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175 years of regular ocean liner travel.

Announcement posted by Chris Cunard Page 04 Jul 2015

On 4 July 1840, exactly 175 years ago, the way people travel changed for ever. 

It was on this day in 1840 that Sir Samuel Cunard along with a group of fare paying passengers set sail aboard the RMS. Britannia. 

She set sail from Liverpool bound for Halifax and Boston to inaugurate the first regularly scheduled transatlantic service. 

Britannia was a steam powered liner, the first of four ships designed to operate these crossings. Maritime Author Chris Frame says this voyage changed the way people travel forever,  "175 years ago this first regularly scheduled crossing changed the world. It changed the way people travel. For the first time in history there was regular and safe travel by steam ship. It was a revolution because now people could plan their travel around a reliable schedule. "

These early steam ships were vastly different from the cruise ships in service today. There was no luxury on these early Cunard ships. They were purposely built to be as simple as possible, with cargo storage taking up much of the space. Passengers shared cramped quarters, and there was a cow carried aboard for milk and chickens for eggs as commercial refrigeration hadn't been invented yet. 

Over the years, many other lines were established and thousands of ships were built. The great ocean liners helped drive change in society, being instrumental in the immigration booms to the USA, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. 

Ocean Liners were also used to pioneer and perfect many technologies, with wireless radio, electric call bells and turbine engines all utilised aboard liners before they were widely adopted on land.

These great ships were also used during both world wars, as Maritime Author Chris Frame reflects, "During both wars, the ocean liners were used by the military as troop ships." 

He continues, "Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were converted for use as troop ships in World War II and could each carry over 16,000 people per crossing. Winston Churchill actually acknowledged their impact on the allied war effort, saying they helped shorten the war by at least one year."

To learn more about the ocean liner please visit www.chriscunard.com or you can hear Chris Frame's full one hour interview on the subject at ABC's conversations page: http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2015/07/01/4264798.htm