New Zealand Shipping Co Ltd

The New Zealand Shipping Company Limited was incorporated in 1873 in Christchurch, New Zealand, by a group of local farmers and merchants, who were dissatisfied with the existing shipping facilities and their ability to cope with the country's rapidly expanding trade. It was at first administered from New Zealand, with a London 'Board of Advice' in the City. The company began by purchasing four second-hand iron sailing ships. Competition from the existing shipping companies, particularly Shaw Savill and the Albion Line was keen, and there was initially a brief rate war which led to an agreement ensuring uniform and viable rates of freight. Within four years of its inception the company was operating seventeen ships under its own flag as well as a large number of chartered vessels. In 1879 a joint charter, by Shaw Savill and the company, of a steamship demonstrated that, at the outset at least, a regular steamship service would have to be subsidized. Accepting this, the Colonial Government provided for a subsidy of £30,000 on its joint contract with Shaw Savill and Albion and the company in 1884: this contract ran for five years and was not renewed. Refrigeration was introduced and the second cargo of frozen meat from New Zealand was carried in 1882 in one of the company's sailing ships, the Mataura, fitted with Haslam's cold-air refrigerating machinery. In 1880 financial control of the company was transferred to London, and the business was reorganized. When in 1889 Edwyn Sandys Dawes (later Sir Edwyn, 1838-1903) acquired the controlling interest, it was the start of a connection between the company and the Dawes family which was to last until 1970. The company absorbed the Federal Steam Navigation Co in 1912 and the amalgamation secured for the company a firm foothold in the Australian trade. The Federal Steam Navigation Company Ltd was founded in 1892 after Allan Hughes (d 1928) had acquired the remaining assets of Money Wigram and Sons Ltd, owners of the Blackwall Line; the Federal Line ships flew the same house-flag and used the same English county names as Money Wigram's. Allan Hughes became chairman of the New Zealand Shipping Company in 1920.

In 1916 the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company acquired a controlling interest in the company. Both the New Zealand Shipping Company and the Federal Line, however, enjoyed considerable autonomy. Parallel to, but less important than the United Kingdom trade, was the affiliation of New Zealand Shipping and the Federal Line with other shipping companies, either as shareholders in a company or partners in a consortium. An early exampleof this was the New Zealand and African Steamship Company, 1902 to 1911, to take care of trade with South Africa. The Canadian connection, the Canadian-Australian Royal Mail Line, 1901 to 1910, was a joint venture between New Zealand Shipping and the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand. A later development was the Montreal, Australia and New Zealand Line, 1941 to 1971, a partnership between New Zealand Shipping, Ellerman's and the Port Line. M.A.N.Z., as it was called, took in the East Coast United States, which trade was also served by the American and Australian Steamship Line, 1956 to 1971. In 1954 the Avenue Shipping Company Ltd was founded to augment the New Zealand and Federal fleets when needed; otherwise its ships were put into tramping. The Crusader Line (1957-1967) a joint service from New Zealand to the West Coast of the United States and to Japan, with Shaw Savill, Port Line, Blue Star and New Zealand Shipping as partners, was another Pacific venture. Finally the Dolphin Line (1967-1971) was a joint service of conventional ships to supplement the Overseas Containers Ltd operation; the partners were New Zealand Shipping Company, Scottish Shire and Clan Lines, Shaw Savill and Ocean Steam Navigation Company.