Three letters from the McKilliam family collection
Date1967-1993
Object numberANMS0248
NameArchive series
MediumPaper
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Gwynned Peh, Robert D and Helen McKilliam
DescriptionThese three items consist of correspondence collected by the McKilliam family. They consist of one set of four commemorative stamps for clipper ships; one photograph of an unidentified three masted clipper ship in full sail at an Asian port and one letter sent to Kenneth McKilliam thanking him for a copy of a print of the SAMUEL PLIMSOLL. The items span the period 1967 – 1984.HistoryScottish-born Captain Robert Basil Vincent McKilliam served in the Aberdeen White Star Line between 1876 and 1908. A native of Aberdeen, he was apprenticed at 14. He served under famous clipper captains like Robert Kemball and on famous clippers like THERMOPYLAE and SALAMIS, mostly in the Britain-to-Australia service. He also served in the modern steamers of the day. After 32 years he retired from the sea and soon after, in 1910, he married. In 1913 he brought his family to live in Sydney. Appointed Assistant Manager of Darling Island Wharf, he worked as a superintendent stevedore in Sydney from World War One up to the Great Depression. He died at his home in North Sydney in 1934.
January - February 1952
1876-1909