1952

Description

Man in a suit and woman in a hat, both dressed for an outing, standing on the deck of a passenger ship. This is a photograph of Mr Harry and Mrs Jenny McCrea on board the 'SS Orontes', 1952. The photographer David Meale went as a teenager with his aunt and uncle to farewell Mr McCrea, a family friend, who was leaving Australia on a business trip. David remembers: 'His wife wasn't going. Mr McCrea and his brother Hugh had their own import business 'H & H McCrea'. They represented manufacturers, mainly women's clothing and accessories made in England and Scotland. They would go to places like Myers and Buckleys with samples, get the buyers to make orders and receive commissions from the manufacturer. After working for 10 or 15 years, Harry was going overseas to visit their business principals for the first time. While he was at sea, Prime Minister Menzies responded to a 'financial crisis' and heavily restricted imports. This meant they couldn't import the things he had gone to sell, and the trip was a total waste of time and money. They conducted their business otherwise by mail.'