managing Agents for The Eastern & Australian Steamship Co. Limited. Dated 1st August 1950, at sea. Gives information concerning the arrival of EASTERN into Gamadobo Milne Bay, during voyage 9 south, and the removal of cargo from EASTERN.HistoryBurnham Walker Dun 1905-1992 began his apprenticeship with the Australasian Steam Navigation Company in 1921 when he was just short of his 16th birthday. After four years in the coastal ships of AUSN he gained his Second Mate's certificate in Sydney and joined the Eastern & Australian Steamship Company (E&A) as Fourth Officer on the TANDA. He served 43 years with this Company sailing to ports between Australia and eastern Asia, retiring in 1967. He gained his Master's Certificate in 1929, at the age of 24. In 1942, when he was Chief Officer on the NANKIN, the ship was captured by the German raider THOR. He spent the rest of the war with the surviving crew labouring in Japanese POW camps. He returned to Australia in poor health and spent years trying to get compensation. Although he was an Australian resident employed by an Australian company (managing agents Macdonald Hamilton) the ship was British owned and registered, and he obtained only limited compensation. He went back to sea with E&A in 1946, had his first permanent command in 1947 on the second NANKIN, and served in the company's ships EASTERN, NELLORE, ARAFURA and ARAMAC until he retired. During this time he carried cargo regularly to Japan, where he established friendly relationships with his former captors. During his career he made a number of rescues at sea and survived several severe typhoons. On retirement, he became a Nautical Assessor and took part in marine Courts of Enquiry, including the enquiry into the collapse of the Tasman Bridge, caused by the cargo ship LAKE ILLAWARRA striking one of the bridge's piers. E & A Line actually consisted of four successive companies bearing the same name, Eastern and Australian Steam Ship Company, between 1873 and the early 1980s. It was established to serve routes between Australasia and 'Far Eastern' ports - Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan, and was originally named Eastern & Australian Mail Steam Company Limited. It only ever had a small fleet of ships but those it had, such as the NELLORE and the NANKIN, were well known. Ownership of E&A Line was involved in other companies in the 20th century, notably the AUSN Company, and from 1946 P&O. Through its history E & A Lines carried cargo and passengers, and was involved in trooping and supply in World War I. In World War II its entire fleet of three of its ships was lost. In the post-war period it operated cargo-passenger ships until 1975 when passenger service was given up and the ships were progressively sold, though in 1983 it continued to staff and operate AJCL containerships. The Eastern & Australian Steamship CompanySignificanceW Olson, 'Lion of the China Sea: a History of the E & A Line', 1976.

G A Hardwick, 'E & A Line - the Eastern and Australian Steam Ship Company Limited', The Log, volume 16, number 1, issue 71, February 1983, pp 3 - 12.

Notes provided by Ian Farquhar-Smith, on file