Documents relating to visits to Saigon 1954 - 1963

Date1954-1961

Object numberANMS1343[009]

NameVoyage reports

MediumPaper

DimensionsOverall: 343 x 209 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from the family of Burnham Walker Dun

Terms

DescriptionDocuments relating to SS NELLORE voyage no. 21; Handwritten note which says; Visits to Saigon / 1954 / 1961/ 1963. Three page letter from Commander Burnham Walker Dun of the SS NELLORE to Messrs Macdonald Hamilton & Co, Managing Agents of The Eastern & Australian Steamship Co. Limited. Dated 29th March 1954, sea. Concerning the NELLORE'S visit to Saigon voyage no. 21. Information is included on the ocean passage, pilotage, quarantine and customs checks, and local conditions. One page letter from R.H. Sisley, Managing Agents, The Eastern & Australian Steamship Co. Ltd. to the Commander of the SS NELLORE. Dated 3rd March 1954, Melbourne. Informing the Commander that he requested the Commander of the TOFEVO to inform him of the necessary forms to enter Saigon, a list of which is attached. One page copy of the list mentioned, headed; To be furnished in the ports of Indo-China. Lists 16 requirements, including crew lists, manifests and registers, and the number of copies required of each. Two page letter from Commander Dun of the SS NELLORE to Messrs Macdonald Hamilton & Co, Managing Agents of The Eastern & Australian Steamship Co. Limited. Dated 24 November 1961, Labuan. Concerning SS NELLORE'S call to Saigon during voyage no. 46 south. Information relates to pilotage, Quarantine, Customs and Immigration, labour and cargo, agents and local conditions. One page document listing the documents required for arrival into Saigon for the Port Health Officers, Harbour Police (Immigration), Customs, and for clearance purposes. Two page letter from Commander Dun to Messrs Macdonald Hamilton & Co, Managing Agents of The Eastern & Australian Steamship Co. Limited. Dated 23rd July 1963, Saigon. Concerning delays at Saigon caused by customs, and cargo on board which was not declared in the manifest (firecrackers). One page document by Master Dun of the NELLORE, to the Customs Department at Saigon. Dated 22nd July 1963, Saigon. Dun advises and lists the Transit Manifests that were overlooked on arrival at Saigon. Letter from Master Dun, dated 22nd July 1963, Saigon. Certifying that the Saigon Customs Department has taken samples of firecrackers. A one page document listing the contact details for Captain Burnham Walker Dun, dated 24th July 1963. One page extract from the official log of the NELLORE, entry dated 23 July 1963. Concerning the overlooked manifest relating to the firecrackers. 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