Dinner menu from MS JOHAN VAN OLDENBARNEVELT
Maker
Netherlands Steamship Company
(1870 - 1970)
Date31 March 1955
Object number00008189
NameMenu
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 179 mm
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Margaret Hendrikson
DescriptionA dinner menu for the 31 March 1955 on board the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland passenger liner JOHAN VAN OLDENBARNEVELT.HistoryMV JOHAN VAN OLDENBARNEVELT was the largest motor-ship to be built in Holland at the time of its launch in Amsterdam by Nederland Shipbuilding Company, in 1929. It originally served on trade routes between the Netherlands and the East Indies, however, throughout World War II, it was requisitioned by Britain as a troop transport. In the years between 1950 and 1958, MV JOHAN VAN OLDENBARNEVELT carried Dutch and European immigrants wanting to escape their war-torn countries to Australia. The ship served as a passenger vessel until the Dutch migrant-transport charter expired in 1958. Nederland Line transformed the ship into a luxury cruise liner in 1959 and it toured from Amsterdam to England, Australia, New Zealand, South America and North America.SignificanceIn the years between 1950 and 1958, MV JOHAN VAN OLDENBARNEVELT carried Dutch and European immigrants wanting to escape their war-torn countries to Australia. This series of menus were collected by one such family, the Schoevers on their journey in 1955.