Summary

Dinner Menu from the P&O Line Ship SS Stratheden for the 14 August 1963. It was collected by James Mason when he migrated to Australia with his wife and two children as 'ten pound tourists' in 1963. During the voyage James avidly collected the menus and approached the steward to obtain extras but he was unable to collect a full set. On arrival in Australia they stayed with James' brother-in-law and then purchased land in Altona almost immediately, where they have lived ever since.

Physical Description

Shipboard menu approx. A5 size cardboard. Front cover of menu has a coloured image of a man and a woman dressed in 1712 period clothing, Background also features a sailing ship and a building of the same era.

Significance

Menus provide an evocative symbol of the migrant journey experience. Many people keep their menus as mementoes of a momentous experience in their lives. They also provide a way of documenting the dietary shifts over time of shipboard food and ways in which menu artwork was used to promote a variety of themes - whether relating to the country of origin of the ship, or in this case, the country of destination and shipboard activities.

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