The
houseflag of E and A taken from
a Company menu.
Eastern
and Australian
Steamship Co.Ltd.
(E and A)
Identification photograph as shown on his Seamans' Document of Identity Circa 1958 and below, the same year, in uniform aboard "Nellore" in Shanghai.
Eastern
and Australian Steamship Company Ltd., became a member of the P and O
Group in 1946 and the running of E and A came under Macdonald, Hamilton
and Co. The monthly reconciliation of the accounts
(and that of AUSN) was one of the tasks for the Accounts Department Junior.
Having never been taught, at school in England, anything about business principles and practice, trying to do this left me all at sea, in more senses than one, and I always had to seek the help of the 'goddess' of all the office juniors, Jeanette Starkey. She was the accounting machine operator and thanks to her I managed to scrape through, with additional, if not exasperated, help from Mr Hewitt who, at that time, looked after E and A as well as AUSN.
A former colleague, John Hitches who worked in the Passenger Department, went to sea and became a cadet officer, and ultimately Purser, aboard the S.S. Nellore. It is through him and his good offices, and with my grateful thanks, that these photos and anecdotes of E and A life are included to be followed by others in due course.
"Eastern" in Sydney Harbour C. 1958
"Arafura" at Hong Kong C.1958
Copy of the Christmas Dinner menu of S.S. "Nellore" 1959 kindly supplied by her former Purser, John Hitches and used with his permission and my thanks.
Signatures
of Passengers and Officers
who were aboard the "Nellore" at Christmas 1959.
John
Hitches in England in 1999, looking - as he says - a bit different with
the
'passage of time' of 41 years!(don't we all!)