A list of ships and their actor passengers

The joy and excitement of overseas travel by ship is obvious on this girl’s face. Port of Melbourne, c 1937. Author’s collection.

Above: Orion departing Sydney in 1947. The Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Courtesy ACP Magazines Ltd.

These are the first departure dates of some twentieth century Australian actors. Of course, many travelled to the US or UK under other names, but for ease of reading their best known stage name is used.

P&O Ad 1932

Above: A symbol of status and  modernity – a P&O advertisement from The Home, 1 March, 1932, P3. Via National Library of Australia’s Trove. Readers may find Angela Woollacott’s book To Try Her Fortune in London (2001) interesting, particularly Chapter 1.

Maie Saqui
Sailed to the UK in May 1897 on the RMS Orizba 

Alf Goulding, Daphne Trott (aka Daphne Pollard), Madge Williams, Irene Goulding (aka Irene Loftus) and other Pollard Opera Company performers
Sailed to North America in September 1901 on SS Sierra – the first of a number of tours.

Marc McDermott
Sailed to North America in July 1902 on the RMS Miowera

Dulcie Cooper, Ashley Cooper and Emily Curr
Sailed to North America in June 1905 (Ashley) and August 1905 (Emily & Dulcie) on SS Ventura 

Paul Scardon, Mario Majeroni and Giorgio (George) Majeroni
Sailed to North America in December 1905 on SS Sonoma

Oliver Peters (O.P) Heggie
Sailed to the UK in 1906 on the SS Grosser Kurfürst

Snub Pollard (Harold Fraser), Fred Pollard (Fred Bindloss) and Jack Pollard (Jack Cherry)
Sailed to the US in 1909 on the SS Aorangi

“Toots” and Lorna Pounds
Sailed to the UK in April 1911 on SS Suevic

Elsie Jane Wilson and Rupert Julian
Sailed to North America in July 1911 on the SS Zealandia

Queenie Williams, Billy Bevan, Ivy Moore and other Pollard performers Sailed to North America in August 1912 on the SS Makura

Elsie Mackay
Sailed to the UK in November 1912 on the SS Morea

May Dahlberg (As Charlotte M Cuthbert)
Sailed to the US on 5 May 1913, on the RMS Niagara

Ivy Schilling
Sailed to the UK in June 1914 on the SS Otranto

Arthur Shirley
Sailed to the US in November 1914 on the RMS Niagara

Louise Lovely
Sailed to the US in December 1914 on the SS Sonoma

Matson lineEnid Bennett
Sailed to the US in March 1915 on SS Ventura

Lorna Volare
Sailed to Canada in April 1915 on RMS Niagara

Nina Speight
Sailed to the US in April 1916 on SS Great Northern

Tempe Pigott
Sailed to the US in May 1916 on SS Sierra

Dorothy Cumming
Sailed to the US in July 1916 on SS Makura

Sylvia Bremer
Sailed to the US in October 1916 on SS Ventura

Marjorie Bennett
Sailed to the US in December 1916 on SS Ventura

Harry Quealy and Nellie Quealy (Finlay)
Sailed to North America in January 1917 via South Africa on SS City of Lahore 

Judith Anderson
Sailed to the US in January 1918 on SS Sonoma

Gwen Burroughs
Sailed to the US in May 1918 on SS Sonoma

Ena Gregory
Sailed to the US in January 1920, on the SS Ventura

Trilby Clark
Sailed to the UK in July 1920 then to the US in Feb 1921.

Suzanne Bennett
Sailed to the US in October 1922 on the SS Niagara.

Lotus Thompson lotusabouttodepart
Sailed to the US in March 1924, on SS Ventura.

Robert Grieg and Isabelle Holloway
Sailed to the US via the UK in 1925

Blanche Satchel 
Sailed to the UK in May 1925 on RMS Ormuz, then on to the US in August.

Phyllis Gibbs
Sailed to the US in June 1927 on SS Sierra

Marcia Ralston
Sailed to the US in October 1927, on SS Sonoma.

Finis Barton
Sailed to the US in November 1928 on SS Makura

Carol on her way to UK 1930

Fred Stone
Sailed to the UK in May 1929 on SS Benalla.

Lucille Lisle
Sailed to the US on the SS Sonoma in May 1930

Carol Coombe
Sailed to the UK on the SS Moldavia in July 1930

Click to enlarge: This is the menu from the MV Warwick Castle, in 1936.  Clearly aspiring actors had to be careful what they ate from this huge menu! The Union Castle ships ran from South Africa to England, but it is typical of ship board food of the time. Author’s collection.

Judy Kelly
Sailed to the UK in June 1932, on the RMS CathageBlanche and Judy leave Australia

Mary MacGregor
Sailed to the UK in February 1933, on the SS Mongolia

Mona Barrie
Sailed to the US in June 1933, on the SS Monterey.

Gwen Munro
Sailed to the US in September 1933, on the SS Monterey.Gwen on the way home

John Wood
Sailed to the UK in October 1933, on the MV Troja.

Margaret Vyner
Sailed to Europe in late April 1934, on the RMS Orsova.

Margaret Johnston
Sailed to the UK in March 1935, on the SS Mongolia

Janet Johnson
Sailed to the UK in March 1936, on the SS Largs Bay.

Constance Worth
Sailed to the US in April 1936, on the SS Montereyconstance worth returning home by Sam Hood

Mary Maguire
Sailed to the US in August 1936, on the SS Mariposa

Joan Winfield
Sailed to the UK in late 1936, then to the US in 1939

Murray Matheson
Sailed to the UK in August 1936 on the SS Orsova. 

Enid Hollins
Sailed to the UK (via the USA) in April 1939 on the SS Monterey

Shirley Ann Richards
Sailed to the US in late 1941 on the SS Mariposa.

Joy and George Nichols
Sailed to the UK in September 1946 on the Dominion Monarch 

Above: Click to enlarge. The RMS Queen Elizabeth’s menu in 1947. Author’s Collection.

Patti Morgan
Sailed to the UK in March 1947, on the MV Selandia

Allan Cuthbertson
Sailed to the UK in March 1947, on the RMS Rangitiki

Gwenda Wilson
Sailed to the UK in February 1949, on SS Arawa

Dorothy Alison
Sailed to the UK in April 1949, on SS Orion

Michael Pate
Flew to the US via Hawaii in November 1950

Lloyd Lamble
Sailed to Europe on the MS Torrens, Jan 1951

Victoria Shaw
Flew to the US via Hawaii in July 1955

Above: Menu from the SS Orion in April 1947. The austerity of the post war world is still obvious. Author’s collection

departing Melbourne036

Photos – from the top
1. Screen grab of Lotus Thompson saying farewell in Sydney in 1924 before departing on the SS Ventura.Source Australasian Gazette newsreel via youtube.
2. Carol Coombe on the SS Moldavia. The Home, Vol 11, No 8, 1 August 1930. Via National Library of Australia’s Trove
3. Judy Kelly and her mother departing for England on the RMS Cathage. Source: The Home. Vol. 13 No. 8. August 1, 1932. Via National Library of Australia Trove.
4. Gwen Munro returning from the US on the SS Mariposa on 26 August 1934. Source uncredited. Photo in the author’s collection.
5. Jocelyn Howarth (Constance Worth) on her return from the US in June 1939 on the SS Monterey.  Via State Library of New South Wales.

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