The Blue Funnel Legend: A History of the Ocean Steam Ship Company, 1865–1973

429 Pages·1990·48.389 MB·English

by  Malcolm Falkus (auth.)

THE BLUE FUNNEL LEGEND
Also by Malcolm Falkus
'ALWAYS UNDER PRESSURE: A History of North Thames Gas since 1949
BRITAIN TRANSFORMED: An Economic and Social History of Britain, 1700-1914
HISTORICAL ATLAS OF GREAT BRITAIN (editor with John Gillingham)
READINGS IN THE HISTORY OF ECONOMIC GROWTH
'THE INDUSTRIALISATION OF RUSSIA, 1700-1914
"Also published by Palg rave Macmillan
The Blue Funnel
Legend
A History of the Ocean Steam Ship Company,
1865-1973
Malcolm Falkus
Professor of Economic History
University of New England, New South Wales, Australia
© Nestor Custodians Limited 1990
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1990
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission
of this publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied
or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance
with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988 or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying
issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 33-4 Alfred Place,
London WClE 7DP.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to
this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and
civil claims for damages.
First published 1990
Published by
MACMILLAN ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
Typeset by Footnote Graphics,
Warminster, Wilts
Rell/inted 1993 by
Anion)' ROllle Ltd
Chillllel/ham, Wiltshire
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Falkus, Malcolm, 1940-
A history of the Ocean Steam Ship Company, 1865-1973
1. Great Britain, Shipping services. Ocean Steam Ship
Company, history
I. Title
3875'06541
ISBN 978-1-349-11478-8 ISBN 978-1-349-11476-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-11476-4
Contents
List of Tables vi
List of Plates viii
Foreword by Nicholas Barber xi
Preface xiii
Map of Trade Routes 1866 and 1965 xviii
1 Introduction: Ocean to Ocean 1
2 A Unique Style of Management 9
3 Sailings and Services 26
4 Representatives Abroad 54
5 Eastward Ho! The Beginnings of Ocean Steam Ship 83
6 Combined Efforts: Holts and the Conference System 117
7 The New Century: Profits and Perils 136
8 After the War: An Uncertain World 171
9 The 1930s: Collapse and Revival 202
10 The Company at War 235
11 Picking up the Pieces 250
12 Into the 1960s: Calm before the Storm 282
13 Organising a Group 333
14 Blue Funnel Contained: New Ships and New Enterprises 356
Epilogue 375
Notes 378
Sources and Bibliography 381
Appendix I Ocean Managers and Directors, 1865-1973 383
Appendix II List of 'Co-owners', 1886 384
Appendix III List of 'Correspondents', February 1902 385
Appendix IV The Phemius Epic, 1932 389
Appendix V Letter to Midshipmen on Appointment, 1953 396
Index (General, Places, Persons, Ships) 399
v
List of Tables
3.1 Far-East-Europe Trade, Conference allocations 33
3.2 Homeward Straits rates (per ton) 26 February 1907 36
3.3 Pilgrim traffic from the Straits, 1905-14 38
3.4 Passenger fares, Australian service, 1914, Nestor and
Ulysses 48
4.1 Principal Blue Funnel agents, 1923 54
4.2 Straits Steamship, fleet and tonnage, 1914-32 81
5.1 British exports to China and Hong Kong, 1854-70 88
5.2 Earnings on early voyages, 1866-7 100
5.3 Blue Funnel fleet and financial results, 1881-1900 110
5.4 New ships built, 1892-1900 113
6.1 Far East trades, homeward freight rates, 1874 and 1879 123
6.2 Far Eastern Conference: west-coast loadings 130
6.3 1911 Lancashire and Yorkshire Agreement, pool shares,
1911 and 1936 130
6.4 Blue Funnel Far Eastern homeward pool allocation,
1938 131
7.1 Voyages and earnings, 1901-13 140
7.2 Net voyage earnings, 1909-13 141
7.3 Blue Funnel fleet, 1913-18 158
7.4 Holt dividend payments, 1913-18 160
7.5 Net steamer earnings, 1914-17 160
7.6 Ocean Steam Ship war losses, 1914-18 168
8.1 Blue Funnel: net steamer earnings, 1919-39 178
8.2 Net voyage earnings, 1920 184
8.3 Steamers and motorships in the Blue Funnel fleet, May
1934 191
8.4 Post-war steamers and motorships, 1919-34 191
8.5 Development of diesel engines 193
8.6 Net voyage earnings, 1924 194
8.7 China's foreign trade, 1920-8 197
9.1 Book value of fleet, 1932-9 206
9.2 Selected voyage costs, inter-war years 212
9.3 Alfred Holt and Co., dividends paid, 1924-39 212
9.4 Net earnings, 'China' trade, 1927-39 213
9.5 Net earnings per voyage, 1929-36 215
9.6 Java voyages, 1929-31 215
9.7 Index of Australian Conference freight rates, greasy wool,
1922-37 218
9.8 West Australian trade, 1922-39, net earnings 219
vi
List of Tables vii
9.9 China: British tonnage entered and cleared,
1909-34 219
9.10 British share of UK-Far-East trade, 1937 220
9.11 Average first-class single fares, 1913-38 222
9.12 Straits Steamship profits, 1932-9 225
10.1 Holt war losses, 1939-45 239
10.2 Ocean accounts, 1939-45 243
11.1 Age and size of Blue Funnel fleet, 1934-45 260
11.2 Cost of Blue Funnel ships, 1930-47 262
11.3 Far East weekly service, 1939 and 1950 264
11.4 New ships delivered, 1947-59 264
11.5 Blue Funnel fleet, 1947-50 (gross tonnage, end of year) 266
11.6 Blue Funnel fleet, size and age, 1934-61 267
11.7 Cost of certain vessels, 1947-60 272
12.1 Ocean managers, main areas of responsibility, June 1963 285
12.2 UK-Far East trades, 1939-53 295
12.3 Consolidated gross trading profit, Ocean Group, 1947-61 298
12.4 Merchant shipping tonnage (non-tanker) 1939-69 303
12.5 Depreciation and amount transferred to reserves, 1957-64 305
12.6 Index of various cost increases, 1938-68 306
12.7 Composition of voyage costs, 1947-66 307
12.8 Index of Blue Funnel freight rates, 1938-68 307
12.9 Return on capital employed, 1963-7 308
12.10 Changes in manning levels, Blue Funnel ships, 1960-7 311
12.11 Blue Funnellosses since 1871 313
12.12 Ocean Steam Ship Co., net trading and investment
income, 1954-64 319
12.13 Ocean Steam Ship Co., variation in stock prices,
1956-66 320
12.14 New building programme, 1947-60 321
12.15 Priam and Glenalmond vessels: promised and actual
deliveries, Vickers-Armstrong 324
12.16 Time taken between keel-laying and delivery, Priam class 330
13.1 Ocean Group turnover, 1970 345
13.2 Group operating profits, 1969-71 347
14.1 Wm Cory & Son operations, 1970-1 372
List of Plates
1 Agamemnon I, 1865 facing foreword
2 Philip Henry Holt (1931-1914), Manager, 1866-97 2
3 Alfred Holt (1829-1911), Manager, 1866-1904 3
4 Sir Richard Durning Holt, Manager, 1895-1941 17
5 Sailing notice for the West Australian trade, 1892 45
6 Nestor, built 1913 49
7 J. S. Swire (1825-98) 61
8 At Hazelwood (the Butterfield & Swire Shanghai Manager's
mansion) first week in April 1920 68
9 New Ocean Buildings, Singapore, 1920s 80
10 Nestor, I, 1868-94 102
11 Idomeneus, I, 1899 112
12 Telamon, I, 1885 115
13 The launch of Menelaus 115
14 Lawrence Durning Holt, Manager, 1908-53 146
15 Sir Charles Sydney Jones, Manager, 1901-30 152
16 William Clibbett Stapledon, Manager, 1901-30 153
17 Bellerophon, c.1910 (built 1906), one of the famous 'goal-posters' 154
18 Nurses on board the Charon, First World War 169
19 Illustration by James Mann 172
20 Hon. Leonard Harrison Cripps, Manager, 1920-44 179
21 Sir John Richard Hobhouse, Manager, 1920-57 180
22 Roland Hobhouse Thornton, Manager, 1929-53 181
23 Launch of Diomed, June 1917 182
24 Yokohama after the earthquake, 1923 188
25 Sarpedon at Liverpool landing stage, 1923 189
26 Cargo for the Centaur arriving by camel 211
27 Advertisement for the Java trade from the Java Gazette, 1933 214
28 Maron embarking troops, Kowloon Bay, 1937 221
29 Typical advertising poster in the inter-war years 223
30 British troops being evacuated from Dunkirk, 1940 237
31 HM Australian hospital ship, Centaur, sunk by Japanese
submarine, 14 May 1943 247
32 India Buildings after blitz, May 1941 248
33 A Victory ship, Memnon (renamed Glaucus, 1957) 250
34 Menestheus at Kure, Japan 253
35 Charles Douglas Storrs, Manager, 1944-60 259
36 Passenger lounge, Peleus class, 1949 263
37 Discharging cargo from the Gorgon at Singapore in the 1950s 265
38 Blue Funnel ships at Singapore, May 1953 265
viii
List of Plates ix
39 Seamen's Mess, 'A' class 266
40 Sarpedon at Holt's Wharf, 1962 267
41 William Hugh Dickie, Manager, 1944-54 268
42 Launch of Calchas, 27 August 1946 270
43 Holt's Wharf, Kowloon, August 1945 276
44 Sir John Norris Nicholson, Manager and Director, 1944-76;
Chairman, 1957-71 288
45 India Buildings after rebuilding, 1950s 293
46 Gunung Djati, dining room, 1959 297
47 Gunung Djati in 1960 298
48 Vittoria Dock Berth, 1967 309
49 The Pyrrhus fire, 1964 315
50 After the hurricane: Phemius at anchor at Kingston, Jamaica 316
51 Centaur III, 1964 326
52 List of sailings, Bangkok Exhibition, 1966 331
53 Sir John Lindsay Alexander, Manager and Director, 1955-86;
Chairman, 1971-80 336
54 George Palmer Holt, Manager and Director, 1949-71 337
55 Sir Ronald Oliver Carless Swayne, Manager and Director,
1955-82 338
56 Ocean Buildings, Singapore, c.1970 346