The following listing is for branches and Representatives outside the U.K. There is a separate listing for branches in the United Kingdom. This listing is created in alphabetical order of Country, so Australian branches are listed firstly, while U.S.A. branches are listed near the bottom of the list.
Meets: St. George's Church Hall, Mount Street, Burnie, Tasmania on the 4th Thursday of the month at 7:30 pm. Contact Marianne Whybrow, 52 Oonah Street, Burnie, Tasmania 7320 Tel: 61 3 6433 3926. E-mail: mariwhy@bigpond.com [08.2012]
Incorporated as the "World Ship Society, Fremantle Branch Incorporated"
Meets: Leeuwin Sail Training administration office located at the western end of B Shed on Victoria Quay, Fremantle, on the 1st Wednesday, February to December, at 7:30 pm. Some meetings held elsewhere, so check with the branch ahead of time. Contact: Bruce Farrington at bwfarrington@gmail.com . Publications: monthly "Fremantle Branch Newsletter", editor: Rhod Jones, caronia1@bigpond.com [05.2013]
The First Meeting — Our first meeting was held on September 2 1981, where people who were interested in Ships and shipping gathered and it was decided to form a Branch of the World Ship Society. Richard McKenna was voted to be the Chairman and Jeff Thompson was appointed to be the Secretary. Persons who were at that first meeting that are sill members of the Branch arre: Rod Ambrose, Alan Cornes, Dennis Dewar, Chris Gee, Arthur Robertson and Jeff Thompson. [10.2011]
A large group of Society members and their families had an extensive visit over the battleship, USS MISSOURI (BB 63) anchored in Gage Roads off Fremantle on October 18, 1986 [photo by Bruce Farrington]
Newsletter Report
This month [September 2011] marks the 30th Anniversary of the Fremantle Branch of the World Ship Society. The first meeting of the Branch was held in September 1981 in the premises of the Flying Angel Club in Queen Victoria Street and the first newsletter was published also that month. An initial public meeting to gauge interest in such a club had been held in the upstairs meeting room of the Flying Angel Club previously and from which office bearers were elected to get things underway. Little did those at that meeting think that 30 years later the Branch would still be functioning.
Ideas of a branch were fermented at regular meetings of the newly formed Fremantle Maritime Museum in Cliff Street by four Society members that attended these functions. Alan Cornes, Carl Anderson, Ian Stewart and Jeff Thompson went along to these meetings mainly dealing with high brow maritime archaeology followed by wine and cheeses. We did not know whether those attending were interested in marine archaeology or the wines and cheeses. From then on it was decided to form our own branch dealing with the nuts and bolts of ships and shipping. Fremantle at that time was still a busy port with public access to the wharf areas. After a few months the idea progressed from there, to the public meeting, to the first meeting of the Fremantle Branch of the World Ship Society in September 1981.
The World Ship Society was formed in England in 1946 to chiefly record the history of ships and shipping brought about by the events of World War 2. It was then and still is, fully operated by unpaid volunteers. Since then it has come a long way and has become a voice in the shipping industry despite its humble beginnings. The monthly publication — Marine News — continues to record ship events and fleet lists and many company histories have been put into book format. The Society operates throughout the world, the interest in ships being international.
Of the four original founders, two remain as members of the Branch — Alan Cornes and Jeff Thompson. Others who attended the inaugural meeting and have remained as members include Denis Dewar, Arthur Robinson, Rod Ambrose and Chris Gee. If there are others not mentioned then we apologize for their omission. Many others have also contributed to the Newsletter and to the Branch over the years and continue to do so. The Branch Newsletter endeavours to record shipping events of Fremantle and Western Australia both current and historic. Many such happenings failed to be documented in the past and their significance has virtually disappeared with the passing of time.
We can now celebrate the first 30 years of the Branch and look forward to the next 30 years. We thank you for your interest and participation.
Meets: meet at the Maritime Museum of Tasmania, cnr. Argyle and Davey Sts., Hobart , on the 1st Friday in even months, at 8:00 pm. Contact: Rex Cox, 56 Mt Stuart Road, North Hobart, Tasmania 7000. Tel: +61 3 6234 1865. E-mail: rexcox@netspace.net.au Publications: "Shipping News", editor Glenn & Kellie Towler, abaland@primus.com.au [08.2012]
RECENT EVENTS
The attached photo was taken at our meeting on 3rd December 2010 by Jeff Jackson and shows us about to enjoy a slide presentation on Port Line. The characters from left are (front) David Kirby, Dennis Breen, Glenn Towler, Rex Cox, Henk Kremer and Bruce Lord, (back) Brian Grundie, Jack Tomes, Tom Murdoch, Cedric Mackey, Fred Carrington, Kay Osborne, Miriam Court
This photo shows members of the Hobart Branch about to view a show on April 1, 2011. From left to right, Rex Cox, Kay Osborne, Glenn Towler, Bill Heap (obscured), Miriam Court, Brendon Bowes, Cedric Mackey, Jack Tomes, Bruce Lord, Fred Carrington, Henk Kremer. Photo by Jeff Jackson.
Another recent gathering of branch members. fr. l. seated - Tom Murdock, Kay Osborne, Graeme Broxam, Bruce Lord and Miriam Court; fr. l. standing - Glenn Towler, Brendon Bowes, Rex Cox, David Hunt, Fred Carrington, David Kirby, Cedric Mackey, Keith Edney, Jack Tomes, Verena Sidler and Glenda Hunt. Photo by Henk Kremer. Ref: WS11-0242.
Incorporated as the "World Ship Society (New South Wales) Inc."
Meets: Uniting Church Complex, Lord Street, Roseville, on the 3rd Thursday of the month, January to November, and the 2nd Thursday in December, at 8:00 pm. Contact: Secretary, PO Box 495, Grosvenor Place, NSW, 1220. Publications: "World Ship Society New South Wales Branch Newsletter", editor: Peter Plowman. [10.2010]
On the Horizon - forthcoming NSW Branch meetings:
check with the branch representatives
Branch History:
'New South Wales Branch celebrating 50 years, Fifty Years of the NSW Branch, by Alan Travers, 2007
In 1947 in the United Kingdom a young ship enthusiast named Michael Crowdy founded the Ship News Club which was renamed the World Ship Society during 1949 and from this small beginning it has grown during the past 60 years to encompass branches and members in many parts of the world. Australia was an early source of members and by 1952 a local WSS agent had been appointed to look after membership matters in this part of the world and New Zealand. In 1954 a local WSS Australian Section produced a magazine named The Log first appeared on a quarterly basis and was part of the Australia / New Zealand WSS subscription rate in addition to the UK produced house journal of the WSS -- Marine News.
By 1956 moves were in place to start up local WSS branches in different states and the first branch commenced during that year in Hobart. In Sydney a meeting was held on 20 March 1956 at the home of Ron Parsons in Waverton for the eight WSS members then residing in Sydney in order for them to meet each other and generally catch up with the local shipping scene. At this meeting it was decided to hold informal gatherings at different members' homes on a monthly basis. The second meeting, which was held on 24 April at the home of Kitty Dick at Balgowlah, saw attendance swell to 14 and agreement reached that a proper meeting venue should be found. Another decision was to hold meetings on the 4th Tuesday of each month and the third meeting occured on 22 May. Also during May the first outdoor activity was held — namely a ship inspection of the Adelaide SS Co vessel MANUNDA.
Monthly meetings continued throughout 1956 and the 12th meeting held on 5/2/1957 was in the form of a social occasion held at the Gladesville home of Arthur Corkill. Membership had now passed 20 and plans were formulated to constitute a WSS branch based in Sydney and this took place at a meeting held on 20 July 1957. One of the anomalies here was the name that the Branch operated under. Instead of Sydney it was known as the NSW Branch, due to the adoption of the UK style constitution and its interpretation of boundaries between neighbouring branches which of course in the UK were relatively close. In order to overcome this it was decided on the name NSW Branch which meant anyone living within the state borders was eligible to join. If Sydney had been used then technically membership was limited to within the boundaries of the city itself.
By early 1958 meetings had changed to the third Thursday of the month (as they are today) and were held at the North Sydney Council Chambers, on the corner of Miller and McLaren Streets, North Sydney. Meetings were held there till the building was gutted by a fire in April 1976. This caused a move to the Blues Point Community Hall, which was the venue until December 1995. From the January 1996 our present venue at the Roseville Uniting Church complex has been used. At the first AGM held on 17 July 1958 it was reported that Branch membership stood at 28 and joining in that year were three gentlemen who are still members today namely, Ken Lunney, Stan Welch and John Burne with the latter still a regular attendee at our monthly meetings. John has been a contributor in many ways to the Branch over this time. As he worked on the harbour he commenced giving a monthly round-up of local shipping news at each meeting, and this developed from September 1966 into the monthly Branch Newsletter which continues to this day, though the production techniques have changed considerably from the original spirit duplicator and Gestetner printed issues. Under the editorship of various members over the past 40 years the Newsletter has become a valuable reference to events in Sydney Harbour - a harbour that has now almost ceased to exist as a commercial shipping port.
The Branch has met continuously each month since July 1957 - a total of 600 meetings. During that time I would estimate around 600 people have been members of the NSW Branch at one stage or another. Today we have a mixed membership of full, senior and newsletter subscribers totalling 125 which considering the upheavals in the shipping scene in those 50 years plus the virtual demise of Sydney Harbour (Port Jackson) as a place to see ships is not a bad end result. I am led to understand that the NSW Branch is the largest as regards full members (ie those that receive Marine News in the WSS at present. We are certainly the largest of the five Australian branches in this regard though Victoria (Melbourne) is larger in overall member numbers.
The membership numbers of the NSW Branch grew steadily throughout the 1960's and 1970's and by 1981 it had passed 200, with 60 being the average attendance for monthly meetings, some meetings attracting attendances approaching 100. Outside activities also blossomed, with an annual harbour cruise each February which saw larger and larger vessels employed as it grew in popularity. Visits to ships (both merchant and naval) were another big activity as well as outings to various maritime facilities and landmarks dotted around Sydney Harbour.
There were also outings to places further afield, including a number of memorable "bus cruises" to Port Kembla or Newcastle. A cruise to Brisbane aboard P&O's HIMALAYA in June 1972 saw us dabble for a while in this financially lucrative activity and this was followed over the ensuing years by day trips to Newcastle aboard the same companies' ARCADIA and ORIANA. The Branch also organised (under the direction of the late Bruce Miller) a South Pacific cruise on ORIANA in February 1986 just prior to its retirement. These were well supported activities that kept the branch financially healthy and allowed the membership fees to be kept at a reasonable level. Unfortunately for us all the transactions to the UK had to be done in sterling and since the 1990's the gap between the two currencies has continued to widen to the disadvantage of the Australian dollar and this has led to higher membership fees as outside activities dwindled and our revenue base began to shrink.
The 1980's were the "golden years" of the NSW Branch when membership and activities peaked but for the past 15 years we have been in decline. This can be attributed to a number of factors, the major one being the many changes that have ocurred to shipping over the past 30 years (especially) with the traditional cargo liner replaced by containerships, bulk carriers, car carriers etc which to many peoples eyes are ugly monstrosities hardly worth a second glance. The de-nationalisation of world shipping which saw the demise of many well known shipowners to be replaced by a bewildering collection of flags of convenience (FOC) charters has not helped. To many of the older members these changes were too much and with the need to increase membership fees many just lost interest and did not renew.
The present decade has brought new challenges as the world has become wary of anyone who shows an interest in anything that could be construed as against the national interest and this has made the watching, noting or photgraphing of ships in some parts of the world fraught with problems. Although still reasonaly accessible in Australia, many local ports that one could just stroll around are now fenced off with security posts and have become in effect walled enclaves that to enter one has to go through a series of security checks, etc, and you wonder if it's worth all the hassles and questioning just to note down or photograph a ship that has not been seen before. The once popular ship visits are also becoming a memory for much the same reasons as above.
Our one big failure has been to attract and keep as members the younger generations. The world has changed considerably since 1957 especially in the communications field where the advent of the internet has to some extent made the concept of the World Ship Society redundant. This is a problem shared by most branches worldwide and although new members continue to join they are usually in the + 50 age range - the youngest members of the NSW Branch are now in their 40's but joined back in the late 1970's when still at school. Others in this group unfortunately did not continue their memberships once leaving school and we have had few successes in attracting younger people to our cause and then actually retaining them as members.
What the future holds is like crystal ball gazing. At the last WSS - AGM, held in Dover, UK, in May 2007, the report on membership was far from encouraging with a large loss in members recorded over the past two years and it has now reached a stage where the overseas membership numbers almost equal those of UK based members whereas previously there was quite a difference between the two, with the UK well in front. It was also stressed that attracting younger members was probably the biggest challenge we face if the WSS is to survive the coming decades.
Anyway whatever the outcome I for one have thoroughly enjoyed my 38-year association with the NSW branch and hope all who attend our 50th anniversary luncheon aboard SOUTH STEYNE, itself once an integral part of the Sydney harbour scene that has sustained our branch for the 50 years, have an enjoyable time celebrating this event.
Meets: The Port Education Centre, Lorimer Street, Port Melbourne, on the 1st Tuesday, February to December, at 7:30 pm. Contact: Hon Secretary, PO Box 5038, Middle Park, VIC 3206. E-mail: president@wss-vic.org.au Website: http://wss-vic.org.au [03.2012] Local Branch website link (administered by the Maritime Heritage Association of Victoria) http://www.mhav.net/wss.php [03.2012]
L to R. Neil Pollard, Ian Smith, Mike Spratt, Russell Griffiths, Ron Parker, DOULOS tour Guide, Jan de Jong, John Bone — Branch President and committeemen aboard the MV DOULOS berthed at Geelong. Further details of this visit can be found in the October 2008 Victoria Branch newsletter. [photo by Mike Carolin]
Some Recent Meeting Highlights:
March 2009 — Geelong Port Visit. Report by Lindsay Rex, photo by John Nunn.
On March 5th, a tour party of 15 enjoyed a tour of the Port of Geelong on the GEORGE MOLLAND, courtesy of Harbour Master Dilip Abraham and the Victorian Regional Channels Authority. Shell's product tanker HELIX was seen berthing with help from tugs WOONA and KUTTABUL with the crude tanker TEMASEK RIVER already berthed at the refinery. Later the ex HMAS CANBERRA, nearly ready for sinking as a dive site off Boarwon Heads together with the A P RECOVERY, CMA Corporation construction barge (for sale) converted from the Melbourne bucket dredge A S MAYNE were seen at the old Grain Pier. Many thanks to Dilip and GEORGE MOLLAND skipper Steve Dawes (for the high speed GEORGE MOLLAND photo opportunity) and son and engineer Josh Dawes for a very pleasant tour. GEORGE MOLLAND was built at Geralton, WA for use during the 1987 America's Cup in Fremantle and later operated as the Bunbury pilot boat LESCHENAULT, before sale to the VRCA in 2006 and being renamed GEORGE MOLLAND after first Geelong Harbour Master.
The fifteen member party prior to boarding the GEORGE MOLLAND for the cruise. [photo by John Nunn]
Incorporated as "The World Ship Society of British Columbia" (serving all of Canada and parts of the United States)
Meets: Vancouver Maritime Musuem, 1905 Ogden St (Kitsilano Point), Vancouver, on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, September to May only, at 7:30 pm. Contact: Glenn Smith, 701-1011 Beach Ave, Vancouver, BC V6E 1T8, Canada. Tel: 604.684.1240. E-mail: glenn.smith@worldshipsociety.org Publications: monthly - Ship's Log. (subscriptions available to anyone) Local Branch website: http://www.worldshipsocietyvan.ca [07.2012]
December 8, 2010. Photo by Robert Etchell. Ref: WS10-0463.
This photo shows the Vancouver Branch executive having just been elected by acclamation for the 2011 year. Seated, from l-r: Ellen Ramsay, Ray Warren (President), Glenn Smith (Treasurer & Membership Secretary). Standing, from l-r: Neil England, Syd Heal (Vice President), Cec. Woods, Joan Thornley (Recording Secretary). [12.2010]
On the Horizon - forthcoming Vancouver Branch meetings:
DECEMBER 2010 Meeting The solstice meeting of the WSS began with a long social accompanied by seasonal music from one of Ray Parkinson’s music boxes. Joan Thornley, one of our Directors, provided refreshments for the evening. At approximately 8 pm then, the members were called together by President Ray Warren for the AGM. Most of the discussion focused on ideas for the Society to save money or raise revenue to cover the shortfall in the budget. Last year’s officers will remain in their positions for another year.
Following another break for refreshments and conversation, the audience was gathered once again to hear members’ presentations. This year we were treated to a very informative and delightfully well illustrated slide show by our member, Ted Karanka, who showed images of Iqualuit at the start of the Sea-lift season in 1990-1992. Iqaluit became the capital of Nunavut in 1999 and is located at 63º15’North and 68º31’West on Koojesse Inlet near the northeast head of Frobisher Bay on southern Baffin Island. Ted showed a number of flat-bottomed boats that came into the deep harbour to load on dry land including several craft in the Le Groupe Desgagnes Inc. He showed CATHERINE DESGAGNES built by Hall, Russell & Co at Aberdeen in Scotland in 1962 for the Burnett Steamship Co and christened GOSFORTH. In 1972 she was then purchased by the Quebec and Ontario Transportation Company and renamed THOROLD. In 1984 Le Groupe Desgagnes purchased her and renamed her CATHERINE DESGAGNES.
Other ships we were shown in Iqaluit included JAZ DESGAGNES and TERRANORDICA, the latter built by Canadian Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd., Port Weller Dry Docks division in 1964 for Chimo Shipping as the CHESLEY A. CROSBIE. She was purchased by Puddistar Trading Co and renamed. Her Canadian registry was closed March 13, 1992, and she was subsequently registered in Honduras as NORTHERN STAR of Northern Star Naviera. Ted also showed sea-lift tugs, sea-lift barges, coast guard launches and small craft in Iqaluit Habour giving us a unique glimpse of life in the largely ice-bound small town.
Robert Etchell presented his photos of his summer trip aboard the FRANCES BARKLEY. The BARKLEY was built in 1958 and named RENNESOY in Stavanger, Norway, then renamed HIDLE and used in the Norwegian ferry fleet out of Stavanger. She is 128 feet long, with a beam of 24 feet and a draft of 9.5 feet bearing an engine with 400 horsepower from an 8 cylinder Bergen Diesel with a speed of 11 knots. She can carry 200 people and bears a gross tonnage of 300. She became the FRANCES BARKLEY in Canada named after the wife of a Captain William Barkley who sailed with her husband to trade on the West Coast in 1786. Alberni Marine Transportation now owns her. Robert then showed a selection of small fishing boats seen from the FRANCES BARKLEY including LADY JANE, AMIGO III, and LADY ROSE. He concluded with some photos of the former QUEEN OF ESQUIMALT, now PRINCESS JACQUELINE (for sale) and the Russian training ship KRUZENSHTERN.
Ray Warren showed his photos from the Canadian Naval Centennial International Fleet Review at Esquimalt and Royal Roads. They included HMCS VANCOUVER, SIR WILFRED LAURIER, USS CHOSIN, USS RONALD REAGAN, USS SAMPSON, JDSATAGO, HMCS PROTECTOR, ALGONQUIN, and VICTORIA. Ray’s photos all displayed the artist’s touch and we were especially delighted to see the Snowbirds caught in a beautiful symmetrical formation.
Finally, Bill Etchell showed a selection of Andrew Kilk’s slides of ships around the world. Many of the ships were cruise ships, but there were also some naval ships and some smaller craft in the great ports of Europe, North America and Australia. They included NORWEGIAN SPIRIT in Juneau and Seattle, NORWEGIAN STAR in Skagway, CROWN OF SCANDINAVIA in Copenhagen, INFINITY in Vancouver, and BURKE PRINCESS in Stockholm, Sweden.
With our evening presentations at a close, members lingered longer to sup on more refreshments and to catch up with friends and acquaintances. Many thanks go to all of those who presented and to those who worked behind the scenes to make the evening a success. Here’s wishing you all a safe, healthy and happy holiday season and we will look forward to seeing you all in 2011. [12.2010]
JUNE 2010 MEETING by Glenn Smith — I received an unexpected phone call from Capt. Cees de Keijzer, Chairman of the Rotterdam Branch, and just had to do whatever it took to accommodate this unscheduled program, despite our policy of not holding meetings in the summer months. Capt. de Keijzer, along with his wife Olga, brought with them a digital presentation called “Navigare Necessare Est – Era Maritimus ex A ad Z”. Capt de Keijzer has had a long career in the Maritime Industry in Rotterdam and served for years with the Port of Rotterdam. The program was enthusiastically received by all the members present, and could easily have continued on for another two hours, or more. As the title of the program suggests, the talk started with a story about a vessel whose name started with the letter “A” – AGIOS IONNIS, followed by a “B” – BONTEKOE, and then on to a tale about the CORNELIUS MAERSK, DONGEDYK / DIEMERDYK, ENERGY CONCENTRATION / EUROBULKER X, FLARE, GLOBAL ENVOY, — all the way down the alphabet to “U” – ULYSSES I, “V” – VLIST, “W” – WAALHAVEN, “X” – XX ANNIVERSARIO, ending at ZEEVAARTSCHOOL.
It was a riveting presentation by Capt. de Keijzer, who has many, many stories to tell. He was invited to return again if he is ever on the West Coast of North America. Many thanks to Capt. de Keijzer for an excellent entertaining presentation. Capt. de Keijzer then presented our President of the Vancouver Branch with a WSS flag on a stand for the podium, a musical CD produced for the Port of Rotterdam and a copy of his latest book, “Mooie Schepen en Banen in de haven van Rotterdam”, co-authored with Hans Roodenburg. [07.2010]
DECEMBER 2008 Meeting. A.G.M. plus Members' Night. Because of scheduling problems with our venue, we were forced to move the meeting from Wednesday the 10th to Thursday the 11th. Future meetings will revert to the "every 2nd Wednesday" format that we have used for many years. At the AGM, all the current standing members of the Board were re-elected for another term, with the exception of Kelsey McLeod, who died earlier in the year. Therefore the executive of the branch as it now stands consists of Syd Heal as President, Ray Warren as Vice President, Joan Thornley as Recording Secretary, Glenn Smith as Treasurer and Membership Secretary, and Cecil Woods as Member-at-Large as well as Editor of our Ship's Log newsletter. After the formalities of the AGM were concluded, we opened the Members' Night meeting with several presentations. First up, was Bill Etchell who presented a selection of slides from the collection of Andy Kilk, US Representative of the WSS. Included were photos of cruise ships—exterior, and interior and European river cruisers. This was followed by Robert Etchell who presented a photo journey of the trip he and his father, Bill, took to northern Vancouver Island to Port Hardy with photos of the waterfront. They sailed to Prince Rupert on BC Ferries' NORTHERN ADVENTURE with stops along the way at Bella Bella and a mist-shrouded site where the QUEEN OF THE NORTH sank. Photos of the cruise ship terminal and new container terminal at Prince Rupert. We were treated to a selection of photos of cruise ships, pilot boats, coast guard ships, ferries OMENICA PRINCESS and FRANCOIS FORESTER. Robert completed his program with photos taken at the 2008 Tall Ship Festival, June 2008, in Victoria, B.C. Dr. Ray Parkinson brought along a German-made music box/accordian-style player piano built in 1880 by the Tanzibar Company. The player reproduces music from music rolls which are still produced today. The company continues today and Ray brought along and demonstrated a digital music box which employs digital-style cassettes and resembles a button-accordian and is played the same way with the exception being the music is preproduced electronically from the cassette which is inserted into the player. Ray is an avid collector of music boxes. Following a break for Christmas refreshments provided by members and presented by June Etchell, we began the remainder of the program. Our final presenter was member Don Brown who brought along slides that he took some years ago in Cape Town and Durban South Africa. Featured were tug boats, dating from 1922 on. British-built, the majority of the tugs were coal-fired steamers. These were ship berthing tugs for the most part, and from an ea when tugs were handsome vessels with tall stacks. Don also presented a few images of newer diesel-powered tugs and a few cargo ships. A most enjoyable evening and many thanks to the presenters and providers of the 'goodies'.
Meets: Café Le Montvallon, 9 rue de Vienne, 75008 Paris, on the 1st Tuesday of the month, between 18:00 and 20:00. Contact: Pierrick Roullet, 2 Rue Ortali, Paris 75008. Tel: 0145222225. E-mail: pierrick.rouleet@ifrance.com [02.2009]
Meets: Avenue Lucien, Corbeaux (Siége de l'apmm), 2nd stairs entrance near "Chais de la Transat", Le Havre Port, on the 2nd and last Sundays, from 0:930 to 12:00 hrs. Contact: Pascal Bredel, 58 Rue Deschamps, 76600 Le Havre. E-mail: pascalbredel@aol.com [03.2009]
Meets: A. Columbus Grill, Hamburg-Sud Haus, Willy-Brandt-Str. 59, Hamburg, Germany, on the 1st Friday of each month, at 5:30 pm. Contact: Volker Bosse. Tel: 0049(0)40 53835955. E-mail: Volker-bosse@t-online.de
Meets: B. Restaurant >Seeterrassen<. near Rendsburg on the Kiel-Kanal, on the 2nd Friday of each month, at 7:00 pm. Contact: Malte Schwarz, malte@rock-n-metal.de
Meets: C. Restaurant >Restaurant Lagune, Haus Schwanenbucht<. Schwanewede (motorway A27 between Bremerhaven and Cuxhaven), on the 3rd Saturday of each month, October to April, at 7:00 pm. Contact: MKahlerHamburg@aol.com
Captain Nick Nash, CROWN PRINCESS, accepts a presentation from Oliver Hawes, Chairman Cobh Branch, Ireland on the occasion of the Branch visit on board, June 2009. [07.2009]
COBH BRANCH MEMBERS VISIT TO NORTHERN IRELAND — Cobh Branch went on tour for the August 2009 meeting to Belfast to visit the Tall Ships Race and the Titanic Quarter. The highlights were the tour of Harland and Wolff Shipyard and the moment of standing on the slipway on which TITANIC was built. The wonderful fireworks were eclipsed by the Belfast tour by boat along the docks viewing all the tall ships, naval vessels and the BALMORAL. We had a wonderful reunion with the Belfast Branch, making and renewing friendships. Thank you Roy Snowdon, and Belfast Branch members, for organising a most memorable visit. Long may the spirit of friendship between our branches grow. [09.2009]
Recent Event
Members of the Belfast and Cobh Branches of the Society on the TITANIC slipway during a recent joint meeting in Belfast. [09.2009]
Meets: On the former passenger ship WITTE ZWAAN, lying in the Eemskanaal NZ, Groningen. Contact: Jacob A. Slagter, Koninginnelaan 23, 9901 HL Appingedam. E-mail: wss.nnb@gmail.com [11.2012]
On the Horizon - forthcoming Noord Nederland Branch meetings — 2013:
Woensdag 23 januari 2013 — Jaar/ledenvergadering op het voormalig pass. schip "Witte Zwaan", Eemskanaal N.Z., Groningen. Aanvang 19.30 uur. Aansluitend de film “Vaartocht Rotterdam 2012 t.g.v. het 25 jarig bestaan van onze branch en daarna gelegenheid tot ruilen e.d.
Woensdag 6 maart 2013 — Bijeenkomst op de "Witte Zwaan". Aanvang 19.30 uur. Een power point presentatie door Harry de Groot en Ben Gernaat “Van Hamburgvaarders tot kruiplijners” en aansluitend gelegenheid tot ruilen e.d.
Woensdag 24 april 2013 — Bijeenkomst op de "Witte Zwaan". Aanvang 19.30 uur.Een power point presentatie door Jan Anderiesse van de Zeeland Branch met als motto “Mijn vaartijd als machinist op de coaster “Ludo” 1964-1967” en aansluitend gelegenheid tot ruilen e.d.
Woensdag 11 september 2013 — Bijeenkomst op de "Witte Zwaan". Aanvang 19.30 uur.Een power point presentatie en aansluitend gelegenheid tot ruilen e.d.
Zaterdag 19 oktober 2013 — Fotoruildag van 11.00 tot 16.00 uur op de "Witte Zwaan". Ook niet leden van harte welkom.
Woensdag 20 november 2013 — Bijeenkomst met fotokwis door Roel Broere op de "Witte Zwaan". Aanvang 19.30 uur. Aansluitend gelegenheid tot ruilen e.d.
P.S. Vanaf 19.00 is de zaal op de “Witte Zwaan” geopend.
De "WITTE ZWAAN" is te bereiken via het Damsterdiep en de straat Het Balkgat. Aan het einde links af en aan het einde van de weg ligt de "WITTE ZWAAN".
Meets: Hotel Ibis, Westlandeweg 270, 3131 HX Vlaardingen, on the 3rd Friday in odd numbered months, at 7:30 pm. Contact: Riemer J. van Bolhuis, Tilanussingel 22, 2641 VD Piknacker. E-mail: riemerjvb@hotmail.com Local Branch website: http://www.worldshipsocietyrotterdam.nl [03.2009]
Meets: NSRI, off Point Road, Point Waterfront, Durban - 17h00 for 17h30. Contact: David Hughes, PO Box 5496, Durban 4000. davidhughes@lantic.net Publications: Bluff Signal, editor: David Hughes [03.2011]
The current Port Natal Branch was founded by Henry Aitken, David Shackleton and Alec Young back in 1972.
Past Meetings:
Tuesday 22 February, 2011 — Our presentation this month was a DVD dating from 2007 and featuring a Mediterranean cruise aboard one of the few remaining classic cruise liners - Saga Cruises' SAGA RUBY, formerly Cunard's CARONIA and built as VISTAFJORD.
Tuesday 25 January, 2011 — Our guest speaker was Professor Franco Frescura of Durban, whose subject will be Art Deco Liners. Think about the 1930s and ships such as French Line's masterpiece, NORMANDIE, and other transatlantic liners that may come into that category. Our speaker will illustrate how "art deco went to sea" and we will also put up an exhibition table with books highlighting the liners of the thirties. Members of the Durban Art Deco Society have been especially invited to attend the talk.
Meets: Meetings are held in Northern and Mediterranean Spain throughout the year. Check local website http://www.sewss.org for more detail. Contact: Julio Antonio Rodriguez Hermosilla, Apartado Postal 707, 38080 Santa Cruz de Tenerife. E-mail juanroher@yahoo.es [04.2009] Local Branch website: http://www.buques.org/WSS/WSS-SE_I.htm [03.2009]
Meeting Notes: The branch met on October 20th, 2007, to discuss the recent Spanish Branch AGM held in Santander in September to update members who were unable to attend. On 21st October members assembled to attend the religious procession honouring Nuestra Señora de Carmen, patron saint of seafarers and thereafter enjoyed lunch together.
Spanish Branch members at their branch AGM weekend in Santander.
Meets: Community Church of New York, 40 East 35th Street, New York (between Park and Madison Avenues) use door at Street level and go downstairs, monthly, except July & August, at 6:00 pm. Contact: Roxanne Almond, PO Box 384, New York, NY 10185-0384. E-mail: wsspony@gmail.com Local Branch Website: http://www.worldshipny.com Publications: The Porthole, monthly newsletter - Editor, Bob Allen. [10.2010]
Note to Branch Secretaries: Please send updates / changes of venue / details of upcoming programs / meeting notes & photographs / changes to contact name and/or addresses to webmaster@worldshipsociety.org
The following listing is for branches and Representatives outside the U.K. There is a separate listing for branches in the United Kingdom. This listing is created in alphabetical order of Country, so Australian branches are listed firstly, while U.S.A. branches are listed near the bottom of the list.
The attached photo was taken at our meeting on 3rd December 2010 by Jeff Jackson and shows us about to enjoy a slide presentation on Port Line. The characters from left are (front) David Kirby, Dennis Breen, Glenn Towler, Rex Cox, Henk Kremer and Bruce Lord, (back) Brian Grundie, Jack Tomes, Tom Murdoch, Cedric Mackey, Fred Carrington, Kay Osborne, Miriam Court
This photo shows members of the Hobart Branch about to view a show on April 1, 2011. From left to right, Rex Cox, Kay Osborne, Glenn Towler, Bill Heap (obscured), Miriam Court, Brendon Bowes, Cedric Mackey, Jack Tomes, Bruce Lord, Fred Carrington, Henk Kremer. Photo by Jeff Jackson.
Another recent gathering of branch members. fr. l. seated - Tom Murdock, Kay Osborne, Graeme Broxam, Bruce Lord and Miriam Court; fr. l. standing - Glenn Towler, Brendon Bowes, Rex Cox, David Hunt, Fred Carrington, David Kirby, Cedric Mackey, Keith Edney, Jack Tomes, Verena Sidler and Glenda Hunt. Photo by Henk Kremer. Ref: WS11-0242.
December 8, 2010. Photo by Robert Etchell. Ref: WS10-0463.
Members of the new Cobh Branch on their visit to JEWEL OF THE SEAS. 
Captain Nick Nash, CROWN PRINCESS, accepts a presentation from Oliver Hawes, Chairman Cobh Branch, Ireland on the occasion of the Branch visit on board, June 2009. [07.2009]
Members of the Belfast and Cobh Branches of the Society on the TITANIC slipway during a recent joint meeting in Belfast. [09.2009]
Spanish Branch members at their branch AGM weekend in Santander. 