| SHAW SAVILLE & CO WAS FORMED IN 1858,
BY ROBERT SHAW AND WALTER SAVILLE, FORMER CLERKS TO WILLIS GANN & CO,
ROBERT SHAW HAVING HAD A DISAGREEMENT WITH WILLIS GANN, RESULTING IN A PAY DECREASE,
DECIDED TO QUIT AND FORM HIS OWN COMPANY, WALTER SAVILLE QUICKLY FOLLOWED SHAW IN LEAVING
GANN & CO AND JOINED SHAW IN HIS NEW VENTURE. DESPITE THEIR DIFFERENCES THE TWO
COMPANIES MAINTAINED A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP. REGRETTABLY ROBERT SHAW WAS TO DIE AT
THE EARLY AGE OF FORTY-ONE. NEITHER SHAW OR SAVILLE EVER VISITED NEW ZEALAND.
THE VESSELS, LORD WORSLEY AND LORD ASHLEY WERE BOTH BUILT FOR THE NEW ZEALAND ROYAL MAIL
STEAM PACKET COMPANY. THE LORD ASHLEY WAS 435 TONS AND WAS THE SISTER SHIP TO THE
LORD WORSLEY, BOTH VESSELS WERE CHARTERED IN 1858, WITHIN DAYS OF SHAW SAVILLE & CO
COMING INTO EXISTENCE, SPECIFICALLY FOR VOYAGES DOWN TO NEW ZEALAND, LORD ASHLEY
LEAVING FROM MILFORD HAVEN BOUND FOR AUCKLAND AND THE LORD WORSLEY LEAVING FROM GREENHITHE
BOUND FOR PORT CHALMERS. BOTH VESSELS HAD ACCOMMODATION FOR THIRTY FIRST CLASS AND
ONE HUNDRED SECOND CLASS PASSENGERS.THESE TWO VESSELS WERE THE FIRST COMMERCIAL STEAM SHIP
VESSELS TO SAIL DIRECT FROM THE U.K TO NEW ZEALAND.
THE AIREDALE WAS A STEAM SHIP OF 400 TONS. SHE FOLLOWED IN THE LORD ASHLEY AND THE
LORD WORSLEY STEPS, BEING DESPATCHED THE FOLLOWING YEAR, IN 1859 TO NELSON FROM THE U.K
ARRIVING ON THE 3RD AUGUST.
THE FIRST SAILING VESSEL CHARTERED BY SHAW SAVILLE & CO, WAS THE 382 TON CHIEFTAIN,
SHE LEFT GRAVES END THREE DAYS BEFORE THE LORD ASHLEY SAILED. APART FROM THESE EARLY
VESSELS, SHAW SAVILL & CO SHOWED LITTLE INTEREST IN STEAM DRIVEN VESSELS, IT WAS NOT
UNTIL THEY CHARTERED THE SALAMANDER IN 1868 THAT THEY SHOWED INTEREST AGAIN IN STEAM
SHIPS, THE SALAMANDER WAS A VESSEL OF 1,500 TONS, SHE WAS DESPATCHED ON A VOYAGE DOWN TO
PORT CHALMERS, LEAVING LONDON ON THE 1ST MAY 1868. AGAIN INTEREST IN STEAM DRIVEN VESSELS
WANED, AND IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1873 THAT THEY USED A STEAM DRIVEN VESSEL ON THE U.K TO NEW
ZEALAND RUN AGAIN.THIS WAS THE NEWLY BUILT 2,260 TON VESSEL MONGOL, BUILT FOR THE NEW
YORK, LONDON & CHINA STEAMSHIP CO BY DOBIE OF GLASGOW IN 1873. SHE WAS CHARTERED BY
SHAW SAVILL & CO IN 1874, SPECIFICALLY FOR THE EMIGRANT TRADE. SHE LEFT LONDON FOR
PORT CHALMERS BY WAY OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, WITH TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY-EIGHT PASSENGERS
ONBOARD, AND MADE THE TRIP IN FIFTY-EIGHT DAYS, QUITE POSSIBLY THIS FIRST TRIP WAS A JOINT
LOADING WITH THE NEW ZEALND SHIPPING COMAPNY.SHAW SAVILLE & CO DEPARTURE POINTS IN THE
UK WERE LONDON, GRAVESEND, PLYMOUTH, PORTSMOUTH IN THE MAIN, WITH EMBARKATION TAKEN PLACE
FROM MIDDLESBOUROUGH, SUNDERLAND, CORK AND BELFAST OCCASIONALLY.
IN 1879 THE STEAM VESSEL STAD HAARLEM WAS CHARTERED BY SHAW SAVILLE & CO WITH THE NEW
ZEALAND SHIPPING CO, FOR A VOYAGE FROM LONDON TO PORT CHALMERS,LYTTLETON AND
WELLINGTON.HER RETURN VOYAGE TO THE U.K WAS FROM LYTTLETON.ONCE AGAIN THE TRIP PROVED A
FINANCIAL FAILURE, DESPITE ON THE OUTWARD TRIP HAVING A FULL COMPLIMENT OF PAYING
PASSENGERS.
THE FOLLOWING YEAR IN 1880 THE STEAM SHIP NORFOLK. UNDERTOOK A VOYAGE FOR THE COMPANY FROM
LONDON TO LYTTLETON AND WELLINGTON VIA CAPETOWN ( SHE WAS ACTUALLY JOINTLY LOADED BY
SHAW SAVILL & CO AND THE NEW ZEALAND SHIPPING CO ) RETURNING TO THE U.K VIA SYDNEY (
OFF CHARTER TO SHAW SAVILL & CO ) AND THUS BACK TO THE U.K .IN SEPTEMBER OF 1880 THE
DURHAM, ANOTHER STEAMSHIP UNDERTOOK A VOYAGE TO NEW ZEALAND, THIS TIME CHARTERED SOLELY BY
SHAW SAVILLE & CO, THE FOLLOWING YEAR IN 1881 BOTH VESSELS DID A FURTHER TRIP EACH TO
NEW ZEALAND, THESE TRIPS WERE DEEMED TO HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL.
THE NORFOLK AND THE DURHAM WERE THE LAST TWO STEAM SHIPS CHARTERED BY SHAW SAVILLE &
CO, AS THE FOLLOWING YEAR IN 1882 SHAW SAVILLE AND CO, AND HER OLD RIVAL PATRICK
HENDERSON’S ALBION LINE MERGED TO FORM SHAW SAVILL & ALBION (NOTE THE
“E” NOW SEEMS TO HAVE DISAPPEARED FROM WALTER SAVILLE’S SUR NAME)
TO BE CONTINUED.........
PATRICK HENDERSON'S ALBION LINE HAD BEEN FORMED IN 1856. THE ALBION LINE HAD GIVEN A
GOOD SERVICE TO THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT DURING THE CRIMEAN WAR, AND THEY GAVE THE
ALBION LINE PERMISSION TO USE THE TRI-COLOUR FLAG (WITH COLOURS REVERSE ORDER) WITH THE
UNION FLAG IMPOSED IN THE CENTRE.
WALTER SAVILLE RAN SEVERAL VESSELS AS A SEPARATE CONCERN, AWAY FROM THE MAIN BODY OF THE
COMPANY, JOHN LESLIE & PARTNERS RAN THEIR VESSELS WITH THIS FLEET ALSO, JOHN LESLIE
& PARTNERS HAD FIVE VESSELS :- CALYPSO, LASTINGHAM, MARLBOROUGH, MAY QUEEN AND
TARANAKI.
THE ABERDEEN LINE WAS STARTED IN 1825 IN ABERDEEN,SCOTLAND BY GEORGE THOMPSON. THE COMPANY
OPERATED A PASSENGER SERVICE INTO THE ST.LAWRENCE IN CANADA AND THE RETURN CARGO WAS
TIMBER.IN 1837 HE HAD A DOZEN SHIPS AND WAS TRADING DOWN TO SOUTH AMERICA AND THE
PACIFIC. IN 1905 THE ABERDEEN LINE WAS TAKEN OVER AND CAME UNDER THE JOINT CONTROL OF THE
WHITE STAR LINE AND SHAW SAVILL & ALBION. BUT THE LINE ESSENTIALLY RETAINED ITS OWN
IDENTITY. IN 1928 THE WHITE STAR LINE HAD PURCHASED THE AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH LINE. IN
1932 SHAW SAVILL & ALBION PURCHASED THE ABERDEEN LINE AND IN 1933 THE FORMER
AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH LINE WAS ALSO ACQUIRED AND THUS THE ABERDEEN AND COMMONWEALTH LINE
CAME INTO EXISTENCE.IN 1938 THE ABERDEEN PART OF THE NAME WAS DROPPED, AND IN 1957 THE
COMPANY HAD DISAPPEARED WITH THE SCRAPPING OF THEIR LAST SHIPS.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SSA AND THE WHITE STAR LINE EMERGED WHEN THEY RAN A JOINT SERVICE
TO NEW ZEALAND BETWEEN 1884 & 1933.THE SERVICE BEING TAKEN OVER COMPLETELY BY SSA WHEN
THE WHITE STAR LINE MERGED WITH THE CUNARD STEAMSHIP C0MPANY IN 1936.
THE PRINCE LINE WAS FORMED IN 1884 BY JAMES KNOTT, HE HAVING FOR A FEW YEARS PREVIOUS BEEN
INVOLVED IN THE SHIP BROKING BUSINESS. IN 1882 HE HAD HIS FIRST VESSEL THE 'SAXON PRINCE',
A STEAMER, AND AT THE SAME TIME STILL MANAGING A FEW SAILING SHIPS. SHAW SAVILL &
ALBION BECAME INVOLVED WITH THE PRINCE LINE IN 1950 ( THEY NEVER OWNED PRINCE LINE ) WHEN
SSA STARTED A SERVICE FROM THE EAST COAST OF AFRICA TO AUSTRALIA AND CHARTERED THE PRINCE
LINE VESSEL "SCOTTISH PRINCE" ( WHICH SSA RE-NAMED "AFRIC" FOR THE
DURATION OF THE CHARTER ) SHAW SAVILL & ALBION WAS TO CHARTER QUITE A FEW PRINCE LINE
VESSELS OVER THE COMING YEARS.IN 1972 THE MANAGEMENT OF PRINCE LINE WAS TRANSFERRED TO
SHAW SAVILL & ALBION.
THE CRUSADER SHIPPING CO LTD WAS FORMED IN 1957 TO OPERATE A REGULAR SERVICE BETWEEN
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND, THE FAR EAST AND THE PACIFIC COAST OF THE STATES.THE COMPANY
WAS COMPRISED OF VESSELS FROM SHAW SAVILL & ALBION,THE NEW ZEALAND SHIPPING CO, PORT
LINE AND THE BLUE STAR LINE.THE SHIPS WERE MANAGED BY SHAW SAVILL & ALBION. SHAW
SAVILL & ALBIONS CONTRIBUTION WERE THE VESSELS CRUSADER, SARACEN
AND KNIGHT TEMPLAR.THOU TO MEET VARIOUS SITUATIONS AMALRIC AND CARNATIC WERE ALSO USED.
BLUE STAR LINE SUPPLIED THE CALEDONIA STAR, MONTREAL STAR, TOWNSVILLE STAR AND THE
CANTERBURY STAR. PORT MONTREAL CAME FROM THE PORT LINE AND TURAKINA FROM THE NEW ZEALAND.
SOME OF SHAW SAVILLE'S OLD SAILING SHIPS HAVE BEEN PRESERVED, THE " EDWIN FOX "
IS BEING RESTORED IN PICTON , NEW ZEALAND.SHE IS MOORED NEAR THE COOK STRAIT FERRY
TERMINAL. IN SAN DIEGO,CALIFORNIA THE " EUTERPE " HAS BEEN PRESERVED AS A MUSEUM
SHIP.SHE WAS SOLD TO AN AMERICAN COMPANY, WHO RE-NAMED HER " STAR OF INDIA " AND
THUS THIS IS THE NAME SHE CAN BE SEEN UNDER TODAY.THE SHAW SAVILL & ALBION FLAG IS
FLOWN AT ALL TIMES ON HER.
IN 1985 SSA BECAME PART OF THE FURNESS WITHY GROUP.
TO BE CONTINUED......... |
