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The Orient Line's full-rigger Hesperus, by Jack Spurling, 1923

#naval art #orient line #hesperus #19th century #age of sail

Welcome

This blog is here to host my extensive collection of 1920s and 30s ephemera relating to the Orient Line of steamers. The Orient Line was established in 1797, and by the 19th century was sailing all over the world. They launched their first packet route to Australia in 1866, and in 1878 formed the Orient Steam Navigation Company, launching the Orient in 1879.

From the start of the 20th century they shared the England-Australia mail route with P&O. Their steamers sailed once a fortnight via Suez, carrying mail, passengers and cargo. Several of their ships were requisitioned as troop ships during both wars, with several lost, but they also maintained a service on their routes to bring vital supplies to England in their refrigerated holds.

During the European summer, some of their ships were repurposed for cruise routes in the Mediterranean, Baltic and even the Carribbean. The ships were fitted with all the luxuries required of long-distance travel, including swimming pools, dance floors, cinemas, and even games decks that were specifically designed to allow the touring England and Australian cricket teams to practice on deck on their way to the Ashes.

The Orient Line merged with P&O, which was a majority stakeholder, in 1960, with the Orient Line name discontinued in 1966. The last Orient Line steamer, the Oriana, was scrapped in 2005, ending over 125 years of Orient Line history.

#Orient Line #History

There’s so many things I should be doing, but what I’m actually doing with my life is fusing my two current obsessions into an absolute monster of a Miss Fisher timeline that merges evidence from the episodes with my collection of historical steam ship timetables.