Advertising poster dating from 1910 and promoting the Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Company’s ship SS Merimbula.

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From the earliest days of European settlement in the local region, the ocean served as the highway in and out of the district, with people, produce and goods coming and going on the ships that plied the coastline. After its establishment in 1858, the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company (later the Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Company) became the dominant operator serving the various ports south of Sydney, providing an all important link between local communities and metropolitan markets.

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Constructed at Troon, Scotland in 1909, the TSS Merimbula was the largest vessel ever ordered by the company. In addition to her cargo carrying capacity, she provided accommodation for 96 first class and ten second class passengers.

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She remained on the south coast run until grounding on Beecroft Peninsula in March 1928. Initial hopes of salvage her were abandoned as she continued to slide from the rocks and into the sea. The loss of the SS Merimbula marked the end of the Illawarra Company’s passenger services.

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The poster is part of the collection of the National Archives of Australia.

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