RMS Strathaird was the second of a pair to be built and was completed on January 10, 1932. She was preceded by her identical sister the RMS Strathnaver completed on September 2, 1931. They were built by Vickers-Armstrong Ltd, in Barrow-in-Furness, England.RMS Strathaird departed Tilbury on her maiden voyage on February 12 1932, bound for Brisbane Australia sailing via Port Said, Aden, Bombay, Colombo, Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, a service she would remain on until the war would put an end to her passenger’s service for six long years! After the Mediterranean had been declared safe in late 1943, the Strathaird was the very first ship to sail through the Suez Canal in 1943. In 1945 she returned to Australia and New Zealand with their troops heading home. The RMS Strathaird was handed back to P&O in December 1947 and after a major refit she departed Tilbury on January 5, 1948. She returned to her regular Australian service but also continued to operate the occasional cruises. Due to demand and the migrant trade, in 1954 the Strathaird was converted to become a one-class liner, accommodating a good 1,252 passengers. Upon completion she departed Tilbury for her first voyage on April 8, 1954. TSS Strathaird departed Tilbury for Australia on March 28, 1961 and she then departed Sydney on May 9. As she sailed from Australia and had passed through the Suez Canal and was now in the Mediterranean she passed P&O’s newest superliner, the 42,570 GRT SS Canberra that had departed the UK on June 2, for Australia and New Zealand.A PDF doc of a Passenger List from the 'RMS Strathaird' passenger list dated September 1952P&O Passenger Listrms strathaird, passenger liners, migrant ships, cruise liners, british travellers

Amy Huxtable was born at Cheltenham in 1918, to Robert Henry Huxtable and Violet A Dagg. Her father was an installer for an oil company and travelled the State. taking his family with him. She completed her education at the Bendigo High School and later attended the Bendigo Business College, becoming an expert shorthand writer. Her first position was as a copy writer with Radio 3BO, in the mid 1930s. She worked with an advertising agency in Melbourne and then with the Age,newspaper. In 1953, Miss Huxtable was appointed temporarily to succeed Miss E B Millane as social editress of the Bendigo Advertiser, during the latter's absence abroad. In 1956, Amy travelled abroad and on her return in 1957 was appointed permanently as Women's editor, a position she held for twenty-three ears. During her early years with The Advertiser she wrote under the name Toora, but in later years her own name became widely known. Miss Huxtable was well known both in her professional capacity and through a interest and involvement in community activites. She was life governor of the Bendigo Hospital, the Bendigo Home for the Aged, and Mirridong Home for the Blind, she was a member of Soroptimist International and the Business and Professional Women's Club. Amy was also a tireless worker for the spastic society and a strong supporter of the YWCA. When Amy Huxtable died at Mt AJvernia Hospital on 16 January 1980 Mayor Campbell ordered the city flag to be flown at half-mast. "Lowering the flag is the least we can do for such a lady" Cr Campbell said. Douglas Lockwood, editor of the Bendigo Advertiser said, "She was a devot d colleague who gave her craft and her newspaper the kind of service which identified a rare and generous spirit." She was a true professional who decided to make Bendigo her home. More than 300 people packed St Paul's Church for her funeral ervice the bell tolled as the casket was carried from the church. At a ceremony in the Conservatory Gardens on No ember 22 1981 The Amy Huxtable Memorial Committee presented to the City of Bendigo, a garden seat in memory of the late Miss Huxtable. This Bendigo manufactured seat was a fitting tribute to one ofBendigo's most loved and esteemed citizens. All Miss Huxtable's Advertiser articles were microfilmed and presented to the Library by the above committee. Amy Huxtable Memorial Committee -Talk by David Thomas, Director of the Bendigo Art Gallery made 13 years after her death, 10 pages, entitled "One in a Million". The talk summarises Amy's life and involvement in the Bendigo community. history, amy huxtable, bendigo, amy huxtable memorial committee, bendigo art gallery