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Menu for the luncheon held to commemorate the presentation of KATHLEEN GILETT
Menu for the luncheon held to commemorate the presentation of KATHLEEN GILETT

Menu for the luncheon held to commemorate the presentation of KATHLEEN GILETT

Date15 November 1991
Object number00017916
NameMenu
MediumPaper, ink, ribbon
DimensionsOverall: 211 x 149 mm, 0.002 kg
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Royal Norwegian Embassy
DescriptionThismenu was created for a luncheon commemorating the presentation of the KATHLEEN GILLETT to the Australian National Maritime Museum. The event was held on the 15 November 1991, at the museum's Mazda Gallery. The menu features ten signatures: Peter Sinclair, Governor of NSW; David Simmons, Federal Minister of the Arts, Tourism and Territories; Gudmund Hernes, Minister of Research and Education, Norway; Per Haugestad, Norwegian Ambassador; Peter Doyle, Chairman of the ANMM; Sven Ullring, President of Det Norske Veritas; Jack Earl, KATHLEEN GILLETT round-the-world sailor; Carl Halvorsen, boat builder and restoration manager; Tertje Gloersen, Director, Norwegian Shipowners Association; A. Jebsen. HistoryThe gaff-rigged ketch, KATHLEEN GILLETT was a Bicentennial gift from Norway. Based on the seaworthy fishing, pilot and rescue boats of Norway's most famous designer, Colin Archer, it was built for marine artist Jack Earl in Sydney in the 1930s. Earl was one of the founders of the Sydney-Hobart yacht race, sailing KATHLEEN GILLETT in the first race in 1945. In 1947 the ketch, named after Earl's wife, became the second Australian yacht to circumnavigate the globe. After being sold by Jack Earl in the 1950s, KATHLEEN GILLETT’s adventurous career included island trade in Torres Strait and crocodile hunting expeditions around Bougainville and the Solomon Islands. In 1967 the ketch again became a cruising yacht, and sailed once more in the Sydney-Hobart yacht race. In 1987 the KATHLEEN GILLETT was located in Guam and purchased by the Norwegian Government as a Bicentennial gift to the people of Australia. It was shipped to Sydney for restoration by the Norwegian descended boat builder Carl Halvorsen. The restoration work was based on photographs and conversations with Jack Earl, and plans drawn up by Alan Payne. SignificanceThe menu is an important record of the KATHLEEN GILLETT's presentation to the Australian national Maritime Museum, documenting the people who were in attendance, and part of the proceeding.