ROMANCE OF SHIPPING.

Putaruru Press, Volume III, Issue 86, 18 June 1925, Page 5

ROMANCE OF SHIPPING.

UNION STEAM SHIP COMPANY.

History of Fifty Years. This year the Union Steam Ship Company celebrated the 50th year of its history. It commenced its service in 1875, with a fleet of five vessels, aggregating 2126 tons and trading exclusively on the coast. To-day that fleet has grown to a total of 73 vessels, aggregating 253,988 tons. These vessels, some of them of the very finest type of modern sea-going ships, connect New Zealand with the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, India, the Straits Settlements, the Indies, and the Netherlands, and the islands of the South Seas. The Union Company was founded in New Zealand, and its success is in the greatest measure due to Sir James Mills, a New Zealander, who is still chairman of directors. Mr Charles Holdsworth, the managing director, is also a New Zealander.

The Union Company was the combination of several proprietaries, which amalgamated their interests in the steamers Maori, Beautiful Star, Bruee, Hawea and Taupo. Though so small as it seems now, those vessels were far ahead of anything hitherto seen in the young colony; they aroused great interest, and the people took a great pride in them. As time went on, newer and bigger vessels wore added and some of them were very beautiful models. Especially beautiful was the Botomahana, built in 1879, which vessel was a few weeks ago sold to a firm of Melbourne shipbreakers, her gallant days of voyage ended. Compared with the giant Niagara, and the still vaster Aorangi, these ships wore tiny things, but they served their day and purpose well, and never shall we look on the like of some of them again for beauty. And when we note that the old Botomahana did her 15 knots per hour, and that the giant new motor ship Aorangi, with all her 20,000 horse power, does no more than 18, it will be seen that there has been but little gain in speed, whatever/ the advantages of size. However, the Botomahana was an exceptionally smart ship in her day. DOUBLED IN A YEAR. In the year after commencing operations, the Union Company extended its business to the North Island, where it absorbed the New Zealand Shipping Company of Wellington, taking over four steamers aggregating 1878 tons, thus nearly doubling the tonnage of its fleet in a twelve-month. Next year the company entered the intercolonial trade by running the Rotorua, a new steamer of 931 tons, to Sydney, in conjunction with the Wakatipu, of 1796 tons. In IS7S the company purchased the McMeehan, Blackwood and Company’s fleet of four vessels, aggregating 3828 tons, which were engaged in the Mel-bourne-New Zealand trade. Following on this, the company showed great activity by ordering now tonnage from Great Britain, among the first, being the Botomahana, 1777 tons, the first vessel tq be constructed in mild steel and with a cellular double bottom. Then came the Manapouri, the first vessel to be fitted throughout with incandescent electric lights.. In eight years the fleet had increased from five vessels, aggregating 2126 tons, to twentyfour, aggregating 24,216 tons, notwithstanding that several ships had been lost or sold in the meantime. In 18S5 there arrived from the builders two new- steamers intended solely as c&irgo carriers, one, the Ohau, being fitted for the accommodation of frozen meat. Both vessels were employed on the "coast. Then came the acquisition of the Black Diamond Line, including five small West Coast steamers, followed later by the taking over of three colliers from the Westport Coal Company, and four more from the Grey Y allev C ora pan v. From 1881 the company had run a small steamer between. Auckland and Levuka, the old capital of Fiji, and from then on it was to take an important part in the Island trade. In 1885 it took the contract for the carriage of th<£ English mail, via San Francisco, in conjunction with the Oceanic Steamship Company, commencing Avith the Mararoa, 259 S tons, which Avas at that time the company’s largest and best-appointed vessel. In ISB7 the first small vessel was dispatch-

ed on the New Zealand-Calcutta run. TASMANIAN COMPANY TAKEN In IS9I the company made the important move of taking over the business of the Tasmanian Steam Navigating Company, including eight vessels aggregating 9892 tons, thus bringing the Union Steam Ship fleet up to ”53 aggregating 57,737 tons. ;More uoav steamers arrived from the builders from time to time, and the tonnage of the fleet in .1900 was 77,738, but in that year the company’s San Francisco service ceased owing to the annexation of the HaAvaiian group by the United States Avhich prohibited foreign vessels plving between United States’ ports. However, the company made up for this by becoming proprietors of the Canadian-Australasian Boyal Mail Lijio, or the “All-Bed Route,” Avhicli it developed, to a high state of efficiencv, as the liners Niagara and Aorangi, tn-dav testify. Yu 1909 the company originated the, Wellington-Ba-rotonga-Tahiti service, which was later extended to Sen Francisco, thus furnishing :,i month I v all creative mail t.e Great Britain. The itinerarv was later extended to include Sydney, the. company putting on the Port Kingston, a fine steamer of 7585 tons. A new departure in the company’s, operations was the provision of turbine cross-channel steamers of the passenger type, the earliest of which was the very fine Loongana, of 2448 tons, which avus built for the Melbourne-Launcest• n run. The Maori, now running between Wellington and Lyttelton, wa*s a similar boat, but of 3399 tons. Then came the Wahine, of 4435 tons. It was not until 1912 that the company became interested in direct trade with the United Kingdom and Australasia. That year it- purchased four large steamers, Aggregating nearly 50,000 tons, for this service. Homo of these vessels Avere lost, but replaced. The vessels in this trade bear the names

of Irish counties and are. run in conjunction with the Federal Fine. The ore at managing director, Sir .Tames Mills, under whose sway the company had made such great strides, relinquished the post, 3S years after the founding of the company, but he retained his seat on the Board and his Chairmanship. Mr Charles Holdsworth succeeded him as managing director. On Friday evening May 9, on the invitation of Sir James Mills, the jubilee was celebrated on board R.M.S. Tahiti, at Wellington, by some 90 present and former members of the Union Company's staff.