P&O - Orient SS CANBERRA: W. R. Killingsworth passage from UK to Australia
Date9 May 1961
Object number00046901
NamePassage ticket
MediumPaper
DimensionsOverall: 70 x 192 x 2 mm, 13.96 g
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Bob Killingsworth
DescriptionThe passage ticket was issued to Bob Killingsworth for travel from the UK to Sydney on 29 December 1961.HistoryBob Killingsworth migrated from the UK to Australia after World War I, sailing on the Orient liner OSTERLEY. As an adult he embarked on a 'boomerang' excursion, travelling to Britain on STRATHAIRD on 20 July 1960 and returning home to Sydney on the P&O liner CANBERRA on 29 December 1961.
CANBERRA was built in 1961 by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, and accommodated 548 first and 1,650 tourist class passengers. On 2 June 1961 it departed Southampton on its maiden voyage to Australia via the Suez Canal. CANBERRA suffered continuous mechanical problems during its first year of service and was dry docked in June 1962 for an overhaul. It operated on the Australian trade and also undertook occasional cruises to New York and the Far East. At the end of 1972 CANBERRA was refitted to operate as a cruise ship, accommodating 1,500 passengers in a single class. It was broken up in Pakistan in 1997.SignificanceThe passage ticket is a souveir from Bob Killingsworth's voyage on CANBERRA in 1961.
