Voyage on the Matsonia

Huntington Library. SS Matsonia print. 

Before Mary and William journeyed around the world in 1935, they vacationed to Hawaii in 1931. The couple departed San Francisco on 11 February 1931 aboard the SS Matsonia luxury liner, arriving in Honolulu on 17 February 1931. Interestingly, the ship manifest notes that William G. Irvine was born in Herkiner, New York, but later in life he acknowledged his actual birthplace as Ireland.

Ancestry. Honolulu Passenger and Crew Lists, 1931.

They vacationed in Hawaii for a week, departing on 25 February and arriving back in San Francisco on the Matsonia on 2 March 1931.

The Huntington Library in San Marino (next to Pasadena, California) has a large print and ephemera collection including prints and cabin plans from the Matson Lines. Below is a copy of the cabin plan from 1928, which would have been the same layout experienced by the Irvines on their voyage in 1931.

Huntington Library. Section from SS Matsonia Cabin Plan, 1928.

Huntington Library. Matsonia Passenger List, Aug 1931.

The Matson Lines advertisement below reminds me of Mary Cox Irvine.

Huntington Library. Matson Lines ad, 1938.

We took our own trip to Hawaii over Spring Break in 2018. Reading about the Irvine's trip brings back memories of our own visit, although via a different and less luxurious mode of transportation.