Welcome to Volume 16 of Clutter Tales, a series where we tell the stories of our lives through our clutter. Today’s post is about a hundred-year-old item I found a few months ago when decluttering my night table drawers. How did the treasure I found in a simple black leather case conjure up visions of 1920s travel and adventure? Read on to find out.  

In the pre-pandemic modern era, many of us took travel for granted. It was so easy to hop on a plane and be anywhere in the world in a matter of hours.

But it wasn’t always that easy. In the 1920s, travel was a different story altogether.

This post is dedicated to my beloved Auntie Joan who passed away earlier this year at the age of 95.

Clutter Tales – Visions of 1920s travel and adventure

If you’ve been following my 52-Weeks of Decluttering series, you’ll know that the first question on my Easy Decluttering Checklist, is “Did I even know I owned this?” In most cases, if the answer to that question is no, it means the item is an easy decluttering win. But not always.

When decluttering my night table drawers earlier this year, I came across a small black leather case. At first, I had no idea what it was or how it came to be in my drawer.

When I opened it up, I found two small decks of playing cards and a tiny book with instructions for different games of patience – what my Canadian and American friends would call solitaire.

Upon closer inspection, I saw that the cards came from a ship – The Orient Line to Australia. I vaguely remembered my mother giving these cards to me after my dad died in 2001, along with a few other items she found in his drawers.

My curiosity got the better of me so I did some research to learn more about the story behind these cards. 

Travelling back in time

My paternal grandfather, who I never knew, was a world traveller. He was born in England but spent time living in Canada and Australia in the early 1900s. He even served in the Australian army during World War I.

My grandparents married in England in 1924. Soon after, they set sail for Australia to begin a new life.

When I showed the case with the cards to my daughters, they were very fascinated by a piece of our family history that they had never heard before. My grandmother (Nanna) passed before they were born and, although they had heard stories from Auntie Joan over the years, we had never talked about their time in Australia.

A different kind of cruising

One of the things we talked about was how different travelling by sea must have been in those days. My family has been on two Disney cruises where there is non-stop entertainment and unlimited food in a pretty luxurious setting.

From some quick research, I learned that the Orient Line had a contract with the Royal Mail to carry mail between England and Australia. In addition to mail, they also transported passengers – many of them like my grandparents – looking for a new life in a new country.

Interested in learning more, I did some searching on the National Archives of Australia site and found the passenger list record of my grandparents’ arrival in Brisbane, Australia in December, 1924.

They travelled third class on the maiden voyage of the RMS Orama – the second ship to bear the name Orama. According to Australian government website Passengers In History, RMS Orama was a 20,000 ton steamer that was 660 feet long 75 feet wide. It had 8 passenger decks, and carried a crew of 420, along with 592 first class, and 1244 third class passengers.

In comparison, the 83,000 ton Disney Wonder ship we sailed on our cruise to Alaska – a small ship by today’s standards – is 964 feet long, 106 feet wide, and carries a crew of 950, and 2713 passengers on 11 decks. (Source: The Mouse For Less)

So, the Orams travelled to Australia on the RMS Orama. Interesting!

Over a month at sea

The trip between England and Australia was 33 days. That’s a long time to be at sea. As I said earlier, passengers in those days didn’t enjoy extensive entertainment and all-day food options like today’s cruise ship passengers. I’m sure they got a lot of use out of those two decks of cards and became very proficient at patience – and not just the card game!

It’s hard to find information on what those voyages were like for third class passengers like my grandparents. I did find an Orient Line brochure from 1906 on the GG Archives site. It states that the fare includes “food, bedding, table and cabin requisites, medical attendance and steward’s fees”.

According to the brochure, third class passengers ate 4 times a day – breakfast, dinner, tea and supper. Dinner, the main meal of the day, was served at 1 p.m. and the day’s menu could include things like “Soups, Broths, Fish, Roasted and Boiled Meats, Fresh Vegetables, Puddings (various), Stewed Fruits, etc. Bread, Biscuits, Cheese.”

This newspaper clipping from 1928 provides a further glimpse into life on board for third class passengers. It seems they spent lots of time strolling on the deck looking at the ocean, reading, and playing cards.

It sounds like 1920s travel would have been very exciting, and perhaps a little bit scary, for my 28 year-old Nanna who had never left England before.

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Life in Australia and the return to England

I have very little information about my grandparents’ life in Australia. The only thing I recall is Nanna telling me stories about spending Christmas Day on the beach.

My Auntie Joan, who passed away earlier this year, was born in Australia in February, 1926. When my Nanna became pregnant with my dad in 1929, she was homesick and they returned to England before my dad was born in March 1930. Here’s the passenger list from their arrival back in England on board the Orient Line’s SS Orsova in November, 1929.

I can’t imagine spending a month on a ship, but I definitely can’t picture making the voyage while pregnant – and with a 3 year old in tow. In the days before stabilizers on ships, and modern navigation aids, it would have been a difficult voyage under the best of circumstances but to do it under such conditions is unfathomable. I always remember my Nanna as a no-nonsense formidable woman. Now I see why.

I wish I knew more

I regret not knowing more about my grandparents’ travels and the time they spent in Australia. It must have been a very interesting and exciting time.

In the end, I couldn’t part with these cards. I see now there was a reason my mother gave them to me – so I could research 1920s travel and adventure and bring this story to life and share it with you.

I hope you enjoyed this installment of Clutter Tales. If you’d like to write a guest post for Clutter Tales, please get in touch. I’d love to give you the opportunity to properly thank your clutter by sharing its story too!

Do you have similar tales of travel and adventure from your ancestors? Tell us your stories below.