Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
Just a few days after Australia entered World War I on the side of the Allied powers, the 350-fooot-long passenger steamship Grantala (an Aboriginal word for “big”) was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) for military service as a hospital ship. Grantala, which had been completed and launched by Armstrong Whitworth Company for the... Continue Reading →
The SS Savannah became the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was built in 1818 by the New York shipbuilding firm of Fickett & Crockett. During its construction, Captain Moses Rogers asked the Savannah-based shipping company, Scarborough & Isaacs, to convert it to a steamship with the goal of providing the world's... Continue Reading →
A group of 19 businessman meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, formed a new shipping company. The Northern Steam Ship Company (NSS) was specifically established to take over both the vessels and business of the Auckland Steam Packet Company. Despite what appeared to be a strong start, NSS struggled financially during its first several years of... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 