Suitcase of migrant John Vivian Gill
Date1953-1956
Object number00050203
NameSuitcase
MediumLeather
DimensionsOverall: 250 × 545 × 355 mm
ClassificationsTools and equipment
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Carolyn Smith
Collections
1953-1956
DescriptionThis suitcase is part of a collection of personal belongings, documents, souvenirs and photographs relating to the migration of John and Gladys Gill from England to Australia on STRATHMORE in 1956 under the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme.HistoryJohn Vivian Gill (1919-1994) and his wife Gladys Patricia Gill (nee Parker) (1924-1994) migrated from Buxton, England to Sydney, Australia in March 1956 under the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme. They were accompanied by John's mother Mrs E Gill, sister Mrs J Griffin, 11 year old nephew Teddy and brother-in-law Mr T E Parker. The family was joining John's father Frederick John Gill in Sydney, where John believed "the prospects are better and the climate a good deal more favourable."
The family sailed from Tilbury on the P&O liner STRATHMORE on 30 March 1956. STRATHMORE was launched on 4 April 1935, with accommodation for 445 first and 665 tourist class passengers and air conditioning in the first class dining room - a first for a P&O vessel. It departed Tilbury on its maiden voyage to Bombay and Australia on 26 October 1935, setting a new record for the run to Bombay.
STRATHMORE was requisitioned as a troopship during World War II. It was involved in the North African landings and was then used to repatriate troops after the war. In 1948 STRATHMORE was refitted in Newcastle to accommodate 497 first and 487 tourist class passengers. In the early 1960s, as demand for assisted migrant passages declined, it was converted to a one-class ship for 1,200 passengers.
STRATHMORE completed its final voyage to Australia in 1963 and was then sold to Greek ship owner John S Latsis. It was renamed MARIANNA LATSI and used to transport pilgrims to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, before being broken up in Italy in 1969.SignificanceThe suitcase relates to a significant period in Australia's immigration history, when the Australian Government assisted more than one million Britons to emigrate after World War II in a bid to 'populate or perish.'
