75 Years Old

History of Union SS Co. of New Zealand

ON July 10, 1875—exactly 75 years ago —something happened in the in conspicuous little town of Dunedin, in southern New Zealand, which had a marked effect on South Pacific commer cial development and history. On that day, the Union Steamship Co. Ltd., was born.

As a result of extensive gold discovered in its hinterland, Dunedin was booming, and its enterprising merchants were prospering. One outstanding young man, James Mills, in 1869, had established the Harbour Steam Company, to run little ships in Otago Harbour, between Port Chalmers and Dunedin. In 1875, he linked this with other shipping interests to form the Union Company, which he directed and controlled.

The expansion of this new “Union Steamship Company of New Zealand Ltd.” was remarkable. Step by step, it ac quired more and more ships and extended its services from the South to the North Island; thence to Australia: thence to Fiji. Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands and Tahiti; and, in the middle ’eighties, under contract with the Australian and New Zealand Governments, it began carrying the mails across the Pacific to San Fran cisco.

A service between New Zealand and India was begun in 1887. By 1891, as a result of acquiring the Tasmanian Steam Navigation Co., the Union SS Co. was in the Tasmanian trade. Ten years later, in 1901, it bought into the Canadian Aus tralasian Line, and became even more deeply engaged with regular passenger and freighter lines across the Pacific.

The Union Co.’s presiding genius, Sir James Mills, having given notable service to his company and his country, died in the ’twenties, at an advanced age; but the fine organisation he had created had already taken its place among the great shipping companies of the world.

Interest In Aviation

IT is interesting to note, in the light of after-events, that as long ago as 1913 the directors of the Union Co., with characteristic foresight, altered their Articles to give them power to engage in air transport; and it was the Union Co. which formed the original Union Airways of NZ, and Cook Strait Airways, and had a close association with Tasman Empire Airways. The company was wiped out of those enterprises when the New Zealand Socialist Government made air trans portation a State monopoly; but it has an interest still in Australian National Airways, a trans-Pacific pioneer.

In view of the last paragraph, the PIM made rather a faux pas in its June issue when, commenting on the lack of hotel accommodation for air travellers in Fiji, it said; “The Union Co. (which owns the Grand Pacific Hotel) might be responsive if most of the hoped-for tourist traffic were to be sea-borne. But the majority of the tourists probably would travel by planes, which a company interested in running ships cannot be expected to nur ture.”

Mr. D. A. Butler, Fiji manager of the U^i° n Ca, has made this mild comment: .The Union Co. has no desire whatever to impede the inevitable development of air travel for individuals, or tourist parties; and, indeed, it has all along regarded it as complementary to sea travel; each creates traffic for the other. And the union Co. are booking agents for all the principal airlines.”