P&O The White Sisters
Maker
P&O
(British, founded 1837)
Date1932-1939
Object number00000965
NameBillboard
MediumHand painted sign on masonite board. Oil paints, possibly house paint coated with a varnish layer. Some of the lettering apears to have been retouched or highlighted with black felt pen. The masonite is 5mm thick. The back edges have been reinforced with 50mm wide x 5 mm thick lengths of masonite stapled into position from the front with copper staples prior to painting. The corners of the masonite have been cut off to form angled edges.
DimensionsOverall: 710 x 2210 mm
ClassificationsVisual communication
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis P&O advertising billboard depicts STRATHAIRD and STRATHNAVER, nicknamed the ‘White Sisters’ because of their graceful white hulls which suggested energy and speed. The billboard was probably produced for display in a travel agency.HistoryP&O was founded in 1837 when the partnership of Wilcox and Anderson secured a contract to carry mail from the UK to the peninsular ports Vigo, Oporto, Lisbon, Cadiz and Gibraltar. In 1840 the company secured a new contract to extend the service to Alexandria in Egypt, and in 1844 this contract was extended to Madras, Ceylon, Calcutta, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. P&O established the Far East route to Australia in the 1850s, when it took over from less efficient services such as the East India Company.
Between 1931 and 1938 P&O launched five new 20,000 tonne liners collectively known as 'The Straths'. The 22,547 tonne STRATHNAVER was the first, constructed by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow in 1932. The ship operated an Australian service until it was broken up in Hong Kong in 1962. STRATHNAVER was the first liner to substitute P&O's traditional black hull with a white hull and upper works. The livery was designed to reflect a new degree of energy, speed and beauty, and was embraced by all subsequent P&O ships. The Straths were also nicknamed 'The White Sisters'.SignificanceIn 1932 P&O pioneered leisure cruising from Australia with a Christmas cruise from Sydney to Norfolk Island on the new mail steamer STRATHAIRD. This billboard, depicting STRATHAIRD and its sister ship STRATHNAVER, records one of the ways in which travel was marketed to Australian audiences in the early 20th century.
