The Orient Line, founded in 1878 to run passenger services to Australia via the Suez Canal, began by using the London docks as their point of embarkation. By the turn of this century however, all the company's vessels were using the port of Tilbury where there were better terminal and maintainance facilities. Always in competition with the prestigious P. & O. Line, the Orient Line stole a march on its competitor by building a succession of luxurious ships which continually outclassed P. & O's in terms of accommodation on the Australian run.