SS ORONSAY book mark
Date1930-1980
Object number00048309
NameBookmark
MediumLeather
DimensionsOverall: 230 x 64 mm
ClassificationsTools and equipment
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Stella Green
DescriptionA collection of ephemera relating to passenger-cargo travel lines including luggage labels, bookmarks, cruise advertising brochures and cabin plans.HistoryDuring the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, ocean going vessels generally carried a mix of passengers and cargo. From the early 1900s with the age of large and luxury liners, passenger travel became increasingly separated from cargo transportation. However even dedicated cargo ships still kept a handful of berths for paying passengers.
Before the introduction of large container ships from the 1950s, conventional cargo ships - where cargo was loaded and discharged over the side to and from ships holds by crane - still often made some income from passengers willing to put up with the rigors of a cargo ship. For some passengers, this added to the experience. Delays in loading cargo at ports meant an unexpected and not unwelcome extended stay in exotic ports and working sections of harbours.
By the 1950s, passenger berths on cargo ships had become something of a 'hidden secret', and people actively sought out passages on small and unknown routes. Freighter Travel Clubs were formed during the 1960s and 1970s in Australia and the United States.
Like passenger liners, cargo-passenger ships generated cabin and deck plans, advertising brochures and bookmarks. Such ephemera was collected by passengers as momentos of their travels.
The increasing containerisation of cargo shipping from the 1980s made passenger cargo ship travel rarer in recent times - though a handful still do, and it is not unknown in smaller coastal trade and less developed countries.
SignificanceThis collection of ephemera is an interesting record of passenger-cargo line services from the 1930s to the 1980s. It reflects the appeal of travelling on a working ship and highlights the little known history of the dedicated cargo-passenger travel enthusiasts during this period.
