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White Star Line purser on board SS MEDIC
White Star Line purser on board SS MEDIC

White Star Line purser on board SS MEDIC

Photographer (Australian, 1899 - 1953)
DateMarch 1914
Object number00021408
NameNitrate negative
MediumEmulsion on nitrate film.
DimensionsOverall: 80 x 138 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionNitrate negative depicting White Star Line purser, possibly Mr Ryan from the SS MEDIC, sitting at his desk in uniform. Pinned to wall 'Plan of accommodation - AFRIC, MEDIC and PERSIC / plan of accommodation - RUNIC and SUEVIC', a calendar dated '1914 March 1914'. A letter addressed to '... Ryan, esq. / Purser / SS MEDIC ... Miller's Point' with postmark from Queensland is propped up on the desk. Note pinned to bulkhead addressed to 'Mrs Mueller, 4 The Strand, East Esplanade, Manly Beach, Sydney."HistoryMEDIC was built for the White Star Line in 1899 by the famous Harland and Wolff in Belfast. Intended for the Britain - Australia service MEDIC left Liverpool on its maiden voyage on 3 August 1899. It arrived in Australia the following month after stopping at Cape Town. The arrival of the biggest vessel yet seen in local waters caused huge excitement in Australia. This "leviathan" stopped at Albany, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Newcastle. At each port thousands turned out to see MEDIC. In Sydney, with special buses arranged to transport people, the vessel saw 8,000 visitors who were impressed not only with MEDIC's size but the quality of its third class accommodation (the only class available on board) which was noted for displaying "no pretence and elaborate ornamentation in the fittings, but a general air of substantial comfort". One deck was long enough to play cricket on throughout the voyage and with a saloon, smoking room and three decks to roam, passengers did not feel their third class status. Of note in this maiden voyage was the fourth mate, Charles Lightoller. It was his first assignment in the position and he would later face infamy as the only senior officer to survive the sinking of the RMS TITANIC. It was the potential of the MEDIC that excited Australians. The vessel showed an economic commitment to Australia by the White Star Line, one of the largest shipping companies operating at the time. To invest in the MEDIC on the Australian run, the company showed faith in a commercial future. The vessel had the capacity to carry 20,000 tons of cargo and leaving Australia, with its on board refrigeration system, it could export 80,000 carcasses of frozen mutton and 24,000 bales of wool. White Star Line's plan was to make the run monthly which should be enough to "impress every citizen". In 1916 MEDIC was leased by the Commonwealth as a transport and would make six journeys from Australia as a troop ship, after which her management was transferred to the British Admiralty. Significantly, the MEDIC was part of the first convoy from Albany to Egypt. On her return to Australia she was converted at Cockatoo Island Dry-dock to transport 531 troops and 500 horses. Returned to White Star service in 1919, MEDIC remained on the Australia route until 1927 and sold in 1928. Renamed HEKTORIA, the vessel became a whale factory ship which was sunk in the North Atlantic on 11 September 1942. SignificanceMEDIC has a strong association with Australia, not just commercially but in times of war. First transporting Australian troops to South Africa for the Boer War in 1899, the ship would become a troopship in World War I, carrying thousands of Australians to the battlefields. One of the first such soldiers was John Simpson Kirkpatrick who would later become known for his role as a stretcher bearer during the Gallipoli Campaign.