Letter witten to Miss Beaver on board SS ORONTES
Date26 March 1931
Object numberANMS0483[017]
NameLetter
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall (Closed): 198 × 130 mm
Overall (Open): 198 × 254 mm
Overall (Open): 198 × 254 mm
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Dennis McLoughry
DescriptionA handwritten letter on Orient Line letterhead to 'Miss Beaver' from 'Pete' who was travelling aboard the SS ORONTES to England from Australia and was currently on the Red Sea.
The author of this letter was actually Elsie Jackson who was on her first cruise to London and later went on to travel across Europe and the Americas.
As a traveller Elsie Jackson was enthusiastic and engaged, taking part in many shipboard activities and making numerous new friends on the journey.HistoryOn her first trip from Sydney in 1931 Elsie M Jackson travelled with a friend Doris and possibly others she knew, third class on the Orient Liner, ORONTES to London via Cairo and the Suez Canal. She left Sydney on 25 February 1931 and arrived in London on 21 April 1931. After a week-long English Tour, Elsie took an overland trip through the European Continent, visiting Amsterdam, Germany, Italy and France. Between 20 June and 10 July, from her London base, Elsie Jackson took a cruise on the ORONTES to Norway and the Northern Capitals, choosing to travel alone this time. She mentions in a letter to 'Curly' that although she is travelling alone, she is not lonely, as she has made many friends.
On 15 July Elsie Jackson joined a friend (presumably Doris again), and together they travelled overland to
various sites in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. She returned to Sydney via Canada and the Americas.
SignificanceElsie Jackson wrote many letters home to Australia and through them a picture emerges of life aboard a 1930's cruise ship. Games and meals were an important part of the experience and Jackson talks enthusiastically of the various people she meets and her excursions ashore.
