Australian Mails Contract between the Postmaster-General and the Orient Steam Navigation Company
Maker
Orient Line
(1878 - 1966)
Date25 May 1897
Object number00000180
NameContract
MediumPrinted text on paper.
DimensionsOverall: 220 x 330 mm
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionA 16 page Australian mails contract dated 25 May 1897 between Her Majesty's Postmaster General and the Orient Steam Navigation Company Limited [Orient Line]. The terms of agreement were to convey mail once fortnightly each way between Naples and Adelaide.SignificanceThis is an example of the many and varied contracts that were drawn up to facilitate mail deliveries to and from Australia in the 19th Century. It shows also how late in our development it was before a satisfactory service was procured. With the development of international trade, the early mail steamers were an important link to overseas trade commodities and Australian exports.
Orient Line
before 1966
14 October 1931