Story: Seafarers

Ship’s cooks

Ship’s cooks

The ship’s cook was always a vital figure, and the catering department grew in importance from the 19th century, particularly on passenger ships. In 1965, two cooks for the Shaw Savill line, Mick Walker (left) and ‘Tiny’ Groom, spoke about the challenges of their work, particularly estimating how much food to cook. Groom remarked that passengers usually ate little on the first two days at sea, but after that their appetites tended to improve.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PAColl-7327)
Reference: EP/1965/2463-F

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Neill Atkinson, 'Seafarers - The seafaring workforce', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/5372/ships-cooks (accessed 14 May 2024)

Story by Neill Atkinson, published 12 Jun 2006