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Wine list from the Royal Interocean Lines passenger ships

Publisher Royal Interocean Lines (1947 - 1977)

Date1960-1970

Object number00001275

NameMenu

MediumPaper

DimensionsOverall: 140 x 204 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Wim Schroder

Terms

DescriptionThis bar wine list was collected by a passenger and employee on board Royal Interocean Lines' twin passenger ships, TJIWANGI and TJILUWAH during the 1960s.HistoryIn 1947, two Dutch companies, the Royal Packet Company and the Java – China – Japan Line, merged to form Royal Interocean Lines (RIL). The passenger liners, TJIWANGI and TJILUWAH, were launched in 1950 and 1951 to serve the Dutch East Indies and Hong Kong trade route. Within ten years, RIL transferred them to serve the Hong Kong, Japan and Australia route. After numerous successful voyages throughout the 1960s, RIL announced that TJILUWAH was to be withdrawn from service. TJIWANGI remained in service for another two years, however, passenger numbers dwindled and she was eventually sold to Pacific International Line. In 1971, RIL purchased NIEUW HOLLAND to further serve the Hong Kong, Australia and Japan route. In addition to this route, the cruise liner also serviced voyages between Australia, New Zealand and parts of Southeast Asia. Declining passenger numbers again, however, instigated the end of NIEUW HOLLAND’s Australian passenger trade.SignificanceShipboard menus were the most common type of souvenir collected by passengers and this particular example depicts the deck of the ship in bright colours. This menu would have acted as a striking reminder of the twin cruise liners’ travels between Hong Kong, Australia and Japan.