Plate from Devitt and Moores Australian Line of Steam and Clipper Ships
Datebefore 1976
Object number00049053
NamePlate
MediumCeramic
DimensionsOverall: 26 x 230 mm, 417 g
ClassificationsTableware and furnishings
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionA plate labelled 'Devitt & Moore's Australian Line of Steam & Clipper Ships', decorated with the company's flag of red and blue with a white rectangle in the center.HistoryHerbert Edward (Bert) Young assembled a collection of maritime objects, books, papers, images and ephemera, and established Young's Maritime Museum from his home in Forestville, a suburb of Sydney, in the late 1960s. This private museum was short-lived and in 1972, Young presented his collection to the Department of Shipping and Transport to hold for incorporation into a future national maritime museum. The collection was transferred to the ANMM in1987.
Thomas Henry Devitt & Joseph Moore were London ship-brokers. From 1836 they established their own brokerage firm and by 1840 were appointed as loading brokers for 39 sailing ships on the Australian run.
In 1863, Devitt & Moore started their long connection with Australia as shipowners with the construction of the 791-ton CITY OF ADELAIDE. Over the next 55 years Devitt & Moore were a significant presence in Australian ports where they ran a fleet of 29 square-rigged sailing ships and two steamships. These carried passengers, wool, copper and general cargo between Great Britain and Australia until the end of the First World War, when the company finally, and reluctantly, conceded to the competition from the steamships.
SignificanceThe Young collection contains an eclectic range of maritime objects such as octants, fog horns and ship's wheels, and many items with significant provenance. Devitt & Moore's line was an important presence in Australian shipping during the nineteenth century.
c 1870
