CONTENTdm
British Columbia Historical Books Collection
Hamilton, J. H.
"Cover title. Reprinted from the British Columbia historical quarterly, v. 20, 1956, p. 1-126."-- Lowther, B. J., & Laing, M. (1968). A bibliography of British Columbia: Laying the foundations, 1849-1899. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 222.
iv unnumbered pages, 10 unnumbered pages, 129 pages : photographs, portraits, facsimile ; 25 cm
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The "All-Red Route" 1893-1953 A History of the Trans-Pacific Mail Service between British Columbia, Australia, and New Zealand By J. H. HAMILTON REPRINTED FROM THE BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY JANUARY-APRIL, 1956 (2 0* THE "ALL-RED ROUTE," 1893-1953 CONTENTS The early days of passenger and mail services across the Pacific between Australasia and the Pacific Coast of the United States and Canada. Establishment of a regular service between Sydney, New South Wales, and Vancouver. James Huddart secures subsidy from Canadian and New South Wales Governments . First ship of Huddart's line arrives at Vancouver in June, 1893, followed by sister ship one month later. A third was added in 1897 Huddart fails to secure support from British government for his plans to establish a trans-Atlantic service from Canada to the United Kingdom. Application made in London for winding-up order of Huddart's " Canadian Australian Royal Mail Company." Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand acquires property and assets of the defunct company James Huddart and Sir James Mills: a comparison. The Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand takes over. Development and extension of the service. Replacement of the pioneer ships. War services of the various ships Page 1-14 14-22 22-40 41-47 47-90 Crisis and challenge, 1930. Canadian Pacific Railway Company acquires, half interest in the remaining two ships, Aorangi II and Niagara. Loss of the Niagara in 1940. Plans for developing service, by the addition of two new ships, abandoned as impracticable. Service terminated in 1953 90-100 Appendix I.—Subsidies and ports of calL. 101-117 Appendix II.—Alphabetical list of steamers of the Technical data. Brief histories of the vessels * All-Red Route." Appendix III.—Vancouver offices and officials Appendix IV.—Plans of the proposed new ships for the Canadian Australasian Line, 1938, hitherto undisclosed 118-122 123-124 125 Acknowledgments Illustrations: Aorangi II 126 Miowera at the dock, Vancouver.. Warrimoo at Dunedin, New Zealand- JFrontispiece —Facing 12 .-Facing 12 Aorangi I arriving Vancouver on first voyage- James Huddart Sir James Mills Moana at Vancouver Maheno Manuka Marama at the dock, Vancouver.. Makura docking at Vancouver Zealandia Tahiti leaving Vancouver harbour, 1920~ Niagara leaving Vancouver harbour. H.M.S. Avenger, 1917 Aorangi II arriving at Victoria, first voyage.. Maunganui A watea Aorangi II at the ship-breakers, 1953- Page ...Facing 13 —Facing 46 ...Facing 46 —Facing 47 ...Facing 47 —Facing 47 —Facing 62 ...Facing 62 ...Facing 63 Index —Facing 63 ..Facing 78 -Facing 79 ..Facing 79 ..Facing 94 ..Facing 94 -Facing 95 127 (Courtesy Leonard Frank Photos, Vancouver.) Aorangi II loading cargo at Vancouver, 1949. THE "ALL-RED ROUTE," 1893-1953 A History of the Trans-Pacific Mail Service between British Columbia, Australia, and New Zealand " History is the chart and compass for national endeavour."—Sir Arthur Helps, Friends in Council, 1870. Although the term "red" to-day has different connotation, "All- Red " formerly signified "All-British." World maps in the last century, at least those of British origin, always denoted British Empire countries in red. Thus the term "All-Red Route" was applied to any service between Britain and the British colonies or dominions overseas to imply that the mails travelled exclusively in British ships or via British territory. While not used in any official sense, the term was applied quite freely as a sub-title of shipping lines carrying Her Majesty's mails between two or more British countries. The term thus came to be used in connection with the Canadian Australian Line when it was established in 18931 and for a considerable period thereafter. The "All-Red Route" served to distinguish the new service from the trans-Pacific services previously available, which had been partly by British and partly by United States ships. Moreover the direct Canadian-Australasian mail service, established in 1893 by James Huddart, of Australia, was the successor or replacement of the San Francisco service to Australasia, which in turn superseded the services operated via the Isthmus of Panama. It is desirable, in order to secure a clear picture, to examine briefly the origins and history of the earlier trans-Pacific mail services, the more so since British steamship lines were largely, but by no means exclusively, engaged therein. Of special note is the fact that the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand in 1885 operated, jointly with an American line out of San Francisco, a trans-Pacific service to Australia and New Zealand. The Union Steam Ship Company was thus predisposed to take advantage of the opportunity, if such should arise, to engage in a Canadian- Australasian service. When, after only a few years in operation, the service between Canada, Australia, and New Zealand became financially (1) The term "All-Red Route " was used in the line's travel folders and advertising as late as 1926. British Columbia Historical Quarterly, Vol. XX, Nos. 1 and 2. 1 2 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. embarrassed, it was rescued from abandonment and the operation taken over by the experienced Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, who brought it to a high degree of efficiency and success. To British ship-owners and ship-builders, credit must go for being the pioneers in exploitation of the possibilities of the Panama route. The decade between 1835 and 1845 had witnessed the successful application of steam to the operation of ocean-going vessels. It had been finally demonstrated that a steamship was practicable for a long sea voyage, and that it was possible for steam-propelled vessels to make such a voyage with greater speed and regularity than sailing-vessels. Supremacy of the sailing-ships for transportation of heavy cargoes was not at first challenged, but mail and passengers, carried under a relatively high tariff, travelled increasingly by steamers. These ten years saw the foundation of the great network of British " mail lines ": the Peninsular and Oriental (P. & O.) from England to Egypt, India, and the Far East in 1837; the Cunard Line between Britain and North America in 1839; the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company from England to the West Indies and the east coast of South America in 1839; and the Pacific Steam Navigation Company (P.S.N.) operating on the west coast of South America between Panama, Chile, and Peru in 1840. The Royal Navy took a lively interest in the establishment of these and similar passenger and mail lines, as they visualized that the speedy steam-propelled ships, which could readily be converted to naval use in time of war, would be a valuable asset. This theory formed the basis of argument in favour of subsidizing construction and operation of these new commercial lines. This action speeded the construction, under naval supervision, of fast ships, advanced in design from the formerly employed sailing-ships. The British lines were not slow to take advantage of the new opportunity, and passenger and mail lines were established as quickly as possible between Great Britain and the West Indies, continuing on to the Atlantic coast of the Isthmus of Panama, connecting overland with another British line of steamers operating from the Pacific side of the Isthmus to Peru and Chile. Two Pacific Steam Navigation Company steamers, the Peru and Chile, were the pioneers in this service, which received a comparatively small subsidy for carrying the mails.2 During the initial years the operation (2) Pacific Steam Navigation Company Limited is now a subsidiary of the Royal Mail Lines Limited. In 1846 a mule and canoe "line" was organized across the isthmus, connecting with the steamers of the P.S.N. Company. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 3 was financially unprofitable, the limited business offering, coupled with the heavy expense of coal in so distant a field, proving a formidable obstacle.3 An agreement was made with the British Government for the carriage of mails through from England to the west coast of South America as far south as Valparaiso.4 The British Pacific squadron was at that time based on Valparaiso, which is one reason why the Admiralty was especially interested.3 It should be noted that but for an apparently unrelated cause these two well-established British lines would have been first in the field of regular trans-Pacific mail service between Great Britain and Australia. The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company had realized the practicability of such a service in connection with its established services to Central America. Having participated in financing the Panama railroad, the Royal Mail Company, in conjunction with the Pacific Steam Navigation Company, formed in London a new company, the Australasian-Pacific Mail Steam Packet Company, and obtained a Royal charter for its incorporation. Orders were placed with British yards for five iron screw steamers, to be named Kangaroo, Emeu, Black Swan, Dinoris, and Menura. All plans were laid for commencement of the service, when in 1853 the Crimean War broke out.6 As is usual in time of war, the overseas price of coal rose quickly to a height making impossible any hope of operating the proposed service without severe losses. The steamships of those days were heavy coal-consumers and demanded the provision of adequate supplies, much of which would have to be stored at coaling-stations supplied from distant sources, requiring long sea transportation. Reluctantly the entire undertaking was abandoned, the ships were sold, and the company wound up before even one single sailing had been made. It is logical to assume that had this project been brought to fruition, it would have succeeded in establishing a stable and regular service, which doubtless would have weathered the difficulties which confronted the small companies who unsuccessfully essayed the task, as will be related herein. This illustrates the unforeseen and disruptive effects which can ensue from a war, even so relatively localized (3) A. C. Wardle, Steam Conquers the Pacific, London, 1940, pp. 47-66, passim. (4) J. H. Kemble, The Panama Route, 1848-1869, Berkeley, 1943, p. 3. (5) F. V. Longstaff and W. Kaye Lamb, " The Royal Navy on the Northwest Coast, 1813-1850," British Columbia Historical Quarterly, IX (1945), p. 8. (6) "A Link of Commonwealth," Sea Breezes, XVI (July, 1953), p. 10. 4 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. a conflict as the Crimean War, insignificant in comparison with the great conflagrations of 1914 and 1939. The United States was not slow to recognize the potential value of the Isthmus of Panama as a point of transit from the Atlantic to the Pacific and was stirred into prompt action by the establishment of British steamship lines. Quickly following the commencement of the British operations, diplomatic steps were taken by the United States to secure permission for Americans to make use of the transit. A treaty was concluded in 1846 between the United States and New Granada (of which republic Panama was then a state) in which the United States, in return for permission to make use of the existing and future facilities for transit, guaranteed the neutrality of the Isthmus and the sovereignty of Panama.7 In considering the conditions which confronted the passenger travelling by sea routes in those early days, it is well to bear in mind that the comforts and amenities of the modern passenger liner, equal to those available in a first-class hotel, are incomparably superior to the discomforts and difficulties which were indeed a matter of serious concern to those who projected a long voyage. The Liverpool Daily Post, which recently reached its centenary, published with its issue of June 1, 1955, an exact reproduction of its first number, dated June 11, 1855. The matter of ventilation seems to have been an anxiety, judging from the following advertisement:— BLACK STAR LINE . . . The celebrated Clipper Ship Constance, 1,196 tons register. This magnificent clipper, which is one of the fleet belonging to James Beazley Esquire, has just returned from Melbourne, bringing 216 passengers, who express themselves highly satisfied with their treatment, not a single death having taken place during the voyage, which proves the superiority of the ventilation.8 This almost incredible advertisement demonstrates the perils and discomforts which passengers were led to expect; one would be inclined to think that many feared that they might die from suffocation, and a (7) Kemble, op. cit., p. 3. (8) The owner of the Black Star Line, James Beazley, was the grandfather of Ernest H. Beazley, formerly of Gracie, Beazley & Company, Limited, Liverpool, who was appointed in 1911 managing director of Union Steamships Limited, the British Columbia company, which office he held until his death in 1920. Similarity of the name of this shipping company, whose vessels operate in the coasting trade of British Columbia and south-eastern Alaska, to that of the Union Steam Ship Company of -New Zealand Limited, owners and operators of the Canadian' Australasian Royal Mail Line, has sometimes caused confusion, especially when both of them are abbreviated to " Union Steamships." 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 5 ship which had no fatality during the voyage was the one on which to travel. J. D. Pemberton, writing in 1860, thus graphically described his own experiences in 1851:— The difficulties and even dangers which the traveller had to encounter in crossing the isthmus, previous to the partial opening of the railway in 1852, or its completion in 1855, at a cost exceeding a million sterling, are still fresh in the recollection of many. Who that crossed it then can forget the heat and filth of Chagres, the pack of curs and flocks of buzzards, the struggles in bungos and with boatmen up the river, the scenes of riot and debauchery at the villages, jungle fever, and the bones that marked the mule tracks through the plains of Panama, and stamped that short but fatal route of fifty miles, as the Golgotha of the West?* In January, 1855, the Panama railway was completed and opened for traffic, serving both British and American steamers. The port on the Atlantic side was named Colon by the Panama Government, but Americans suggested Aspinwall as a suitable name, in honour of the projector of the railroad and operator of an American line of steamships on the Pacific side. Despite the official name, Americans persisted in calling the port Aspinwall for twenty years or so, but finally the official name supervened and Aspinwall was dropped.10 Thus was established one of the world's most important avenues of sea commerce, which in its later stages of development became so potent, indeed so vital, a factor in the development of British Columbia's resources and foreign trade. Although the Panama route was not directly connected with the establishment of the " All-Red Mail Route " from Britain via Canada to Australasia, it was actually the avenue of the early efforts to establish regular mail services between Britain and Australasia. Later, when a transcontinental railroad was completed to San Francisco, the mails were diverted to that port. And still later, when the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed to Vancouver, the mail route was thus transferred northward, becoming the "All-Red Route." It is for this reason that no consideration of the history of the Canadian-Australasian service can be complete unless its genesis is examined, and no apology is needed for introducing details regarding the Panama route. With Oregon definitely a part of the United States, it became necessary to set up some sort of regular communication system. (9) J. D. Pemberton, Facts and Figures Relating to Vancouver Island and British Columbia, London, 1860, pp. 85-86. (10) Kemble, op. cit., pp. 186, 189. & J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. President Polk, when announcing the settlement of the controversy over the Oregon boundary to Congress in 1846, said that whilst it was essential to establish government over the area, it was "likewise important that mail facilities, so indispensable for the diffusion of information . . . should be afforded to our citizens west of the Rocky Mountains."11 This pronouncement was of great inherent significance, not only to Oregon (which at that time included the territory later to become the State of Washington), but to the entire North Pacific Coast, including Vancouver Island, whose only practicable avenue of mail communication, pending construction of railroads, was by way of the United States. Legislation passed by the United States Congress the year previous, 1845, enacted the principle that the United States Navy could enter into contracts for carrying the mails in American ships, built under supervision of the Navy, suitable for conversion to naval purposes in time of war. A further enabling Act was passed in 1847 "to establish certain Post Routes and for other Purposes," under which the Postmaster-General was instructed to contract for transmission of mails from " an Atlantic or Gulf port at least every two months. Between Panama and Oregon, the steamers were required to call at Monterey and San Francisco ..." The potential importance of this Act to Vancouver Island is obvious, and it is interesting to follow the results more or less closely.12 On the authority of the above two Acts, somewhat conflicting though they may appear, steamships were built with as little delay as possible, and tenders were called for vessels to operate on both coasts. The successful tenderer for three steamers to inaugurate the service on the Pacific side was William Henry Aspinwall, head of a prosperous New York firm of ship-owners and merchants, Howland & Aspinwall. Their extensive operations took their vessels to the Pacific, the China coast, and elsewhere. They also owned a fleet of clipper ships, many of which were employed in the East India trade. Aspinwall and his associates incorporated a company, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, for the purpose of building vessels to carry out a contract awarded for the Pacific Coast service. Concurrently, on the other side of the Isthmus a similar contract was awarded to George Law and associates (11) J. H. Kemble, "The Genesis of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company," California Historical Quarterly, XIII (1934), p. 241. (12) Kemble, The Panama Route, p. 10. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 7 for a service to operate between New York and other Atlantic Coast ports and Chagres, on the east coast of Panama. AspinwalTs Pacific Mail Steamship Company placed orders for the construction of three steamers for the Panama-Oregon service—California, Oregon, and Panama. These were of the wooden, side-wheeler type then favoured by United States ship-builders. They were all about the same size, 1,100 tons, approximately 200 feet length, with the characteristic side-lever engines. Arrival at San Francisco of the first of the new steamers, inaugurating the service between New York and the Pacific Coast, was an event recognized as being of more than usual significance. The eagerly awaited vessel, the S.S. California, gaily flying bunting, received a welcome never since equalled at that port on February 28, 1849.13 Truly it was an important occasion for San Francisco and a gala day for that bustling port in the midst of the gold-rush boom. But it was of equal importance to other ports on the United States Pacific Coast to the north, marking commencement of a regular postal service. Although these steamers did not at first come as far north as Vancouver Island, their advent did in fact end its isolation. Evidence of this fact is seen in Scholefield and Howay, British Columbia, which says, regarding the establishment of the Atlantic-California service:— [The service] was soon extended to Oregon, and later to Puget Sound ports. The mail for Vancouver Island thus reached Fort Vancouver and Olympia. A canoe manned by Indians and usually in charge of a Hudson's Bay Company's officer would leave Victoria for Nesqually with despatches and letters. These would be forwarded by Dr. William F. Tolmie, who was in command there, to Fort Vancouver, or elsewhere, to catch the mail steamer, and the canoe would return with despatches and mail matter. . . . Letters to and from England were usually from six weeks to two months in transit.1* Thus Vancouver Island benefited: she was not yet on the "King's Highway," but at least had attained a " by-way " status, the northern end being served by a dugout canoe manned by Indians. The new mail route was the key-note for the establishment of the coal industry on Vancouver Island. Although outcroppings had been discovered at Beaver Harbour, no attempt had been made by the Hudson's Bay Company to work the coal there until inquiries came from the Pacific Mail Steamship Company for trial shipments to be used by their Panama-San Francisco steamers. To bring bunker coals from Wales (13) Kemble, The Panama Route, pp. 22-35, passim. (14) E. O. S. Scholefield and F. W. Howay, British Columbia from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vancouver, 1914, Vol. II, p. 132. 8 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. via Cape Horn posed an expensive operation, and it was hoped that the Vancouver Island product might be more economical and convenient. Negotiations with the Hudson's Bay Company began early in 1848, but despite all efforts toward an early delivery, no shipments were made until late in 1849. Owing to unsatisfactory tests, shipments had to be dropped a year later.15 Although the Beaver Harbour coal mines failed to develop a bunker- coal trade, the fact that steamers would be in the market for coal supplies was noted and unquestionably was an important factor in directing attention to the potential value of cod-mining. In this connection it is of interest to note that steamships of the "All-Red Route" became important consumers of Vancouver Island coal. Although ample supplies of bunker coal were readily obtainable in New Zealand and Australia, it was impracticable for the mail steamers to stow sufficient coal for a round voyage from the Antipodes. The general practice prior to 1913 was for the Canadian Australian Line ships to bunker at Sydney, Auckland, and Fiji, north-bound, taking full bunkers at Union Bay on Vancouver Island and at Fiji and Auckland on the south-bound run. The use of coal, however, was reduced from 1913 onward, as the vessels were converted to oil-burning.16 Completion in 1855 of the railway across the Isthmus of Panama had stimulated establishment of steamship services, north to California, south to Peru and Chile, and across the Pacific to the Orient, and in 1866 to Australasia. The provision of a speedier mail service than that available via the Suez Canal and Australia had long been regarded as of outstanding importance to New Zealand and had resulted in several efforts to establish such service, all of which proved costly failures. In 1866 a New Zealand line, the Panama, New Zealand and Australian Royal Mail Company, established a service, for which it secured a substantial subsidy, to carry passengers and mail between Sydney, Auckland, and Panama, employing four steamers. Transferring overland to the Atlantic coast of the Isthmus, mail was forwarded by the West Indian steamers of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, connecting with England. This service apparently was not very successful, for it ceased after three years' trial. But the need still demanded attention. The Atlantic and Pacific Corporation made a proposal for a service (15) J. H. Kemble, "Coal from the Northwest Coast, 1848-1850," British Columbia Historical Quarterly, II (1938), pp. 123-130. (16) P. B. Cooke, retired manager of the Canadian Australasian Line, to the writer. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 9 between Sydney, Auckland, and San Francisco, which failed to secure support and was therefore dropped. The United States Consul at Sydney was instrumental in arranging a temporary service on a trial basis, and the Governments of New South Wales and New Zealand agreed to a subsidy of £1,000 per month. Steamers chartered from the Australian Steam Navigation Company provided an indifferent service.17 The last-mentioned service apparently was discontinued after a short operation of about a year, for the record shows that in 1871 the California, New Zealand and Australia Steam Navigation Company secured an arrangement for a postal subvention for a service carrying mail and passengers. A fleet of four steamers was put into operation between San Francisco and Sydney, calling at Honolulu and Auckland and occasionally at other New Zealand ports. These ships were the Nevada, Nebraska, and Dakota, American-built steamers of about 2,145 tons, and the Moses Taylor of 1,354 tons, the last named making the connection between San Francisco and the Sandwich Islands.18 The subvention was paid by the United States under the law of 1845, which hitherto had applied only to United States coastwise trade and to intercoastal trade via transhipment at Panama. The subvention was extended in this case to the service between California and the Islands and amounted to $75,000 a year.19 The Nevada, Nebraska, and Dakota were wooden side-wheelers, American-built a few years earlier for the New York-Panama route and later diverted to the Panama-San Francisco route. They were similar in most respects, all having vertical-beam engines. The Moses Taylor, the smallest vessel, was built in 1857 by William H. Webb, who later employed her, together with the other three which he chartered, to establish his trans-Pacific service.20 However, like the others, this was not a success, and after two years had to be abandoned. Another service, commenced in 1874, was operated by the Australasian and American Mail Steamship Company, with joint British and American capital, under the British flag. The steamers Mongol, Tartar, and McGregor, which were chartered from the New York, London and China Steamship Company, later replaced by the Cyphrenes, Mikado, (17) Sydney D. Waters, Union Line: A Short History of the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand Ltd., 1875-1951, Wellington, n.d., p. 38. (18) The Sandwich Islands, then a British protectorate, were annexed by the United States in 1900. (19) Will Lawson, Pacific Steamers, Glasgow, 1927, pp. 160-168. (20) Kemble, op. cit., pp. 234-235. 10 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. and City of Melbourne of the Australasian Steam Navigation Company, were operated about two years only, the financial result being inadequate.21 These sanguine explorations, although unprofitable to their sponsors, at least blazed the path to the establishment of a permanent and productive service. The initial period of pioneering, about ten years only, saw no less than five separate ventures, all of them ineffectual and all costly to their entrepreneurs. However, this pioneering, as elsewhere has been the case, did provide much valuable information on the needs and possibilities of the trade, and by 1875 it had become evident that a further and more forceful effort was more likely to be successful. At this juncture the Pacific Mail Steamship Company entered the field. The origin of this company dated back to the earliest days of Pacific Coast shipping. Having secured considerable experience in the California-Panama mail and passenger trade, and also having successfully operated a regular monthly service to China and Japan, the company applied to the Governments of New Zealand and New South Wales for a mail contract or subsidy for a regular service from San Francisco. The service commenced in October, 1875. The first steamers employed were the Vasco da Gama, a wooden side-paddle steamer, and the Colima, an iron screw steamer, but they proved to be inadequate for the trans- ocean service and were soon replaced by larger vessels, the City of New York and the City of Sydney, barque-rigged steamers of about 3,000 tons and 350 feet length. They had a speed of about 10 knots. These were American-built, by John Roach of Chester, Pennsylvania.22 The steamers Zealandia and Australia were chartered from John Elder & Company,23 of Govan, Scotland, which shipyard was at that time controlled by Sir William Pearce, who was not only a ship-builder, but also operated shipping lines.24 The Pacific Mail Company continued its (21) Waters, op. cit., p. 38. (22) Ibid., p. 39. See also J. H. Kemble, "A Hundred Years of the Pacific Mail," The American Neptune, X (1950), p. 14. (23) John Elder & Company later became the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited, whose yards have turned out several of the Canadian Pacific Empresses, as well as a number of steamships for the British Columbia Coast Service of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. (24) W. Kaye Lamb, " The Pioneer Days of the Trans-Pacific Service, 1887- 1891," British Columbia Historical Quarterly, I (1937), p. 146. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 11 California-Australia-New Zealand service until 1885, when the contract expired and for several reasons was not renewed.25 The Union Company Enters the Trans-Pacific Service When in 1885 the Pacific Mail Company retired from the trans- Pacific service, negotiations were entered into by the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand Limited26 and the Oceanic Steamship Company of San Francisco, resulting in a three-year contract with the New Zealand and New South Wales Governments. To carry on the service the American company provided two steamers and the Union Company, one. The Mararoa, a new vessel constructed on the Clyde and designed specially for employment in the so-called "intercolonial" service (i.e., operating between Australia and New Zealand), was assigned by the Union Company to initiate the trans-Pacific service, and made the first north-bound run from Sydney in December, 1885. She was the first triple-expansion-engined steamer and the best-appointed ship seen in San Francisco until that time and created much interest there.27 She had a gross tonnage of 2,598. The American ships, the Alameda and the Mariposa, both 3,158 tons, were also new ships, being built in 1883. It is pertinent to note at this juncture that the entry of the Union Company into this trans-Pacific service marked a turning point. This was the first venture of the company in a trans-ocean service, and proved to be the forerunner of a long term of service in it by this important experienced company, which in 1901 purchased an interest and in 1910 completed full ownership of the Canadian-Australian mail and passenger service. For fifty-three years (the last twenty-two years in conjunction with the Canadian Pacific Railway Company) this company continuously provided adequate service until the withdrawal of R.M.S. Aorangi II in May, 1953. The Union Company has also carried on a line of cargo vessels, in addition to the passenger and mail service, which still continues its regular operation, connecting British Columbia with the main ports in New Zealand, Australia, and the South Sea Islands. The Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand Limited was founded in 1875 as a small local enterprise on the New Zealand coast. (25) For a detailed review of the operations of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company see J. H. Kemble, "A Hundred Years of the Pacific Mail," loc. cit. (26) To avoid continual repetition the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand Limited will be referred to herein as the Union Company. (27) Waters, op. cit., p. 39. 12 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. It commenced business with five small coastal ships, having a combined tonnage of 2,126 tons gross.28 At the beginning of 1956 the company's fleet comprised fifty-nine vessels, passenger, mail, and cargo ships, totalling 202,525 gross tons, not taking into account a number of new vessels then under construction.29 Early in its history the Union Company earned the reputation of being a pioneer, having extended its services, limited at first to the New Zealand coast-line, to the so-called intercolonial trade between Australia and New Zealand; to the United Kingdom, which service ceased in 1923; to India; as well as several services linking the islands of the South Pacific with New Zealand. Among evidences of the Union Line's forward-looking policy are its Rotomahana, built in 1879, the first merchant ship to be constructed of mild steel; the Mararoa, built in 1885, the first vessel on the Pacific to have triple-expansion engines; the Loongana, 1904, first turbine steamer to make a long ocean passage and first of the type to visit Australia; the Hauraki, in 1922, first motor-vessel in the trans-Pacific trade; the Aorangi, until recently employed on the Sydney-Vancouver run, built in 1924, at which time she was the largest, as well as the fastest, motor- liner in the world.30 Several other " firsts " could be cited, but the above are typical of the progressive policy which became a tradition of the company. Since its foundation in 1875 the Union Company has owned approximately 300 ships. Some thirty of them have been familiar to residents on the coast of British Columbia or to travellers to Honolulu or New Zealand and Australia; the mail and passenger liners and the less distinguished but equally necessary cargo carriers, the majority bearing those mellifluous names which are striking in their contrast to the generality. Each of these names—as do many of our Indian names—has a poetic meaning; for instance, Awatea, meaning " Eye of the Dawn." A few exceptions have been made: Niagara for example, so-named as a compliment to Canada and, one likes to think, also because it is a poetic name, meaning in the language of the Hurons "Thunderer of Waters."31 Other Maori names given to steamers which have been employed in or built for the Vancouver service include Aotearoa, Maori (28) 50th Anniversary of the Founding of the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand Limited, Wellington, 1925, p. 11. (29) Syren and Shipping, CCXXXVIII (1956), p. 130. (30) Harbour and Shipping, January, 1925, cover. (31) G. H. Armstrong, Origin and Meaning of Place Names in Canada, Toronto, 1930, p. 205. (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives.) Miowera at the dock, Vancouver. (Reproduced from Pacific Steamers.) Warrimoo at Dunedin, New Zealand. (Courtesy Vancouver City Archh Aorangi I arriving at Vancouver on first voyage, May, 1897. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 13 for New Zealand, literally " Land of Long-lingering Daylight"; Marama, the Moon; Manuka, the Tea-tree; Moana, the Ocean;32 Maunganui, the Great Mountain; Aorangi, "Sky Piercer," Maori name for New Zealand's highest mountain, Mount Cook.33 Reverting to the entry of the Union Company into the trans-Pacific mail and passenger trade, when the company in conjunction with the Oceanic Steamship Company secured the three-year contract, the Mara- roa initiated the service in 1885, the Oceanic Company placing its Alameda and Mariposa in the joint service. The Oceanic Company was at that time largely owned and controlled by J. D. Spreckels, of San Francisco, financier, industrialist, and shipping magnate. The New Zealand ship Mararoa, a new vessel, was built by Denny Brothers on the Clyde, 2,598 tons and exceeding 300 feet in length.34 The two American ships, built in 1883, were each 3,158 tons. After a few runs in the service the Mararoa was withdrawn and placed in the intercolonial run between Australia and New Zealand, for which, in fact, she had been designed. Pending arrival of a new steamer then under construction for the Union Company, by mutual agreement the Oceanic Company chartered the S.S. Zealandia to operate as the third ship in the San Francisco service. This ship remained on the run until replaced by the new steamer Monowai in 1890.35 Other temporary changes were made as new steamers were made available for this service. In 1900 developments took place which rendered continuation of the service impracticable in so far as the Union Company's participation was concerned. Following annexation by the United States of the Hawaiian Islands, then known as the Sandwich Islands, American shipping laws, which debarred foreign vessels from carrying passengers or cargo between United States ports, were extended to cover the Hawaiian Islands. The traffic between San Francisco and Honolulu and the mail subsidy were essential to maintain the service without loss. Consequently, the non-American partner in the joint service had no option but to leave the entire business to the American participant, the Oceanic Line, which was thus able to monopolize both the trade and the United States subsidy.36 Thus was the Union Company's flag withdrawn from (32) A. H. and A. W. Reed, Reed's Concise Maori Dictionary, Wellington, 1949, passim. (33) P. B. Cooke to the writer. (34) Waters, op. cit., p. 30. (35) Ibid., pp. 39-40. (36) 50th Anniversary . . . , pp. 16-17. 14 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. the San Francisco-Australia service, and it was not seen again in the American port for a period of ten years. The Establishment of the Sydney-Vancouver Service The early days and development of mail and passenger steamship services across the Pacific Ocean to the West Coast of North America have thus been traced from 1866 until 1900, up to the time when the Union Company was compelled to retire from participation in the service which it had helped to originate and to maintain since 1885. For the sake of continuity the incidence of the Union Company into the trans-Pacific trade has been related beyond the date when a direct mail and passenger service between Canada and Australasia was established in 1893 by other interests. It is necessary now to revert to 1893 in order to narrate the establishment of the Canadian-Australian service, in which, it should be noted, the Union Company did not become interested until 1901. The Canadian Australian Line was established in 1893 by James Huddart, of Sydney, New South Wales, partner and manager of Huddart, Parker & Company. The circumstances which led to the establishment of the Vancouver-Sydney mail and passenger line are of especial interest, since they form the foundation upon which grew the service successfully maintained for a period of sixty years. James Huddart was the founder of the New Zealand and Australian Steam Navigation Company, of which line Huddart, Parker & Company were the " managing agents," Huddart himself being the owner of the two new steamers Miowera and Warrimoo, which formed the initial fleet of the line. These vessels had been ordered by Huddart from C. S. Swan, Hunter & Company, Newcastle-on-Tyne. They arrived at Sydney in December, 1892, where they entered the intercolonial service, running between Australia and New Zealand, for which they had been designed. Advent of the competition of these new and speedy steamers challenged the Union Company's premier position in this service.37 (37) It is related that the Union Company accepted this challenge and countered by placing in the service steamers of its fleet which were calculated to match or outclass the new-comers. The result was keen competition, culminating in a rate war in which no one but the travelling public benefited. Having witnessed similar occurrences on the British Columbia coast, with steamer fares between Victoria and Seattle cut to 25 cents on one occasion, it is not difficult to appreciate the ruthlessness of such efforts to force out an unwelcome competition. But the little " rate wars " for which British Columbia was the battleground pale to insig- 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 15 However, nemesis followed in the form of a disastrous commercial slump. By the end of March, 1893, Huddart found it impracticable, for financial reasons, to continue in the intercolonial trade. Having failed to operate his two new steamers profitably, he decided to turn to another field, which had for some time been under his consideration as a worthy effort from an imperial point of view and also as offering the probability of financial reward. He negotiated a contract which would provide a subsidy of £35,000 in all £25,000 to be paid by Canada and £10,000 by New South Wales. This service did not call for the carriage of mails to or from New Zealand, although arrangements for such payment were made later. The contract, which will be dealt with more fully later, specified a four-weekly service, with steamers capable of at least 14 knots speed. He merged his New Zealand and Australia line into his new enterprise—the Canadian Australian Line, the operation of which is the subject of further consideration throughout the period of over sixty years in which the service was maintained, but only the first few years were under Huddart's ownership or management. The matter of subsidies is important in relation to the "All-Red Route." The amount has varied from time to time, the participants have varied, and in some periods no subsidy was paid. Considerable difference of opinion and adverse criticism has on occasion arisen as to payment of the subsidy and as to the amount, as well as to the ports of call. It may be said that the subsidy question has been a vital one, upon which continuation of the service depended. To endeavour to relate these various changes independently as they occurred would not only break the continuity of the narrative, but would also make it difficult to evaluate the reasons and effect of the various changes. For this reason, this important matter will be dealt with in a separate appendix. Only by this means can a correlated account be attained. Before establishment and actual operation of his Canadian Australian Line, Huddart had given much attention to the possibilities of a trans-Pacific mail service. As soon as it became evident that his two steamers, Miowera and Warrimoo, could not long be sustained in the intercolonial trade with any hope of survival, he turned his attention to the establishment of a regular mail line in which to occupy them. There nificance in comparison with the feud which developed between these two determined competing lines. The keenest period of the contest lasted only five months, during which time the well-known sporting instincts of the Australians and New Zealanders were aroused to an excitement normally observed only on such occasions as an "All-Black " football tour or a cricket test match. Waters, op. cit., p. 36. 16 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. is no evidence that his partners in the coal and coastwise shipping business, Huddart, Parker & Company Limited, were favourable to the idea; on the contrary, it would appear that they left the venture entirely to Huddart. The fact is that James Huddart alone, in his individual capacity, made an agreement with the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, and he, personally, was cited in the proceedings for winding up the company in 1897 as having started the line. It was James Huddart, not Huddart, Parker & Company, who acted as manager of the line. It is essential to make this point clear, as the firm of Huddart, Parker & Company is still in existence and at no time had any interest in the Canadian Australian Line or its successors. While the project of an all-British line of steamers for the purpose of carrying the mails between Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand had for some years been discussed, no definite proposal had emerged, although tentative plans were known to exist. Huddart lost no time in getting preliminary steps under way. Having already two vessels at his disposal, he still faced the formidable task of securing, or at least getting a promise of, financial aid in the form of one or more government subsidies. The problem also involved the equally important factor of securing the full co-operation of some Canadian agency willing and able to handle passenger traffic on a " through " basis; that is, arranging transport across Canada and the United States, and beyond to the United Kingdom. A salient factor in the situation must here be noted—namely, the fact that there was already on the statute books of Canada the " Ocean Steamship Subsidies Act," passed in 1889, which empowered the Government to give financial aid by way of subsidies to steamship lines operating passenger and mail service between Canada and Great Britain and between Canada and the Orient, and also between Canada and Australia and New Zealand. No action had yet been taken in regard to the allocation of any subsidy for an Australasian service, for reasons which were made plain when an amending Act was introduced into Parliament. This amending Act was passed April 1, 1893, its purpose being to repeal the provisions in the original Act pertaining to the matter of a subsidy for an Australasian service, and to substitute therefor clauses more favourable for such service. The amending Act read as follows:— . . . Section one of chapter two of the Statutes of 1889, intituled An Act relating to Ocean Steam-ship Subsidies, is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor:— 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 17 1. The Governor in Council may grant to any individual or company a subsidy not exceeding the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds sterling per annum, to assist in establishing an effective monthly or more frequent steamship service between British Columbia and the Australian Colonies and New Zealand, such subsidy to be granted for such term of years, not exceeding ten, and on such conditions as the Governor in Council considers expedient-38 The following explanation of the purpose of this amending Act was given to Parliament by the Honourable G. E. Foster, Minister of Trade and Commerce:— [This Act] is to amend the Act passed three or four years ago [1889], in which were included the China and Japan and Australian subsidies. The Australian subsidy was put in more as a tentative measure as was also the subsidy for a fast Atlantic line, the idea being that these three services together, if they could be successfully established, would make a very excellent outside steam-ship service for our trade. The sum was £25,000 for a fortnightly service [to Australia] or a proportionate rate for a less frequent service. The fortnightly service could not be arranged for that amount of money, and I wish to amend it by making the Bill authorize that this amount of money may be granted to assist in establishing an effective monthly or more frequent steam service between British Columbia and the Australian colonies, including New Zealand.*9 It should be especially noted that the " frequency " of the service was specified as at least monthly, but more frequent than that if it could be arranged, although inferentially only the same amount of subsidy could be given for the more frequent service. It further is noteworthy that the amendment offered more generous terms than the Act which it superseded—Le., the same amount, £25,000, for a monthly service, equivalent to more than doubling the amount of the subsidy. No direct evidence is available that this favourable change was made at the instance of, or especially for the assistance of, Huddart "s plan; but in view of the fact that the amending Act was introduced immediately prior to commencement of actual operation of the service, it is fairly evident that Huddart had made representations on the matter, either direct to the Canadian Government or through the Government of New South Wales, which had agreed at the same time to offer a subsidy on similar terms. In either event Huddart was successful in securing a Canadian offer of a subsidy for a period of ten years for a monthly (38) 56 Victoria., chap. 5, "An Act to amend the Act respecting Ocean Steamship subsidies," Acts of the Parliament of . . . Canada . . . 1893, Ottawa, 1893, p. 51. (39) Canada, House of Commons, Parliamentary Debates, March 30, 1893, pp. 3537-3538. Italics are the writer's. 18 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. service, which it was entirely possible for him to provide with his existing ships, the Miowera and Warrimoo. As regards the other necessary preliminary, almost equal in importance to the matter of the subsidy—namely, securing adequate arrangements for handling world-wide passenger and mail delivery beyond their arrival at a Canadian port—Huddart took steps to submit his proposal without delay to the best possible quarter: the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. Here again he met with success, probably beyond his anticipation. It is known that the Canadian Pacific had had for some years under consideration the establishment of an "All-Red Route," but had found it necessary to defer active development of the idea. In view of its interest in the traffic possibilities of the route, it is not surprising that the company was ready to give ear to a scheme which promised immediate practicability. Although it was vaguely believed that some understanding had been reached (in fact, Huddart had so informed the London Times in an interview), the details of any such agreement had not hitherto been made public, since the agreement was considered at the time to be confidential, indeed is so marked. Huddart told the Times40 that he had concluded an agreement with the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, which he termed | defensive and exclusive," for a period of ten years, but gave no further details. There were actually two agreements41—the first, dated May 3, 1893, and the second, a ten-year agreement dated August 14 of the same year, which superseded the first. When it is noted that the service was commenced by the Miowera sailing from Sydney, May 18, 1893, just fifteen days after the preliminary agreement with the Canadian Pacific was signed, and that Parliament had passed the necessary amending Act barely a month previously, it is obvious that Huddart had been awaiting completion of all necessary preliminaries before commencing actual operation of the line. The first, temporary, agreement was between "James Huddart Esquire of Sydney in the Colony of New South Wales Managing Owner of the steamships Miowera and Warrimoo . . . first party " and " David E. Brown Esq. General Agent representing the Canadian Pacific Railway Company of Montreal . . . Second party." The objective of the agreement was stated to be "the immediate establishment of a (40) London Times, September 29, 1893, p. 5. (41) Photostats of both agreements are now on deposit in the Archives of British Columbia. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 19 monthly Trans-Pacific steamship service with the above-mentioned steamships to ply between Sydney, New South Wales, and Vancouver, British Columbia, touching at Brisbane, Queensland, Honolulu, Sandwich Islands (and possibly Fiji) in connection with the Canadian Pacific Railway Company." The general terms of the agreement (which appears to have been one of " intent" rather than of final determination) follow customary lines in regard to the duties and responsibilities of the parties, who covenanted to act reciprocally as agents for one another in the complicated business of arranging for, securing, and transporting, by sea and by rail, passengers and mail. It is unnecessary and impracticable to recite the full details of this agreement, particularly because of its purely temporary and tentative nature and its short term of effectiveness. But it is of importance by reason of its existence prior to the first sailing of the line. This agreement, as well as its successor, the agreement signed some three months later, did in fact condition the operation of the line initially, and indeed for many years afterwards, and thus is of importance in a relation of its history. The second agreement, made on August 14, 1893, cancelled and replaced the first agreement. It was a more detailed document, embodying a recital of the commissions payable by the parties to the agreement on business in either direction, arrangements as to wharfage and handling, due provision of accounts, and the many other similar matters usually dealt with in such agreements and traffic arrangements. The following sections of the agreement are in themselves of note as important factors in the operation of the service and are therefore related in greater detail. The agreement was made between three parties: The Canadian Pacific Railway Company of the First Part; " The Owners of the Steamship Warrimoo and the Owners of the Steamship Miowera carrying on business under the name or style of The Canadian-Australian Steamship Company, herein represented by James Huddart of the City of London, England, their Managing Owner ... of the Second Part; " and " the said James Huddart ... of the Third Part." It provided that the Canadian Pacific Railway Company would act as " general agents " for the line in all parts of the world (except Australia and the Hawaiian Islands) where the Railway Company had or might establish agencies, and per contra the Steamship Company would act as general agents for the Railway in Australia and the Hawaiian Islands. The term of the agreement was for a period of ten years, terminable before then if the subsidy from the Canadian Government should be terminated, 20 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. in which case the agreement would also lapse. While the agreement recites that the two vessels specifically mentioned were to be employed in the service, it should be observed that it was not contemplated that the service should continue on the basis of a two-ship operation. Clause 4 stated: " The Steamship Company will, without any unnecessary delay and at all events not later than the thirty-first day of December One thousand eight hundred and ninety-five, provide and equip a third vessel . . . and thereafter will regularly and continuously employ such vessel in the said service."42 Clause 5 provided that after the third vessel had been made available the service should be on a three-weekly basis, but only i so long as sufficient business can be obtained to warrant it." If sufficient business could not be secured, the service had to be " at least as frequent as that described " in the agreement " in respect to the two Steamers." This definite covenant by the Steamship Company to provide a third vessel indicated an intention, but does not appear to have been considered actually binding, but conditional upon the demand arising. However, the fact that the covenant was in the agreement doubtless was the activating motive of Huddart later in purchasing the Aorangi from the New Zealand Shipping Company, Limited. As to ports of call, the agreement specified " a regular Steamship service between the City of Sydney, in the Island of Australia and the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, calling at Honolulu in the Sandwich Islands and at the outer wharf in the City of Victoria in the said Province on every outward and homeward voyage between Sydney and Vancouver with the option of calling also at Moreton Bay or Brisbane in Queensland, Australia." It will be observed that mention of " possibly Fiji," which appeared in the first agreement, was not repeated, nor was any call at a New Zealand port envisioned, or at least provided for, at the time. The agreement otherwise relates in detail the reasonable undertaking of mutual effort to ensure the success of the service, the Railway Company warranting on its part not to engage in competition with the Steamship Company, nor vice versa, either directly or indirectly. It will thus be seen that Huddart had secured assurance of the complete backing of a powerful transportation company whose organized means of securing business was both wide and efficient. Moreover, they (42) Actually the Aorangi was not ready to enter the service until April, 1897, one year and four months late. This was definitely a breach of the agreement, which provided only for a time lapse of two years and four months. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 21 were shipowners and operators of a passenger and mail service to Japan and China, having in British Columbia their own wharves and shore equipment for handling passengers and freight traffic, also steamship connections across the Atlantic, although they had not yet established a trans-Atlantic service under their own flag.43 Without the willingness of the Canadian Pacific to co-operate in making the "All-Red Route" a success, it would have been well nigh impossible for Huddart to have made any progress in his negotiations, let alone to operate his line. It may have been due largely to the fact that he could show that he had the Canadian Pacific behind him in the venture that he was able to secure the Canadian subsidy, which had involved amending the existing legislation. On the other hand, the reverse may have been the case: the Canadian Pacific may have entered into the agreement on the strength of his subsidy negotiations, of which it doubtless was fully aware. Indeed, the completion of the two factors was practically concurrent, if not actually interdependent. However, with the above agreement in his pocket and with the assurance of support of the Canadian Government by subsidy, and also by the New South Wales Government, amounting in all to £35,000 per annum (then equal to $168,000), together with a " hope " of securing similar aid from New Zealand and from Queensland and possibly some small payment from Fiji, Huddart felt confident of success. It must be borne in mind that those subsidies loomed considerably larger in 1893 than they appear to us to-day, being equivalent to probably three or even four times the amount in our current money values. There was just one important factor missing from all that Huddart had been able to secure, and that was any promise or even indication of financial aid from the Canadian Pacific. At any rate, none was adumbrated in the agreement. As was later proved by the event, lack of adequate financial resources was the rock upon which this promising venture was wrecked. It must, however, be conceded that Huddart showed considerable ability as an organizer and negotiator, in which his buoyant spirit of optimism was the salient feature. With all other factors appearing favourable, one of the most important, the question of finance, was the least promising. The fact that Australia was at that time in the midst of a severe commercial and financial crisis must have clouded his anticipation of an early success. The astute and respected (43) Frank C. Bowen, History of the Canadian Pacific Line, London, [1928], p. 83. 22 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. London Times, in commenting on the recently established steamship service, said: " The scheme, it may be remembered, was started in the very height of the commercial panic in Australia."44 Miowera The first ship to run in the new service of the Canadian Australian Line was the R.M.S. Miowera,45 which arrived at Victoria on June 8, 1893. The welcome accorded her was comparable to that given to the first of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company's steamers chartered to inaugurate its trans-Pacific service carrying passengers and mail from China and Japan, the S.S. Abyssinia, which had reached Vancouver on June 13, 1887, six years previously.46 The sincerity of the welcome given to the Miowera on her arrival at her first Canadian port is well evidenced by an editorial in the Victoria Colonist:— The SS. Miowera, Captain Stott, arrived at the Outer Wharf shortly after 9.30 o'clock last evening, and proceeds to Vancouver this morning, thus inaugurating the direct British Columbia and Australia service, and completing the chain of all British communication, stretching from the Motherland to the most distant colony of the Empire. That this great chain will unite, strengthen and develop the varied industries of the colonies through which it extends, as well as hold them closer to the parent land, in peace and in war, is the hope and the expectation of those instrumental in the forging of the last great link. Although for several months at least the business of the Australian lines must be largely experimental it is pleasant to note that the first trans-oceanic trip has proved a more conspicuous success than the majority had dared to hope. The Miowera not only has a large passenger list but a very considerable freight, and she has . . . demonstrated one thing very clearly—the saving in time which the direct steamers accomplish in landing mails, passengers, and cargo in Canada and in England. The Alameda, one of the best and most reliable of the San Francisco boats, left Sydney on May 15, and calling at Auckland and Honolulu, reached San Francisco yesterday. The Miowera, which left Sydney on May 18 and calling at Brisbane and Honolulu, also reached port June 8. On Monday next Victorians will get their Sydney mail of the 15th ult., via California; to-day they will receive their Sydney correspondence up till the 18th—direct.4? The Colonist also carried five columns, nearly a full page, concerning the arrival of the Miowera, an indication of the importance with which the occasion was regarded. Completion of the Canadian Pacific Rail- (44) London Times, September 29, 1893. (45) " R.M.S." was then a term applied to British ships carrying Her Majesty's mails—Royal Mail Steamship. (46) W. Kaye Lamb, " The Pioneer Days of the Trans-Pacific Service," p. 148. (47) Victoria Colonist, June 9, 1893. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 23 way through to Vancouver in 1887, initiation of a rapid postal service across Canada, and establishment of a regular mail and passenger service 'to the Orient were now rounded out by establishment of a fast, direct mail and passenger service to the South Pacific. No longer was British Columbia at a dead end, served only by indirect and irregular communications. She could now claim to be on the " King's Highway." This development induced a feeling of justifiable optimism, of which the welcome was but a symptom. A deputation from the Victoria Board of Trade, as the Chamber of Commerce was then designated, attended at the Outer Wharf to welcome the awaited ship, which duly arrived on the day scheduled. As evidence of the public interest, a crowd of townspeople had gathered. An address of welcome, suitably embellished, " To James Huddart, Esq., managing owner of the Australasian, Sandwich Island and Canadian Steamship Line "48 had been prepared, but since Huddart had not come, it was tendered to F. W. Ward, owner's representative, who had travelled in the ship. In a lengthy and informative speech at a banquet which followed, Ward returned thanks on behalf of Huddart for the hearty welcome and for the address. He related that they had received an equally enthusiastic send-off at the Australian ports; at Sydney by the Premier, Sir George Dibbs, and one of his Ministers and a large crowd; at Brisbane by an even larger crowd. He then furnished some real information on the objectives and hopes of the owners in this undertaking. " We have undertaken a 14-knot contract," he said, adding, " this is the quickest mail service yet contracted for by Australia. The great weekly service conducted conjointly by the P. & O. and the Orient companies, in which about eighteen ships, averaging 6,000 tons are employed, is for a lower speed, and averages, I think, not much more than thirteen knots. So that in engaging to dc fourteen knots, we are ahead of any contract or average in our part of the world. Of course, this will have some effect upon future contracts for the other services. Many of the ships now running between Europe and Australia, ships of the P. & O. Co., the Orient Co., the Messageries Maritimes, and the Nordeucher [sic] Lloyd, are capable of fourteen knot speed and more. . . . The other day the P. & O. Australia averaged 16.3 knots between Brindisi49 . . . and Adelaide, where the mails are landed, (48) This title was evidently invented by the framers of the address, the official title of the line being The Canadian Australian Line. (49) Mail from England was formerly sent overland by rail to Brindisi, on the " heel" of Italy, and thence transferred to liners en route from England for transit via the Suez Canal to Australia and New Zealand. This saved from four to seven days in time. 1 24 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. and this enabled her to deliver her London mails in Sydney in 29 days, and to break the record of the road. I mention this feat because it sharply defines the superiority of the Vancouver route to London. I suppose I may accept the rumour prevalent in Australia, that early in 1895 ... or soon after, Canada will have an Atlantic service ... in ten days. This would, by the route we have travelled, land the mails in Sydney in a few hours less time than was occupied by the Australia's mails. ... I travelled from London to Sydney a year ago in the Oratava an Orient Liner, and an extremely comfortable ship; and I was landed at my destination in forty-three days. Now, forty-three days is too long ... to spend in any ship. The Vancouver route is opened with a twenty-two days [run] from Sydney, or twenty from Brisbane. I venture to say that three weeks will abundantly satisfy the oceanic cravings of human nature, and that no sentiment but one of gratitude will be evoked if the period should be shortened to eighteen or even sixteen days. This, however, is not the only superiority of the national route. I need not enlarge here on the comparison between this and the Suez Canal route in regard to the safe and regular carriage of British mails. Canada, in the great part she has taken in developing this highway in the British Empire, has always emphasized the danger which menaces the Suez Canal. It is a powerful argument and is winning appreciation in Great Britain and in Australasia. Later in his address, Ward added further evidence of preference of the new route via Canada:— . . . the Vancouver route has no tropical terror. Deaths from heat-appo- plexy [sic] are practically unknown on our Pacific. . . . The tropics must be crossed somewhere, and I think this route picks one of the best points on the equatorial belt. You may depend upon it that this will tell in the future upon the traveller's mind. . . . Another great attraction to the tourist should be the interest of the journey through North America. ... I believe it will be possible to assure the leisured, and wearied Australian that he can find pleasure and health on your Pacific Slope.50 Further evidence of the enthusiasm which attended the inauguration of the new line was the civic luncheon tendered to the captain of the Miowera and the representative of her owner on her arrival at Vancouver. The luncheon was attended by all the principal merchants and those interested in transportation and was presided over by Mayor David Oppenheimer, who had long been an ardent advocate of extension of the city's overseas trade connections. In his speech of welcome, which embodied ideas similar to those expressed at the Victoria function, the salient feature was his opening paragraph, in which he said:— I know of no gathering which has taken place in Vancouver since its foundation, which will occupy a more prominent place in its history than the one which (50) Victoria Colonist, June 9, 1893. The wisdom of this pronouncement is borne out by the fact that the Suez Canal was partially closed to mercantile traffic during World Wars I and II. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 25 takes place this evening. . . . The relations created and sustained by trade and commerce constitute, next to kinship, the greatest bond of union which exists in modern history . . . nothing that I can conceive will do so much to bind all our colonies to each other and to the mother country as reciprocal trade conducted on broad and liberal lines.51 Nor was the occasion overlooked in Great Britain. The London Times carried a column relating the benefits and prospects of the new route and continued:— Apart from these material considerations there is the probability that the new service will be the means of establishing a much closer bond between Australia and Canada than has ever existed before. Hitherto direct relations between these parts of the Empire have been practically non-existent as they have been very little in touch with one another. On the vital matter of financial assistance to the route, the Times, however, was far from hopeful:— The Canadian Government have given practical encouragement to the scheme by promising a subsidy of £25,000 a year, and it has been hoped that the various Australian Governments would, between them, give another £20,000; but this point, in view of the present condition of Australian finances, is somewhat doubtful.52 As will be seen when the vital question of subsidies is dealt with, the doubts of the Times were well founded. It will be noted that the report regarding the arrival of the Miowera gave special emphasis to the matter of speed. It is difficult in these days of rapid communication to realize the long delays in the transmission of the mails which formerly were experienced in the Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. It was not until 1845, when the Hudson's Bay Company directed its annual supply ship to Fort Victoria instead of to the Columbia River, that regular communication with Great Britain was initiated. Until then the country west of the Rocky Mountains had to rely for mail on occasional service afforded by such naval and merchant ships as called at Pacific Coast ports.53 After the formation of the Colony of British Columbia in 1858 the British Postmaster-General proposed sending the mails by British steamers across the Atlantic, thence via the Isthmus of Panama to be forwarded by American steamers to San Francisco. Owing to inability to secure good connections with American ships, the mails often lay at Panama as long as two weeks, and the time occupied in (51) Original document in the Vancouver City Archives. (52) London Times, May 16, 1893, p. 4. (53) A. S. Deaville, The Colonial Postal Systems and Postage Stamps of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, 1849-1871, Victoria, 1928, p. 21. (T 26 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. transit by this route from London to Victoria was about fifty-two days.54 This delay at Panama was later avoided by routing the mails by steamer to New York, whence they went forward by American steamers to Colon, operating in close connection with the Pacific steamers to San Francisco, and thence transhipped to Victoria. By this route it took approximately forty-five days for mail to reach Victoria from England.55 As soon as completed, railways were quickly pressed into service. The British Post Office made arrangements with the United States authorities to route the mails arriving by steamer at Halifax or Quebec to St. Louis, Missouri, by rail, whence a regular four-horse coach service operated to San Francisco. The British Consul at San Francisco was charged with arranging for their forwarding to Victoria.56 Evidence of the conditions governing mail transmission in those days is to be found in the following letter from William White, Deputy Postmaster- General, Quebec, to the Postmaster-General in British Columbia, W. R. Spalding, dated August 1, 1863:— Sir, I have the honor to ackg the receipt of your letter No. 57 dated 1st June last. All correspondence from Canada for British Columbia is forwarded by . . . American Packet via Panama and San Francisco. This channel seems to be the best, and indeed the only one now open. I should be glad to be informed more particularly as to the causes of complaint to which you refer, and whether it is supposed that this Department can do anything to remove them. . . .57 The interest consistently evidenced by the British Post Office in improvement of the mail service was not confined to British Columbia. (54) William Smith, The History of the Post Office in British North America, 1639-1870, Cambridge, 1920, p. 323. (55) Ibid., p. 323. (56) Ibid., pp. 302, 323. (57) William S. Boggs, The Postage Stamps and Postal History of Canada, Kalamazoo, 1945, Vol. II, p. 13d. On this point A. S. Deaville, op. cit., p. 148, wrote: "The Victoria and San Francisco Mail steamship service was put under regular contract after advertisement. The contract for a semi-monthly service was awarded to Messrs. Rosenfeldt and Bermingham, of San Francisco, owners of the iron steamer "Prince Alfred," who submitted the lowest offer received—namely $2,250 per round voyage. The " Prince Alfred " commenced her service under the Dominion Government on 15th August, 1871, and continued to perform it for several years. The San Francisco-Victoria service was faithfully maintained by the Dominion Government, in accordance with their undertaking, until 31st March, 1925, although all real necessity for it vanished many years earlier; and a small annual subsidy for its maintenance figured until recently in the public accounts of Canada. It was not utilized for the conveyance of the mails after December, 1904." 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 27 Every effort had been made to establish and improve mails to Australia and New Zealand. A lively interest in the new Canadian-Australian mail route was taken by the General Post Office in London when it became evident that the new route might be regarded as competitive with the Suez routes, not only by reason of its safety in time of war, but in time of transmission of the mails. A contest was arranged by the British Postmaster-General in order to make this test, the new Canadian Australian liner Warrimoo being selected for this purpose, as will be described later. It is evident that the British Post Office had every intention of assisting the newly established "All-Red Route" and of employing it to the utmost. An official notice was issued by the Postmaster-General, February 21, 1894, shortly after the Miowera had returned to the Pacific service after undergoing repairs at New- castle-on-Tyne, to the effect that " mail for Australia and Honolulu would go via Italy unless superscribed ' Via Vancouver' and that all mail for Fiji would go via Vancouver if not directed otherwise." The reason for this decision would probably have been that, at that time, steamers would be available for carrying the mails either via the Suez Canal or via San Francisco, which had been the only available routes prior to that time to which the public had become accustomed. Sailings on these routes were more frequent than those maintained by the two ships of the I All-Red Route." The object of the notice was to call the public's attention to the availability of the route so that they could direct their mail via Vancouver, whenever time would thereby be saved, as indicated by sailing dates. As regards the preference given to the Vancouver route on Fiji mail, the service was " direct " if via Vancouver and thus more speedy than if sent via Suez.58 Reverting to the welcome given the Miowera on her maiden voyage to British Columbia, unfortunately she did not long pursue her course without interruption. On her third voyage north-bound to Vancouver in October, 1893, she met with a mishap which fortunately proved to have been less serious than was originally reported. On the night of October 2 she stranded while entering port at Honolulu. Receipt of the following dispatch from the Associated Press correspondent in Honolulu created considerable worry in Victoria and Vancouver, as would be expected from its wording:— The Canadian Australian ship Miowera is a complete wreck at the mouth of Honolulu harbor. On the night of October 2 she struck heavily on the reef at the (58) London Times, February 22, 1894. 28 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. entrance. Capt. Stott had not waited for a pilot to board his vessel. Almost as soon as the vessel struck, a tug was sent to her assistance, but efforts to get her off were unavailing. The passengers were all asleep at the time but there was no panic. . . . The Miowera swung broadside on the reef. . . . The Provisional Government paid the Oceanic Steamship Company $1,500 to send the steamer Australia to San Francisco ahead of time so that assistance could be sent down by the Mariposa. . . . Passengers and mails were forwarded by the Australia to San Francisco.59 One of the passengers in the Miowera from Sydney to Vancouver on this trip, who settled in Vancouver, was Mr. Kenneth Macrae, Q.C. He was present when the above dispatch was being sent and was among the passengers who went forward to San Francisco on the Australia. He recently told the writer his recollection is that the ship's officers held the opinion that she would be floated within a short time, having sustained only minor damage, and that he had regarded the wording of the dispatch as exaggerated. There were aboard when she stranded forty first-class, and forty forecastle passengers and 300 tons of overland freight. Lloyd's agent at San Francisco went down to Honolulu to superintend operations, and under his guidance the ship was refloated and temporary repairs effected. It is apparent that there was some uncertainty as to the steps to be taken in regard to permanent repairs. Prior to a complete survey in dry-dock it could not be determined whether the damage was such as to necessitate sending the ship back to England or whether the work could be adequately done on the Pacific Coast. In view of the fact that the mail contract called for an uninterrupted service, it was decided to charter a suitable substitute vessel while the Miowera was undergoing whatever repair might be necessary. In the interim she was to be sent to Esquimalt, and Captain Stott, her master, went ahead to make necessary arrangements for her reception. Fortunately a vessel was found to be available, the S.S. Arawa, of the Shaw, Savill Company's New Zealand Direct Line, which was chartered for a minimum of six months and proceeded immediately via Honolulu to Victoria, * arriving there on December 12, 1893, only two months after the Miowera had gone ashore at Honolulu. Captain Stott was on board her and stated to the press that he had been sent to await (59) Victoria Colonist, October 19, 1893. The Australia was a chartered British steamship operated by the Oceanic Steamship Company between San Francisco and Australia. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 29 general instructions and to inspect dry-dock facilities at Esquimalt.60 The Arawa was noted for her fast runs, once making the voyage from London to Wellington in thirty-four days, a record which stood for some time. She was one of the last of the steamships to carry a spread of canvas adequate to permit her taking full advantage of the trade winds. She had triple-expansion engines and a single screw, two funnels, and a clipper bow, which, with her great spread of canvas, made her a beautiful, speedy, and graceful ship.61 The Miowera herself duly arrived at Esquimalt on February 6, 1894, and went into dry-dock. Fortunately the inspection revealed that the damage, while considerable, could be repaired sufficiently to make her able to proceed to the Tyne for general overhaul. The damage was confined principally to her rudder and stern-post. Little repair to her bottom was found necessary other than some fairing of plates.62 This work was completed under the superintendence of Mr. Way, of the London Salvage Association, who had been dispatched from London for that purpose. She sailed from Victoria for England about February 27 and was reported in the London Times as having arrived in the Tyne on April 27, after a run of sixty days, which was considered a good passage for the distance. The primary reason for her voyage to England was probably not for effecting repairs due to the Honolulu stranding, to which no reference was made in the newspaper account:— The steamship Miowera, which was the pioneer of the Canadian-Australian mail service, has arrived in the Tyne . . . having steamed the distance of 14,500 miles in 60 days ... in view of the expected trade developments, is being fitted with refrigerating apparatus capable of dealing with 11,000 carcasses of frozen mutton. There will also be accommodation for the storage of fruit in a chilled condition for transit from the Pacific Islands to both Canada and Australia. . . . On June 23 the Miowera will start on the first of three cruises to Norway, and in August will leave on a round the world cruise, via the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal, prior to again taking up her station on the Pacific service.63 The Miowera, after returning to her regular service, had made several round voyages when, north-bound in May, 1895, she sustained another (60) An interesting item in the Victoria Colonist, December 13, 1893, report of the arrival of the Arawa read: "Greatly to the disappointment of the passengers ... no one could land [at Suva] on account of ... an epidemic of measles [at Sydney] which disease is greatly dreaded in the Fiji Islands, where in 1874 it carried off almost 40,000 natives." (61) Will Lawson, op. cit., pp. 218-219. Lawson is, however, incorrect as to the engines, which were triple expansion. See Lloyd's Register of Shipping, 1893. (62) Victoria Colonist, February 6, 1894. (63) London Times, April 27, 1894. 30 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. accident. Twelve hundred miles off the British Columbia coast a high-pressure piston broke and she was reduced to her low-pressure engines, which provided a bare 5-knot speed. Fortunately the weather held fair, but one day before she reached port she encountered very heavy seas and a full-force gale. The tug Lome, which sighted her at sea off Cape Flattery, reported that " it looked like becoming the fattest salvage prize ever." However, no distress signal was flown nor assistance requested, and she was brought in, under her own steam, to Royal Roads the following day. Owing to her damaged condition she did not enter port at Victoria, the passengers and mail being landed by tender, a rarity at this port. On her run from Royal Roads to Vancouver she was accompanied by the Lome because of the request of her captain, not that her services were required, but merely to reassure the passengers, who naturally were in some cases highly nervous after their rough experience.64 After the above-related mishaps, fortunately none of them of sufficient magnitude to cause more than temporary withdrawal from the regular service, the Miowera settled down to uninterrupted and regular maintenance of her passenger and mail run without further mishap of note, except an arduous and perilous attempt to render assistance to another British ship, a passenger-steamer in dire distress, an incident which caused great alarm at the time. Sailing from Victoria on December 15, 1895, bound for Honolulu and Sydney, the Miowera encountered heavy weather off Cape Flattery. Three days out in the early morning a steamship flying distress signals was sighted in the distance. Closing the vessel this was found to be the steamship Strathnevis, concerning which considerable anxiety existed owing to her non-arrival at Yokohama, at which port she had been due about six weeks earlier. The Strathnevis was a Strath Line (British) vessel, time-chartered, and later purchased, by the Northern Pacific Steamship Company of Tacoma for operation in its Puget Sound- Orient passenger and mail service. Sailing from Tacoma on October 12 with general cargo and 120 passengers, she called at Victoria and there took on an additional forty-five passengers, all Orientals. Seven days after leaving Victoria, about 1,600 miles west of Cape Flattery, her propeller-shaft broke between the stern-post and the boss, the (64) Victoria Colonist, May 14, 1895. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 31 propeller being lost in the sea. Destitute of motive power, other than sails designed for auxiliary use, she had a meagre spread of canvas of less than 1,000 yards. She had been adrift, or partially under sail, for a period of fifty-nine days when the Miowera met her, having made an average of only 18 miles per day eastward in her attempt to return to the Pacific Coast. Her provisions were depleted and no help had been forthcoming. Captain Stott of the Miowera agreed to tow the now badly battered ship back to Victoria. He succeeded in placing two hawsers aboard and also provided necessary stores and provisions, and commenced to tow the disabled vessel. The next day the weather became stormy and on the fifth day the wind reached hurricane proportions. Both the hawsers broke under the strain and both vessels sustained heavy damage. The Miowera stood by during the night, but the following morning the Strathnevis was nowhere in sight and Captain Stott and his officers feared she had gone down. He had no alternative but to resume his delayed voyage, having his ship, his passengers, and, above all, the mails to consider. Reluctant to abandon the vessel in distress he compromised by standing by and making further search for her for the next fifteen hours, after which, to use his own words, " We could do no more." It should here be recorded that the Strathnevis was met the following day by the American steamer Mineola, which took her in tow, the weather in the meantime having considerably improved, and succeeded without difnculty in towing her into safety at Port Townsend, at the entrance to Puget Sound. The owners of the Miowera laid a claim for $150,000 against the owners of the Strathnevis. Likewise, the owners of the Mineola laid a similar claim for the same amount, and submitted that the Miowera had no claim, not having performed an " act of salvage," which implied the bringing of the ship into safety, whereas she had lost contact with the ship, failing to recover her when the hawsers parted. In the subsequent salvage case, decision was based on the principle that compensation may be awarded in such cases where the final act of salvage was made possible only by the prior efforts of another ship. This case was heard at Seattle, Washington, under United States law, but, following usual procedure, British Admiralty Court decisions were cited as authority for the action 32 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. taken.65 Compensation was accordingly apportioned according to the Court's appraisal of the relative value of the services rendered by the respective ships, $26,000 going to the Miowera and $20,500 to the Mineola.66 The Strathnevis salvage case was at the time a cause celebre and is still on occasion cited in Admiralty Court decisions. The salvage of the Strathnevis was of great interest at the time, as there had been considerable anxiety in Vancouver and Victoria in regard to both vessels, the master of the Strathnevis having reported on reaching Port Townsend that after the hawsers parted he had lost sight of the Miowera and feared she had gone down. Doubt was again raised by a telegram received by the Victoria Colonist from its correspondent at Port Townsend stating that " yesterday morning a lifebuoy belonging to the Miowera was found by the Indians on Waddah Island." Tension was not relieved until the arrival at Victoria, about two weeks later, of the Warrimoo, when her master reported having passed the Miowera five hours west of Honolulu on her way to Sydney. He had also picked up at Honolulu letters left there for him by the master of the Miowera which fully reported on his attempted salvage of the Strathnevis. It thus became known that both ships were safe and sound.67 Warrimoo The second steamship of the new Canadian Australian Line, the Warrimoo, arrived at Victoria on her first voyage on July 8, 1893.68 Like her sister ship, the Miowera, she was built by C. S. Swan & Hunter Limited at Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1892 for James Huddart's Australian and New Zealand Shipping Company, designed for operation in the intercolonial trade between Australia and New Zealand. She was slightly larger than the Miowera, being 3,528 gross tons as compared with 3,393. Her speed, however, was fully equal to that of the Miowera, both having triple-expansion engines of 4,500 i.h.p. Competition of these two speedy ships called for the employment of the fastest steamers of the (65) " The Admiralty courts of England and the United States consider salvage a matter governed by the common law of nations, and exercise jurisdiction even in cases where both ships are foreign, if one of them is salved." C. J. Colombos, The International Law of the Sea, London, 1954, pp. 265-266. (66) Victoria Colonist, November 4, 1896. (67) Ibid., May 14, July 9, November 16, 28, and 29, 1895. Cf. also the judgment of C. H. Hanford, Seattle, Wash., quoted in the Victoria Colonist, November 4, 1896. (68) Ibid., July 9, 1893. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 33 Union Company, its Rotomahana racing against the Warrimoo and its Mararoa against the Miowera. It is reported that running the Warrimoo at her fastest possible speed was found to be detrimental to her engines, there being a certain weakness which affected her boiler tubes, not noticeable at normal speed, but when she was driven hard the tubes leaked, and eventually the racing had to be given up.69 However, the Canadian mail contract called for only 14 knots, which the engines of the Warrimoo provided with ease and smoothness. An interesting note regarding her first visit to Victoria was an announcement, given to the press, that an experiment was being made on this run in regard to the time of transmission of the mails. The mail which had left London on May 19 for Australia arrived there per S.S. Himalaya on the morning of June 17, 1893. The Warrimoo sailed for Vancouver the evening of the same day, time being afforded, at the request of the Postmaster-General, for correspondents to reply to their London letters which came in the Himalaya. This mail arrived at Victoria and was forwarded by the Canadian Pacific Railway from Vancouver the next day, July 9. It was hoped that a rapid run across the continent would be made so that a connection could be made with a fast Atlantic steamer to enable the mail to reach England, bearing replies to the letters dated May 19 well within sixty days from their dispatch from London. The newspaper reference to this interesting announcement was I around the world in sixty days."70 No information is available as to the time of the arrival in London of this mail, but there is little doubt that it would have arrived in time to set up a new record. The fact that St. Martin's-le-Grand, the London headquarters of the British Post Office Department, had thought it desirable to plan and publicize this demonstration of the rapidity of the new service is an indication of the importance attached to the new direct mail route. Not only did it provide rapid, direct "All-Red " service via Canada to Australia, but, in addition, it was hoped that it would prove a reliable substitute, especially in case of war or its threat, for the Suez Canal route. The Warrimoo was more fortunate than her opposite number in successfully avoiding the series of mishaps and diversions which beset the Miowera. Only one such accident is reported as having occurred to her on this side of the Pacific during the first years of her operation in the Vancouver service. This was in 1895, about two years after she (69) Will Lawson, op. cit., p. 126. (70) Victoria Colonist, July 9, 1893. 34 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. had entered the service. On August 9, inbound from the south, she went on a reef on the southern shore of Vancouver Island, about 4 miles north-west of Carmanah Point. She floated off at high tide and proceeded to Victoria the next day. On her arrival the following details were reported. There was fog at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and speed was reduced. Carmanah Lighthouse was sighted and breakers were heard ahead. Running dead slow, the fog having thickened, she touched on Sea Lion Reef, a point usually given a wide berth. Water ballast was pumped out of forward compartments, lightening the bow, the ship then swinging around on to the ledge. One hour later she swung clear of the ledge on the rising tide but drifted on to rocks alongside and astern. Unable to clear, she was soon aground with the falling tide, and took a list. The first officer went ashore to telegraph to Victoria for assistance. However, she finally got free and made Victoria under her own steam.71 An indefatigable marine reporter, intent on getting a real story, secured the following from one of the junior officers:— One of the officers stated that " several fishermen visited the stranded steamer . . . to cheer the officers . . . with the information that they were on the worst spot on the entire coast, and also gave the passengers pleasure by assuring them that the woods were full of panthers—great, fierce animals, as large as tigers and fully as ferocious all of which was duly recorded in numerous notebooks and diaries."72 It is to be hoped that this lurid description of the fauna of Vancouver Island was not in fact delivered to the passengers, most of whom would have been in a nervous condition because of the danger in which the vessel found herself. It is more probable that the above was merely an example of the propensity of the Australasian sailor to indulge in the sport colloquially known as " leg-pulling." The water-fronts of Vancouver and Victoria over the years have keenly enjoyed many such playful reports.73 Such information given to passengers on a liner already (71) Victoria Colonist, August 10,1895. (72) Ibid., August 11, 1895. (73) Assignment of a suitable nickname for a ship or an officer is one of their favourite pastimes, such as " Weary Mary," the name by which the Miowera was widely known. They also dubbed the C.P.R. coasting ship Princess Louise "Princess Lousy"—a most unfair and inaccurate cognomen. Even the officers of the Australian and New Zealand ships are noted for their sense of humour. The late Captain J. D. S. Phillips, genial and well-beloved senior officer of the line, delighted in titillating passengers with numerous similar whimsies. But there is no place for such reminiscences in a historical review, notwithstanding the fact that impressions and memories of a pleasant sea voyage constitute a valuable 1956 The "All-Red Route,'* 1893-1953 35 ashore would be very bad advertising, which the Chamber of Commerce would resent equally with the shipping company. The damage sustained by the Warrimoo in this accident turned out to be quite extensive. Lloyd's and other surveyors examined the vessel as soon as she was in dry-dock at Esquimalt and found severe damage to the plates forward, which were badly battered and bent Amidships a number of the plates had been pierced by rock pinnacles. There was considerable inrush of water, but the pumps had prevented further rising. One propeller blade had about 10 inches broken from the tip and other blades were slightly damaged. The surveyors regarded it as a lucky escape and considered that local repairs, adequate to permit her making her return voyage to Sydney for permanent repairs, could quickly be made. This was done and the vessel proceeded to Vancouver on August 19 to complete discharge of cargo and to take on passengers and cargo for Sydney. An official preliminary mquiry had been held in Victoria by Captain James Gaudin. appointed by the Dominion Government His finding stated that the accident occurred by reason of dense fog completely obscuring the shore-line. Reliance had been placed on charts available to the vessel at Sydney, which were out of date and did not show the correct depths at the point where the stranding occurred. Captain R. E. ArundeH, first officer, who had served as commander on this voyage, was absolved from all blame and his certificate was returned to him. In addition, he was commended for Ms good seamanship in handling the ship after she grounded. It was noted that the 1888 edition of the British Columbia Pilot, official handbook issued by the Government, did not record the soundings, which were made subsequent to its issue and were known only to local navigators.''4 On her return trip to Sydney after her stranding, sailing from Vancouver about August 24, the Warrimoo carried a distinguished passenger in the person of Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, the famous humourist and author, who was on the first leg of a world- encircling voyage which provided material for one of his books entitled factor in the popularity of a passenger-liner. The very reverse of such influence is shown in regard to Mark Twain's voyage in the Warrimoo recorded herein. Any ship having Captain Phillips as master was a 5 happy ship " by unanimous opinion of both passengers and crew. His initials are a mark of his salty origin—his father was master of the ship John Duthey in which Phillips was born when the ship was in Sydney—hence John Duthey Sydney Phillips. (74) Victoria Colonist, August 18, 1895. 36 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. Following the Equator. Interviewed at Vancouver before embarking, he told reporters that he was very glad to hear of the accident which had befallen the Warrimoo. "He was looking ... ," he said, " for ... a ship with the rock habit . . . and one which never allowed such mishaps to disconcert her, but always got off again."75 As a professional humourist he had to make a joke about everything, it was expected of him and he catered to it, as will be seen in the references he made to his voyage in the Warrimoo. As if in confirmation of what we have noted in regard to the propensity of Australian and New Zealand sailors to indulge in jocularity, he related:— Sept. 5. Closing in on the equator this noon. A sailor explained to a young girl that the ship's speed is poor because we are climbing up the bulge toward the center of the globe; but that when we should once get over, at the equator, and start down-hill, we should fly. When she asked him the other day what the foreyard was, he said that it was the front yard, the open area in the front end of the ship. One of the tales he related illustrates both his wit and his propensity to exaggerate in order to make a good story:— Along about the moment that we were crossing the Great Meridian a child was born in the steerage, and now there is no way to tell which day it was born on. The nurse thinks it was Sunday, the surgeon thinks it was Tuesday. . . . There is an enormously rich brewer in the ship who said as much as ten days ago, that if the child was born on his birthday he would give it ten thousand dollars to start its little life with. His birthday was Monday, the 9th. . . . In his unfamiliarity with the I mysteries " of the International Date-line, Twain missed a golden opportunity to improve on his yarn. Had the vessel been going in the opposite direction, eastward instead of westward, the infant might have had excellent luck, for had the ship reached the meridian on a Monday, there would have been a second Monday the next day and the infant could have claimed a double indemnity. The point in introducing the above irrelevant items into a relation of the history of the line is that the publicity gained by having on board an author of such wide esteem throughout the English-speaking world could have been of considerable advantage to the line. A book by Mark Twain could have brought the company to the attention of thousands of potential passengers, but as it was they remained ignorant not only of the existence of the line but also of the beauties and the pleasures of the route it followed. Reading his book, it is not apparent that the line did anything at all to impress Mark Twain, leaving him to his own resources, (75) Vancouver News-Advertiser, August 20, 1895. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 37 which produced naught but incidental and inconsequential stories together with a number of comments highly uncomplimentary to the management of the ship, such as:— The ladies' dresses were constantly getting ruined, nevertheless protests and supplications went for nothing. . . . [The deck washers] send a bucket of water slashing along the side of the ship and into the ports, drenching the passenger's clothes, and often the passenger himself. . . . [We] sat down on our steamer chairs contented and at peace. But they went to wreck and ruin under us and brought us to shame before all the passengers. They had been furnished by the largest furniture-dealing house in Victoria, and were worth a couple of farthings a dozen, though they had cost us the price of honest chairs. ... In the Pacific . . . one must still bring his own deck-chair on board or go without, just as in the old forgotten Atlantic times—those Dark Ages of sea travel. . . . Ours was a reasonably comfortable ship . . . plenty of good food furnished by the Deity and cooked by the devil. . . . The ship was not very well arranged for tropical service. . . . She had an over-supply of cockroaches . . . also the rule with ships doing business in the summer seas.76 Twain's own motto, invented by himself, was: " Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize it." It is well to bear that in mind when reading his caustic comments on the ship and its ways. On arrival at Sydney the Warrimoo was completely overhauled and the damage fully repaired. Every effort was made to have the work done so that she could resume her run with the least possible delay. During the three weeks in dry-dock, work was continued day and night whilst the sixty-five plates and several frames were removed and straightened. The repairs amounted to approximately $125,000, or about 30 per cent of the original building cost. By October 21 the Warrimoo was ready to resume service, and she sailed from Sydney with Captain Bird, her regular commander, on the bridge, reaching Victoria on November 12.77 After operating the service with the two pioneer vessels for a period of four years it had become obvious that an additional vessel was neces- (76) Samuel L. Clemens, Following the Equator, New York, 1897, pp. 16, 67, 68, and 89. (77) Victoria Colonist, November 13, 1895. A noteworthy passenger on the north-bound run which ended with the above-mentioned accident was the Honourable J. G. Ward, Treasurer of New Zealand. He stated at Victoria that he had submitted a report to his Government on his recent visits to Canada and the United Kingdom, and he was very hopeful of increased interchange of commerce between New Zealand and Canada by reason of recently made tariff concessions. He also said that if speedier vessels were provided, New Zealand would probably offer a substantial subsidy to the line to make a call at New Zealand ports. Ibid., August 13, 1895. 1 38 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. sary in order to provide and maintain a four-weekly service, and also to meet contract requirements. At this juncture an important change took place in the name and ownership of the mail line. James Huddart had been the owner of the two vessels, and these were operated on a contract basis with the Governments of Canada and New South Wales. The service had hitherto been called the " Canadian Australian Mail Line," this being the name of the line and not of the company operating it. With the acquisition of an additional steamer it was necessary for financial reasons to incorporate a new company and this was done under the name " The Canadian Australian Royal Mail Steamship Company." Incorporated in London, England, in March, 1897, the new company had a capitalization of £250,000. The effect of this new organization on the development of the service will be discussed later herein. Negotiations between Huddart and the New Zealand Shipping Company Limited, an English company, resulted in the purchase by the new company (shares in which were divided equally between Huddart and the New Zealand Shipping Company) of a passenger-steamer deemed suitable for the Pacific service. Aorangi I This vessel had been built thirteen years previously.78 She had been operated in the direct service between the United Kingdom and New Zealand, for which she had been specially designed. Built in 1883 by John Elder & Company of Fairfield, on the Clyde, one of five steamships built for the New Zealand Shipping Company, she had accommodation for 80 first class, 80 second class, and 250 third class, and additional space in the 'tween decks. She was described as providing " a scale of living immensely superior to anything which sailing-ships could offer."79 She was a handsome vessel with yacht-like lines, clipper stem, and single funnel. Her gross tonnage when built was 4,268 tons; length, 389 feet; and beam, 46 feet. Her compound engines were 4,000 h.p., although these were changed when she was refitted later for the Vancouver service. The Aorangi sailed from Plymouth on her maiden voyage in December, 1883, and for fourteen years was operated in the "New Zealand (78) This vessel was the first of that name and should not be confused with the second Aorangi, a motor-ship, which was the last ship in the service and was withdrawn in May, 1953. (79) J. H. Isherwood, "New Zealand Liner 'Aorangi,'" Sea Breezes, X (1950), p. 300. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 39 Direct" service. It is noteworthy that the New Zealand Shipping Company at that time operated its service via the Cape of Good Hope to New Zealand, the home-bound run being via Cape Horn. This round- the-world route continued until the Panama Canal was opened,80 August 15, 1914. The Aorangi had made thirty-two of these globe- encircling voyages for the New Zealand Shipping Company, involving some 800,000 miles of travel, at the time she was acquired by the new company for the "All-Red Route." In 1896, on arrival at New Zealand, she ended her service for the New Zealand Shipping Company and was turned over to Huddart for the new company. To make her more suitable for the Sydney-Vancouver trade, she had to be extensively refitted, and she went home in ballast to C. S. Swan & Hunter, on the Tyne, to be altered and re-engined. Rapid improvement in marine engines then emerging made it appear advisable to take out her compound engines, which had served well but had an unduly heavy consumption of coal, a very unsatisfactory feature for the Pacific trade. In their place were installed the new triple-expansion type. Steam pressure was raised from 110 pounds in her original three boilers to 180 in four new boilers, and engines of 4,950 i.h.p. replaced the original 4,000-h.p. set. Passenger accommodation, which had met the requirements of the emigrant trade from England, was torn out and new quarters on a more modern scale installed for 100 first-class and 50 second-class passengers.81 All yards and gaffs were removed, and she was given a new funnel about 10 feet taller than the old one, to comply with the then current fashion in funnels, which has changed, strange to say, continuously, so that a ship can be " dated " within a few years by the shape and size of her funnels. What is more important, her fuel consumption was far more economical with her new engines and boilers, and on her trials she steamed an easy 15 knots, the mail subsidy contract calling only for 14. (80) The New Zealand Shipping Company formerly had operated sailing- ships in its service between England and New Zealand. They were routed southbound to New Zealand via the Cape of Good Hope and north-bound to England via Cape Horn. The probable reason for this course was that in the high southern latitudes the prevailing winds throughout the year are from the west. The early steamships used their sailing power whenever the wind served, and, therefore, when the steamships replaced the sailing-ships, they still took advantage of this route. When the Panama Canal was opened for traffic the course was changed to it on the north-bound voyage. (81) Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd. to the writer, June 30, 1954, and J. H. Isherwood, loc. cit. 40 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. George L. Courtney, Victoria agent for the Canadian Pacific Railway, which under the agreement acted as agents for the Canadian Australian Royal Mail Steamship Company Limited, received a cable advising of the sailing of the Aorangi from Melbourne, stating that her passenger list included twenty saloon and twenty steerage passengers for Vancouver and Victoria, ten and ten for Portland and Puget Sound, ten saloon passengers for San Francisco, and fifty and ten for overland points—in all a total of ninety saloon and forty steerage passengers. She was therefore not fully booked for this voyage, but it was not unexpected, as none of the vessels of the line had so far succeeded in selling all their accommodation. The Victoria Colonist commented: "Her passenger list is the biggest any ship of the line has ever had ... it looks as though the line has at last won its deserved European-Australian passenger business, and as though the placing of the Aorangi in the line had something to do with it."82 The reconditioned Aorangi entered her new service and arrived at Victoria, June 7, 1897.83 The tone of this comment indicated the disappointing volume so far experienced. While definite statistics of the number of passengers, mail, and cargo carried by the line in this period are not available, it is quite evident from statements made by Huddart or his representatives from time to time that the volume of business in all departments was below expectations. Huddart told inquirers in Victoria during a visit that he hoped an improvement could be looked for as better knowledge was secured of the available commodities in both countries which could with advantage be exchanged between Canada and Australia and as the advantages of the passenger route came to be recognized. Unfortunately that hope was not achieved by Huddart. In point of fact, his company was facing defeat. Heavy financial obligations, including payment of the cost of the Aorangi conversion—£40,000 was considered a goodly sum in those days—coupled with unsatisfactory returns from operation of the three steamers placed the company in a shaky position. This critical point in the existence of the "All-Red Route" discloses the difficulties which confronted the indomitable pioneer, James Huddart, culminating in a complete breach between him and the New Zealand Shipping Company and the consequent downfall of his hopes. (82) Victoria Colonist, May 14, 1897. (83) Ibid., June 8, 1897. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 41 Huddart's Failure A few months after the Aorangi came into service, application was made in the English courts by the New Zealand Shipping Company Limited, as the principal creditor, for a " winding-up order " of the so recently registered Canadian Australian Royal Mail Steamship Company Limited.84 A proper understanding of the nature of the difficulties which had arisen between Huddart and his creditors is clearly reached by quotation from the London Times, which reported fully on the meeting of creditors and shareholders held under the chairmanship of the official receiver in London immediately following the issuance of the order for winding up the company. Announcement of the order had given rise to considerable criticism in Australia, Huddart having accused his creditors of wrecking his company and of having acted unfairly. Any such suggestion must have arisen from Huddart's great disappointment on the financial failure of his cherished scheme, but a perusal of the financial statement officially submitted to the meeting of the creditors dispels the validity of any such charge. A summary of the Times report is as follows:— The company was registered on March 17, 1897, and down to that date Messrs. James Huddart and Co. had carried on business between Sydney and Vancouver with two steamers, the Warrimoo and the Miowera. These vessels cost £150,000 in 1892, and this was the price at which the company acquired them. Messrs. James Huddart and Co. received £60,000 in shares, this representing the margin of £40,000 over the mortgage on the vessels (£110,000), and £20,000 for the goodwill. The reason for the company's formation was that it was desired to add a new steamer to the line, negotiations having been carried on for the purchase from the New Zealand Shipping Company Limited by the proposed company of one of their steamships. Eventually the Aorangi was acquired, this vessel having thirteen years previously cost £127,426. It was acquired by the company for £35,000, and the New Zealand Shipping Company provided £37,850, making a total of £72,850. The New Zealand Company received £60,000 in shares, and remained creditors for the balance of £12,850. The total share capital was £120,000, and was divided between the New Zealand Shipping Company and Messrs. James Huddart and Co., and, with the exception of £2,000, the shares were now in the hands of the original holders. The service of steamers was initiated by Messrs. James Huddart and Co., and Mr. James Huddart had procured subsidies from the Governments of Canada, New South Wales, New Zealand and a small subsidy from Fiji. Messrs. Huddart and Co. were appointed managers of the (84) London Times, February 23, 1898. The compulsory winding-up order was made against the Canadian Australian Royal Mail Steamship Company Limited on the petition of the New Zealand Shipping Company and the Official Receiver was appointed provisional liquidator. 42 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. company, and under an agreement were to be paid 7 per cent, on the gross earnings. The board consisted of two nominees of the New Zealand Shipping Company and Messrs. Huddart and Co. and Mr. Hunter as representing the mortgagees [C. S. Swan and Hunter Ltd.] to the extent of £110,000. From the beginning the company had no working capital whatever. The Aorangi left England in March, 1897, with ballast only, the result being that a heavy indebtedness was created. After her arrival she had to undergo considerable alterations, and altogether the loss amounted to £67,000. No definite arrangement seemed to have been made as to which of the shareholders should provide the working capital, and in August and September last the managers began to press the New Zealand Shipping Company for monetary assistance. The latter replied, through their representatives, that they insisted on having accounts. The question of accounts had apparently been a bone of contention between the parties throughout. It seemed that under the agreement the managers were bound to supply general and voyage accounts, but up to the date of the winding-up order only one voyage account had been supplied. ... At the present time he (the chairman) was not in possession of materials sufficient to enable him to give the results of the company's trading, but he gathered from the latest figures supplied that a deficiency had arisen during the ten months of no less than £41,000. There was no doubt whatever that the business of the company had been conducted at an enormous loss, but until proper accounts were furnished it would be impossible to find exact figures. The New Zealand Shipping Company alleged that there was a deficiency of £63,474.85 Huddart, who was present at the proceedings, received permission to address the meeting, which he did at considerable length. The purport of his remarks was that when the accounts were finally completed it would be shown that the deficit would not be anything like as large as alleged. The Times reported that the meeting became somewhat unruly, which perhaps may be readily understood, since the principals were at (85) Ibid. The position in regard to the actual liability of Huddart and of the New Zealand Shipping Company was not made very clear in this Times account. It appears that the Warrimoo and the Miowera were built in 1892 by C. S. Swan & Hunter, Wallsend-on-Tyne, to the order of James Huddart, and were engined by the Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Company Limited. The purchase price was payable in cash during construction and the balance over a period of three years from the completion of each ship, and the security given to the builders was " by mortgage on the steamers, with policies of insurance endorsed in their favour." The Aorangi, then owned by the New Zealand Shipping Company, arrived at the Wallsend shipyard in 1896 for extensive hull repairs by C. S. Swan & Hunter, and she was at the same time fitted with new boilers and new triple-expansion engines by the Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Company. The cost of all this was in the region of £40,000, and although some part of this amount was paid after completion of the trial trip on March 1, 1897, the records do not state that a mortgage was given in favour of the builders in respect of these repairs. Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Limited to the writer, June 30, 1954, and Isherwood, loc. cit. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 43 such variance in their statements. In order to publicize his side of the question, Huddart had an interview with the Times a few days later, in the course of which he stated:— . . . that the ninth Pacific voyage was not completed at the time of the filing of the petition, and the sum of £63,474 represents approximately the whole of the expenditure on those voyages (without giving credit for any revenue) with the exception of the structural alterations to the Aorangi He adds that the first Pacific voyage was begun in April last, and the loss on the trading of the company for the year ending next April will be found to be nominal, if any, excluding structural alterations to the Aorangi, and interest and depreciation.86 The winding-up order having already been issued, such submission could have no effect and Huddart had no further control over the company or the ships. The New Zealand Shipping Company, limited, the principal creditor, was the liquidator and took over management of the line. In the meantime, steps had been taken by this company, which was an English company with head offices in London, to arrange for the service to continue. Burns, Philp & Company, an Australian company engaged in the coastal shipping trade, were appointed general agents for the line in Australia, and the Canadian end of the traffic remained in the hands of the Canadian Pacific Railway as provided under the agreement with Huddart. Under this arrangement the line continued its normal operations, and there was no break in the service so far as sailings were concerned. There is evidence that the New Zealand Shipping Company, while desiring to liquidate the affairs of the defunct company, would have preferred to have the service pass into the hands of someone in a position to assume the obligations of the contracts and carry on the service, as well as payment of the outstanding liabilities. It so happened that developments were at that time taking place elsewhere which were to have a basic effect on the situation. Shortly after Huddart's company went into liquidation the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand found itself in an impossible position in regard to the San Francisco-trans-Pacific mail and passenger service which it had operated jointly with the Oceanic Company and was forced to abandon it and withdraw its steamers. It thus was opportune for the two parties to discuss means for acquisition by the Union Company of the property and assets of the Canadian Australian Line. Negotiations were entered into, the outcome being the purchase in 1901 by the Union Company of a majority share of the assets of the defunct company. Later it completed the purchase of the Miowera in (86) London Times, February 28, 1898. 44 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. 1908 and the Aorangi in 1910, thus becoming sole proprietor of the line. The outstanding contracts and agency agreements also were continued.87 This brings us to the point where the mail and passenger service established by Huddart passed fully into the hands of the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand. Trans-Atlantic Connections Before describing the development of the Canadian-Australian service under the new regime, it is advisable to take a brief objective view of the wider field—the Atlantic part of the "All-Red Route " and its connection between Canada and Great Britain. It is sometimes wondered why the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, which had shown such enthusiasm for the establishment of a fast mail and passenger line from the Pacific Coast to China and Japan, did not also enter the Australian and New Zealand trade. Nor did it take advantage of the opportunity to acquire Huddart's defunct company and operate the service.88 The necessity of firmly establishing its Oriental service and of maintaining it in the face of increasing and intensive competition from American ports was a matter of prime importance. When, in the early 1880's, an all-British mail route from the United Kingdom across the Atlantic, connecting by rail across Canada with a steamship line from the coast of British Columbia across the Pacific to Australia was first mooted, Lord Strathcona designated it as " the British Highway between Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia."89 The Canadian Pacific, as far back as 1885, had contemplated placing a line of fast steamers on the Vancouver-Sydney run. The company took no definite action, being then fully occupied with the completion of its transcontinental railway. When the rails reached the Pacific Coast at Port Moody in 1885, the matter was still under consideration, and on completion of the line to Vancouver in 1887 the decision was reached that no definite scheme could at that time be evolved. The company's Vancouver- Orient service was then developing rapidly, and plans for a company- owned fleet of liners for that service, which until 1891 was operated with chartered ships, fully occupied its attention. (87) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 42. (88) For a history of the establishment of the Canadian Pacific Oriental service see W. Kaye Lamb, " Pioneer Days of the Trans-Pacific Service," British Columbia Historical Quarterly, I (1937), pp. 143-164. (89) Will Lawson, op. cit., p. 226. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 45 In London, in 1890, however, a proposal was entertained by a syndicate for floating a company to be named the Imperial Steam Navigation Company, having as its objective the fast carriage of mail on both oceans and across Canada. For this relatively slow service, compared with the San Francisco Line, the Australian and New Zealand Governments were asked to pay a mail subsidy of £80,000 a year. This they declined to do and the idea came to nothing.90 Although it is not actually pertinent to this history, which is concerned solely with the operations of the Canadian-Australasian service, it is necessary to bear in mind that Huddart, in his original concept, had planned to provide, as an essential fink in the service, a fast passenger and mail line operating between Great Britain and the Atlantic Coast of Canada. A study of his efforts to secure financial aid from both the British and Canadian Governments leaves no doubt whatever that his Atlantic and Pacific plans were closely integrated. His correspondence with Sir John Thompson, the Prime Minister of Canada, and with Sir Mackenzie Bowell, the Minister of Trade and Commerce, shows that he was fully backed by them when he commenced negotiations with the British Government and that he relied greatly on their support. After conferring with the former in Ottawa, and upon the eve of his departure for England, he sent Sir John the following telegram from Montreal:— 17 July, 1894. Leaving for New York and England with determination give Canada her fast line and the Empire an Imperial steamship service relying upon your continued confidence and encouragement. Au revoir.9! A voluminous letter-writer and fully confident in the success of his plans, Huddart called them to the attention of high-ranking members of the British Government, amongst whom were the Prime Minister, Lord Rosebery, and the Postmaster-General, the Right Honourable Arnold Morley. He advised the latter:— The Government of the Dominion of Canada are most anxious to secure the establishment of a line of swift steamships on the Atlantic running from an English port direct to a Canadian port. ... To this end the Dominion Government is prepared to give a large subsidy, and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company ... are also most anxious to see this Atlantic Line established. . . .92 (90) Will Lawson, op. cit., pp. 227-228. (91) Sir John Thompson Papers, Public Archives of Canada. (Photostat in the Archives of British Columbia.) (92) Huddart to Morley, November 6, 1893, ibid. 46 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. Huddart's proposal soon became a matter of public interest, and the London Times received letters doubting its practicability. These were principally from parties already interested in operating a service to Canada or prospective competitors seeking government support. Huddart could not resist the impulse to reply to these arguments, and not always in terms calculated to attract the support of the general public.93 A factor that Huddart could not have foreseen was the effect that a change in the Government of Canada might produce. Tenders for the fast Atlantic steamers were received shortly before the election of June, 1896, and the new Laurier Government naturally decided to reserve action pending a full examination of all phases of the proposal, which by that time had become a contentious and uncertain matter in England. But Huddart, evidently still hoping eventually to secure the requisite financial support for his Atlantic scheme, nevertheless went ahead with his Canadian-Australasian plans, purchased and refitted the Aorangi and formed his new company in 1897.94 The foregoing is an condensed description of the situation, but Huddart himself had something to say regarding this affair. This ambitious plan was not just a whim. We have in his own words his opinion that he, and he only, had devised a solution for creating an all-British route for mails and passengers, and that its rejection by the British Government was unwarranted. In a lengthy letter to the London Times in June, 1897, he bitterly criticized a counter-proposal of this nature. He bluntly stated his right to receive prior attention, and accused the firm concerned of having " jumped his claim," concluding with an affirmation of his confidence in himself:— I was, I say, invited to be present at the Ottawa Conference to give information and to assist in this imperial work. ... I claim to be peculiarly fitted for this work. . . . My belief is that if Canada is to receive this fast Atlantic service she will receive it through me, or it will be deferred indefinitely.95 It is quite apparent that Huddart's outburst of indignation was due to chagrin. As he disclosed in the above-mentioned letter, his invitation to the Conference was based upon the promise of financial support from competent sources, including hope of a substantial subsidy from the British Government. His failure to secure a contract may have (93) See J. & A. Allan to the Editor, London Times, August 11, 1894; and Huddart to the Editor, ibid., August 14, 1894. (94) For a detailed record of the establishment of the mail and passenger service between the United Kingdom and Canada see F. C. Bowen, op. cit. (95) London Times, June 7, 1897. James Huddart. Sir James Mills, (Courtesy Union Steam Ship Companv of New Zealand.) r Maheno. (Courtesy C. F. Timms, Vancouver.) Moana at the dock, Vancouver. (Courtesy Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand.) Manuka. ■■■■■■■ (Courtesy the Peabody Museum of Salem.) 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 47 prompted his financial backers to withdraw their assistance, including that which had been promised for extension of his trans-Pacific service. It is not difficult to comprehend his dismay when the proposal for a trans-Atlantic line—a vital link in his "All-Red " chain—was definitely rejected. Although he does not specifically refer to it in his letter, he must have realized that the implied lack of confidence in his ability as an organizer and operator would probably induce a similar attitude in the upholders of his Canadian-Australasian project. Without a thorough knowledge of his financial affairs it is difficult to judge, but the fact that within a short time—eight months—application for liquidation of the London company, owners of the three steamships employed in the Pacific route, was made by his principal creditors, indicates that such may have been the case. There is ample evidence that Huddart had studied the possibilities, and was fully aware of the importance, from an Imperial point of view, of the Pacific route for mails. Having on his hands two steamers, built at considerable cost for the highly competitive trade between Australia and New Zealand, he decided to bring to a head his scheme to establish at least the Pacific section of the "All- Red Route." His failure was indeed a tragedy and was generally considered to have been responsible for his death shortly thereafter. James Huddart, the Man What was the background of this man, whose energy and foresight fostered and brought into being the Canadian Australian Line? There can be no question that the "All-Red Route " was an important factor in the development of our overseas trade and a more neighbourly understanding with our sister Dominions in the South Pacific. In all probability these connections would later have been made, but, at the time, there was no one but Huddart who had the temerity, courage, and enterprise to embark on ih& venture. Truly he sowed and we have reaped. James Huddart was born in England in 1847 at Whitehaven, Cumberland, and went to Australia in 1860, where he was taken into the coal and coastwise shipping enterprise of his uncle, Captain Peter Huddart, at Geelong. A few years later, on his uncle's retirement, the young man had to assume management. In 1876 he joined with T. J. Parker and two others in forming Huddart, Parker & Company, a private company in which each of the four partners held an equal share. In 1878 their office was removed to Melbourne. The business 4 48 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. expanded, seven steamers being employed in their coal and coastwise trade. Huddart became general manager in 1886. Two years later the company was incorporated as Huddart, Parker & Company Limited. By the early nineties its ships were running to New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), and Tasmania, and in 1893 to New Zealand as well. Huddart had long been interested in the idea of an "All-Red Route," and in 1893 decided to grasp the opportunity which then presented. Unfortunately the undertaking did not prosper, due in large degree to circumstances beyond his control, and his worries and anxieties wore him down. After a few days' illness, he died at Eastbourne, England, on February 27, 1901. His name is preserved in that of the company which he helped to form—Huddart, Parker & Company Limited— which, although taking no part in his trans-Pacific enterprise, gave Huddart the experience in ship operating and management which enabled him to put to practical use his remarkable energy and foresight. At the time of his death, Huddart, Parker & Company had reached its jubilee, and from a report issued in commemoration thereof it is clear that under his management it had prospered. It had become an important ship owning and operating company with a working capital of well over £1,000,000 and large reserves.96 Huddart was a man possessed of an unusual personality. He may, as the Times notice at the time of his death suggested, "' have played for higher stakes than his means allowed' but he was no mere speculator; he was imbued with aspirations for the consolidation of the British Empire, and though he may have been in advance of his time he was nevertheless a great pioneer in colonial progress."97 The editor of Sea Breezes, a well- known Liverpool shipping monthly, described him: " A stout Imperialist who ruined himself and drove himself to a premature grave through following a loyal ideal."98 With the sincerity of that epitaph one must agree—to James Huddart must go the credit for establishment of the "All-Red Route," which, in other hands, was developed to form a valuable asset in the progress of Canada and the Empire. (96) The company is still in operation, and according to Lloyd's Register, 1956-57, owns and operates a fleet of eleven steamships totalling over 36,000 gross tons. (97) Percival Serle, Dictionary of Australian Biography, Sydney, 1949, Vol. I, p. 460. (98) "A Link of Commonwealth," Sea Breezes, XVI (1953), p. 11. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 49 Sir James Mills It has long been felt that James Huddart has hitherto not received due recognition in Canada. The opportunity of placing him in proper perspective has been welcomed. In doing so it is natural that one should recognize that Huddart's pioneer effort would have been of no avail had there not been someone able and willing to carry through the plans which Huddart had so energetically initiated and to bring them to full fruition and success. Fortunately the man was available in the person of James Mills. He was born in 1847 in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of a Civil Servant, William Mills, Collector of Customs. In the 1850's and 1860's communication between the several Provinces of New Zealand and Australia was mainly by small sailing- vessels. During the following decade small coasting steamers were beginning to establish more or less regular local services, and in one of these infant shipping companies young Mills secured employment. His employer, John Jones, died in 1869, and the far-seeing James Mills, with assistance, formed a new company which purchased Jones's two small steamers. Within a short time, under the original name of the company—The Harbour Steam Company—he expanded the business, carrying freight between near-by coastal ports. In 1873 he endeavoured to interest the necessary capital to provide larger vessels for a wider service, but was at first unsuccessful. A year later, having secured the financial backing of friends who recognized his ability, he set out for Great Britain. In Glasgow he was introduced to Peter Denny, of Denny Brothers, who not only undertook to build the steamships, but also to take shares in them. Thus began the long association of this now famous Clyde ship-building firm with the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, for whom during the next thirty years they built more than thirty ships. The enterprising young man saw that an amalgamation of rival interests in the New Zealand coastal trade could be of advantage to all. Within a year several of the larger coastal operators were induced to join the organization. Thus was formed the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand Limited, incorporated in 1875, which from that time onward has gone from success to greater advance. The company's fleet was enlarged to cover not only the New Zealand coastal trade, but also the intercolonial trade between New Zealand, Australia, and Tasmania. Later connections were established with Tahiti, Fiji, and eventu- 50 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. ally with Hawaii, the Pacific Coast of North America, and India, and before the 1914 war with Great Britain also. It was he who made possible the transition of the potentially important enterprise of Huddart, which had foundered after only four years' operation, into a successful service which has been of great value to Canada and her sister Dominions in Australasia. Knighted by Edward VII in 1907, Sir James Mills, K.C.M.G., lived to see the company which he had founded prosper and grow to take its place among the principal shipping companies under the British flag, now owning a fleet of fifty-nine ships, exceeded in number by only seven other British ship-owners.99 It is proper to couple the name of Sir James Mills with that of James Huddart, for to these two men is due the credit of having created the "All-Red Route."100 The Union Company Takes Over There is every evidence that the New Zealand Shipping Company desired not only to liquidate the affairs of the defunct Canadian Australian Royal Mail Steamship Company, Limited, of which they were the principal creditors, but sought in addition to have the service in the hands of someone who could assume the unfulfilled contracts and obligations as well as payment of the outstanding debts. The position of the Union Company at the end of 1900, when it found it necessary to withdraw from the service which it had jointly operated for fifteen years with the Oceanic Line, indicates that this enterprising company would seek the earliest opportunity to re-enter the trans-Pacific passenger and mail trade. Entering into negotiations with the New Zealand Shipping Company with a view to taking over the "All-Red Route " as a going concern, the Union Company acquired a major interest in, and assumed management of, the line. The transfer took place with the sailing of the Aorangi from Sydney in April, 1901, and the general agency for the Canadian Australian Line passed from the hands of Burns, Philp & Company, Limited. This old-established firm, still in existence, owning steamships operating in the South Pacific, had been appointed by the liquidator of Huddart's defunct company, and served as its general agent for several years. The Union Company had acted as general agents for (99) Syren and Shipping, loc. cit. (100) Data from G. H. Scholefield (ed.), A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Wellington, 1940; 50th Anniversary of the Founding of the Union Steam Ship Company; History of the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, Limited, 1875-1940, Wellington, 1940. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 51 the Sydney-San Francisco service carried on jointly by it and the Oceanic Line, but on its withdrawal from that service Burns, Philp & Company was appointed in its place, acting as the general agents at Sydney, thus effecting a cross-exchange of agencies.101 The Warrimoo had been fully acquired by the Union Company, the interest which it acquired including full ownership of that vessel. She was taken off the Vancouver run and transferred to the Union Company's intercolonial trade, her place in the Vancouver service being filled by the Moana, a faster and more suitable ship. The Miowera, Aorangi, and Moana were thus the regular ships employed during the initial period of the new management. The route followed hitherto had been Sydney-Brisbane-Suva-Honolulu-Victoria and Vancouver, although the Suva call was not yet on a regular basis, having been dropped from the end of 1895 until September, 1897. It was then renewed for two years until September, 1899. Not until 1902 was the call placed on a permanent basis and regularly continued thereafter. New Zealand, with exception of a short period of eighteen months beginning September, 1897, was not included in the itinerary of the Vancouver-Sydney service, but connection was made at Suva with a Union Company local service to New Zealand. Not until 1911 was New Zealand included in the regular service, a call being made at Auckland on both the north- and south-bound run. This was continued until the service ceased in 1953.102 When the management of the line was taken over by the Union Company, it promptly faced the problem of improving basic factors which had so far delayed progress. With its long experience in the passenger trade on the South Pacific and Tasman Sea and its ownership of a number of passenger-vessels designed and built for such service, it was in a good position to make such immediate changes as might be desirable. As evidence of the company's prompt activity in the development of the "All-Red Route," the following excerpt from Morang's Annual Register of 1901 may be quoted:— A little later in the year [19011 Mr. James Mills, of Dunedin, New Zealand, was in the country [Canada] upon business connected with the existing steamship (101) The Sydney Morning Herald referred to the exchange as follows: " The departure of this vessel completes the conduct of the Sydney agency of Messrs. Burns, Philip [sic] & Co., who have so long and so successfully carried out the * all red' service. . . . The Union Company will in future act as the representatives of the Canadian line." Reprinted in Victoria Colonist, April 18, 1901. (102) For detail of routes and subsidies, see Appendix I. r 52 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. interests—those of the Union Company and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. After ten days spent in Montreal in consultation with the officials of the latter concern, he proceeded to Winnipeg and was interviewed there by the Telegram, on November 9th. He stated that Jie had been in Great Britain, prior to this, making arrangements for the construction of two new steamships for their Line. The Australian Company which he represented had a fleet of 50 steamships, with an average tonnage of about 40,000 [sic], and they had recently entered into an agreement with the Canadian Pacific Company for the mutual development of the commercial interests of Canada and Australia by means of a joint transportation agency. ... He had been in conference with Sir Thomas Shaughnessy and others regarding proposed improvements in the service and it had been arranged that Mr. William Stitt, of Winnipeg, should proceed to Australia as General Passenger Agent for that community.i°3 MOANA The Moana, which replaced the Warrimoo, a twin-screw 16-knot steamer, one of the many built for the company by Denny Brothers of Dumbarton, was launched in 1897. Her gross tonnage was 3,915; length, 350 feet; breadth, 44 feet; and depth, 32.6 feet. Triple-expansion engines built by Denny's developed 4,500 i.h.p.104 Her additional speed was a most useful factor and enabled a closer adherence to schedule. When she came from the builders in 1897 she was placed in the company's Sydney-San Francisco service, replacing the Monowai I which was required to fill a gap in the intercolonial run.105 Shortly after the Union Company withdrew from the San Francisco service the Moana was refitted and transferred to the Vancouver run, arriving at Victoria, May 15, 1901. The newspaper report commented on her modern equipment as jf well fitted up for the tourist trade, has four pianos and an organ "106—adequate predecessors of the radio and television demanded to-day. Although one would not look for full ocean speed by a passenger- liner on the run from Victoria to Vancouver, the Moana broke existing records by making the run in four hours one minute, it is claimed, in 1902. A year later the Canadian Pacific Railway's new British Columbia Coast Service passenger-ship Princess Victoria arrived from the Tyne, and she is claimed to have beaten the Moana record by three (103) Morang's Annual Register of Canadian Affairs, 1901, Toronto, 1902, p. 417. The Union Company is a New Zealand, not an Australian, company and the figure given as the average tonnage should obviously read 4,000. (104) 50th Anniversary . . . ,p. 23. (105) S. D. Waters, op. cit.t p. 40. (106) Victoria Colonist, May 16, 1901. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 53 minutes. According to newspaper reports, another of the Union Company's liners, the Maheno, which made her first arrival at Victoria, May 8, 1906, also beat the Moana's record by a small margin. However, there is little doubt that the Princess Victoria could readily have beaten both these ocean vessels, her rated speed on trials having been " a comfortable 19*6 knots."107 The Moana had the distinction of inaugurating the line's regular service to Fiji. Some calls had been made at Suva, the capital of the islands, by Huddart's steamers, especially in 1894 and 1895, but had then been discontinued. When the Union Company took over management of the line, the desirability of making Suva a regular call in the Vancouver service was recognized, and a subsidy arrangement was concluded for a call both north and south bound. The Moana made the initial call on her voyage north-bound in March, 1902.108 One of the conditions attached to the subsidy agreement, at least during its later period, was that the vessels remained at Suva for six hours of daylight on each voyage, doubtless a provision to secure the benefit of tourist dollars. But the Union Company itself fully recognized the value of Fiji in that regard, and, with the object of expanding the tourist traffic, in 1914 erected at Suva a large hotel, known as the Grand Pacific, replete with tropical flowers and ferns, on a site commanding views of Suva harbour and the open ocean. This was no ordinary hotel, but, designed in modern style, it provided for tropical conditions, with wide verandas, spacious public rooms, and very ample bathing facilities.109 It should be noted that quite early in the service, in 1905, the line was assured of regular shipments of sugar from Fiji. In that year the British Columbia Sugar Refining Company of Vancouver had acquired sugar plantations having an area of 5,000 acres. Shipments increased far beyond the limited available cargo space of the passenger-steamers (107) F. C. Bowen, op. cit., p. 121. The Princess Victoria ran in the Victoria-Seattle service during the frantic rate war in 1908-09 and proved in operation to be the final answer, for the American steamers were unable to compete in equipment, speed, or comfort. This local rate war was reminiscent of a similar situation in the intercolonial service between Australia and New Zealand which caused Huddart to withdraw his two steamers and to use them to inaugurate his "All-Red Route." (108) D. A. Butler, manager, Union Steamship Company of New Zealand, Suva, to R. W. Parkinson, September 6, 1956, forwarded by the latter to the author under date September 12, 1956. (109) S. D. Waters, op. cit., pp. 68-69. 54 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. and were an important factor in the company's cargo-steamer line later established. The Moana ran regularly and without accident or serious delay, but in her second year in the service met with a mishap which proved costly and caused a twenty-five-day delay. On her arrival at Race Rocks, near Victoria, on the north-bound run from Sydney on December 3, 1903, at night in foggy weather, she struck the rocks in the vicinity of the quarantine station at William Head under circumstances beyond the control of her officers. Another vessel approaching the station got off course, crossing the bow of the Moana, resulting in her grounding. Damage to her port propeller, rudder-post and shoe was reported by a diver, but she was floated off and proceeded to Victoria on one propeller. Since the dry-dock was already occupied by H.M.S. Flora, arrangements were made to effect the repairs to the Moana by the construction of a coffer-dam. The ship was moored alongside the repair pier, and the coffer-dam built around her stern, heavy planks on three sides and the fourth cut away to fit closely around the damaged stern. Well ballasted, the coffer-dam was pumped dry and pressure of water maintained it against the ship. Coal in the ship's hold was shifted forward to bring the vessel down by the head. The repairs were then satisfactorily concluded in twenty-five days. The newspaper report stated the coffer-dam operation to be a " novel contrivance."110 An amusing incident connected with this repair operation is related to the writer by Douglas Bullen, son of W. Fitzherbert Bullen of the British Columbia Marine Railway Limited, at whose yard the repairs were made. When the operation had been completed, a cable was dispatched to the Union Company at Wellington, New Zealand, tersely worded " Dam good job." Transmission of the message was refused by the operator until its meaning was explained. The Moana continued in the Sydney-Vancouver run until 1908, making her final departure from Victoria on March 27.111 She was (110) Actually this was not the first time this device had been used on the British Columbia coast. In 1879 H.M.S. Charybdis had her bow damaged, and to effect its repair was placed in a ship-made coffer-dam. See F. V. Longstaff, Esquimalt Naval Base, Vancouver, 1941, p. 181. Another notable instance of this method of ship repair saved the Canadian National Railway's coastal passenger-liner Prince Rupert from becoming a total loss at Swanson Bay in September, 1920. Harbour and Shipping, III (1920), p. 549. (111) Victoria Colonist, March 28, 1908. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 55 employed in the intercolonial service until 1927, when she was dismantled and sunk as a mole protection at Otago Head. Maheno Next to come to the Vancouver service was the celebrated new steamer Maheno, notable as having been the first passenger-vessel equipped with turbine engines to cross the Pacific Ocean. Built for operation in the intercolonial service, she was in advance of the older vessels, not only in her engines, but also in the comfort of her passenger accommodations. She aroused considerable interest at Victoria, where she arrived on her initial run on May 7, 1906. Launched in September, 1905, at the yards of Denny Brothers, Dumbarton, her gross tonnage was 5,282; length, 400 feet; width, 50 feet; depth, 33.5 feet. Her three direct-coupled steam turbines delivered 6,500 i.h.p., which gave her a speed on trials of XlVi knots, and her service speed was somewhat over 16, although on occasion she did better.112 It is reported that on her arrival at Australia from Scotland she caused a sensation by making a speed-test coastal run, in which she beat the record held by the famous Rotomahana, the company's fastest ship, which held all the honours.113 Although she was the first turbine passenger-vessel to cross the Pacific Ocean, the Maheno was not the first turbiner owned by the Union Company, who had already experimented with the new method of propulsion. A year earlier it had had a ship built, also by Denny's, the Loongana, somewhat smaller but similarly equipped. On her arrival into the Melbourne and Launceston trade she was an immediate success, and the company was thus encouraged to have a larger steamer laid down having the same type of propulsion.114 (112) 50th Anniversary . . . , p. 25. (113) Will Lawson, op. cit., pp. 138-139. (114) Doubts have been expressed as to the priority of the Maheno as a turbine ship in crossing the Pacific Ocean, but it is not difficult to dispel such doubts if note is taken of the facts. There had been built prior to the Maheno seven other turbine passenger-liners. The first two were the King Edward and Queen Alexandra, Clyde-built in 1901 and 1902 for the local coastal trade. The latter was purchased in 1912 by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company for operation in its Nanaimo-Vancouver service and ran under the name Princess Patricia. Two English Channel steamers, the. Queen and the Brighton, built in 1903, were the third and fourth, and in 1904 the Victorian and the Virginian were built for the trans-Atlantic service of the Allan Line. The above, with the Loongana, built for the Union Company in 1904, are the,seven passenger turbine ships built prior to the Maheno, none of which made any voyage across the Pacific. For nr 56 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. On her first arrival at Victoria the Maheno was thrown open to public inspection, and the fact that the Colonist devoted nearly three columns to a description of the ship and her engines indicates the degree of interest she aroused. While the main attraction appears to have been the passengers' quarters and public rooms, the crowd which crammed the engine-room was quite exceptional. The Victoria Colonist reported: ". . . her engine room was invaded and the chief engineer overwhelmed. He would furnish no information concerning the engines, stating he was running them, not advertising them. Nor did he know what speed the engines averaged . . . how much fuel they consumed or how many propellers the steamer had." Seafaring men who attended the inspection were greatly intrigued by the unusual appearance of the engine-room, the turbines occupying so much less space than the old-type reciprocal engines. Travellers were more interested in the marked reduction in vibration which the incoming passengers reported. The passenger accommodation—234 first class, 116 second, and 60 third—was the subject of much praise, especially such luxuries as electric fans and heaters. Ionic pilasters in the dining saloon were surmounted by spandrilled arches and frieze.115 Running in the Vancouver service, she proved to be a popular ship and continued until withdrawn for war service. In 1914 she was fitted out as a troop transport but later was converted to a hospital ship, in which capacity she was operated in conjunction with the Marama, also well known in the Vancouver run. Her original engines, Parsons direct- coupled turbines, which had given satisfaction on her passenger runs, were replaced in 1915 with geared turbines driving the two wing proper- lers, thus making her twin screw instead of triple.116 The conversion was made at the Union Company's yard at Port Chalmers, New Zealand. These two ships carried 47,000 wounded and sick soldiers during their period of war service. After the war the Maheno was reconverted and placed in the intercolonial service, in which she continued until 1935, when she was sold out of service to Japanese interests. While in tow to Japan she stranded on the Queensland coast and became a total loss.117 detailed information regarding the introduction of the turbine for marine propulsion see Andrew Boyle (ed.), The Everyman Encyclopaedia, London, n.d., Vol. XII, pp. 325-326. (115) Victoria Colonist, May 8, 1906. (116) P. B. Cooke to the writer. (117) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 87. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 57 The period following acquisition by the Union Company in 1900 of an interest in the Canadian Australian Line until the outbreak of war in 1914 saw considerable expansion in the company's fleet, no less than fifty ships being added. Of these, many were passenger-liners for operation in the intercolonial and other services. Several of them were larger vessels capable of being employed in the trans-Pacific runs, but only two, the Makura and Niagara, were built for this trade exclusively. Beginning with the Moana, built in 1897, which made her first call at Victoria, May 15, 1901, a succession of newly built vessels came into the Vancouver run, either as regular or as relief ships. Manuka The Manuka followed the Moana, making her first call at Victoria on June 7, 1904.118 This, however, was not a regular run but in replacement of the Moana, which had suffered damage at Victoria and had had to be given permanent repairs on her return to Sydney. Manuka was practically a new ship when she made her first appearance, having arrived out at Sydney in January. Built by Denny Brothers at their Dumbarton yards on the Clyde and launched late in 1903, she and a sister ship, the Moeraki, were the company's first two vessels to be equipped with twin screws.119 Of 4,534 tons, her length was 368.7 feet; breadth 47.2 feet; depth, 31.1 feet.120 Her eight-cylinder triple-expansion engines gave her a service speed of 15 knots, which she could exceed when occasion arose. On her trip to Victoria she is reported to have beaten an American liner which started from Sydney at the same time across the Pacific by thirty-six hours.121 She also is reported to have beaten local speeds on several occasions when later she was on the regular run to Vancouver. On July 31, 1905, she arrived at Victoria from Sydney via Brisbane, Suva, and Honolulu in twenty-one days, seven hours, and sixteen minutes,122 having broken the record set by the Moana for the run. After service on the intercoastal run she returned to the Vancouver service in 1910, running opposite to the Marama and Makura.12* Taken (118) Vancouver News-Advertiser, June 8, 1904. (119) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 55. (120) Lloyd's Register of Shipping. (121) Victoria Colonist, June 8, 1904. (122) Vancouver News-Advertiser, August 1, 1905; Vancouver Province. May 7, 1906. (123) Victoria Colonist, March 11, 1910. 58 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. over as a troop-ship in the First World War, she was engaged in the transport of New Zealand forces. Returned to her owners after the war, she was again operated in the intercolonial service for several years. On December 16, 1929, she struck a reef off Long Point, Otago, New Zealand, and became a total loss,124 Barque Dartford Although not an integral part of the fleet which served the Canadian Australian Line, it is of interest to note that the barque Dartford called at Vancouver during January, 1919,125 from Sydney. This unusual type of visitor to the port attracted wide attention. She was a training-ship for cadets, the first such vessel recorded as having called at a British Columbia port. Although the Union Company had not experienced much difficulty in finding officers for its steamers, which numbered at that time about sixty, it was decided in 1907 to provide a training-ship for New Zealand lads desirous of embarking on a sea-going career. For this purpose the company in 1908 purchased the full-rigged ship Dartford, 2l stout vessel of 1,327 tons, built at Sunderland in 1877. On arrival at Lyttleton, New Zealand, she was " fitted out to accommodate 24 cadets—later increased to 41—who, during their four years' apprenticeship under the ship's officers and a special instructor, received a thorough training in seamanship and navigation."126 Mr. P. B. Cooke, retired manager of the line at Vancouver, advises that the Dartford when purchased was a full-rigged ship and was refitted at Wellington, the yards being taken down from her mizzen mast and rigged as a barque. He also remembered that Captain W. Whitefield, last master of the Aorangi II, was one of the first Dartford cadets, of March, 1913. She made a number of voyages overseas between New Zealand and Australia and one to South Africa, and, so far as can be ascertained, only one to Vancouver. Many of the officers who later distinguished themselves in the mail and passenger ships employed on the "All-Red Route " received their training in the Dartford. Marama Another of the ships which were employed from time to time in both the Vancouver and the San Francisco services was the Marama, a hand- (124) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 81. (125) Vancouver Province, January 14, 1919; Harbour and Shipping, I (1919), p. 51. (126) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 61. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 59 some twin-screw 6,437-ton passenger-liner built on the Clyde for the Union Company by Caird & Company of Greenock. The placing of this order broke an association of thirty years between the Union Company and Denny Brothers.127 Her dimensions were 420 feet in length; depth, 31 feet; width, 53 feet; and her eight-cylinder triple-expansion engines were of 7,500 i.h.p. On the outward voyage she made an average of 16 knots. She replaced the Miowera in the Sydney-Vancouver service, arriving at Vancouver, April 8, 1908.128 On August 5, 1911, the Marama entered Auckland harbour, initiating the new service connecting Vancouver with that port. This marked the culmination of the persistent efforts on the part of New Zealand to have the connection with Canada placed on a sound and permanent basis. The many difficulties and misunderstandings which had delayed the inclusion of New Zealand in the "All-Red Route" were at last over.129 This happy occasion was marked by enthusiastic editorials in the newspapers, a demonstration that this new development was genuinely welcomed. The Marama was employed for six years in the Vancouver service prior to the war, running opposite the Makura and Niagara, and made her last call at Vancouver on August 18, 1914.130 On arrival at Sydney she and the Maheno went to Port Chalmers, New Zealand, for conversion to hospital ships. Reconverted after the war, the Marama entered the San Francisco service. One voyage to Vancouver was made late in 1920 relieving the Makura, which had been off the run for about four months undergoing overhaul and extensive repairs at San Francisco. While at Vancouver the Marama herself received extensive deck and engine repairs at the British Columbia Marine Company's yard.131 She made her last sailing from Vancouver on January 12, 1921.132 It had been intended to retain the Marama in the trans-Pacific service until the new ship Aotearoa came out from the Clyde, but unfortunately that vessel never arrived, having been lost during the war. The Marama continued in the San Francisco service until January, 1935,133 (127) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 57. (128) Vancouver News-Advertiser, April 9, 1908. (129) For a full discussion of this question see the appendix relative to the subsidy question. (130) Vancouver Industrial Progress, August, 1914. (131) Harbour and Shipping, III (1920), p. 679. (132) Ibid., p. 683. (133) London Times, January 12, 1935. 60 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. when she was withdrawn, the company having decided that it was impracticable to continue the service in competition with the heavily subsidized service of the Matson Line. She was then returned to the intercolonial run, and two years later, 1937, she was retired and sold to the ship-breakers at Shanghai after thirty years of service.134 Makura The R.M.S. Makura, first vessel built by the Union Company especially designed for the Sydney-Vancouver service, was the result of close study of the requirements of the trans-Pacific service, which differed in many respects from the company's other services. Increasing popularity of the interesting voyage between the Pacific Coast of North America, via Honolulu and Fiji, to the Antipodes warranted the provision of passenger-liners with amenities and comforts comparable with those available on Atlantic liners. With their characteristic forward- looking policy, the Union Company placed an order with Alexander Stephen & Sons of Linthouse, Glasgow, for a more commodious steamer. When she entered the service the Makura was by a wide margin the largest vessel in the company's fleet—8,075 tons gross. She held that distinction until the Niagara came out five years later.135 The Makura was a steel twin-screw steamer, 450 feet in length, 58 feet in beam, and 32 feet in depth. Her triple-expansion engines of 10,000 i.h.p. gave her a trial speed of over 18 knots on the measured mile and a sustained speed of I6V2 knots on her twenty-four-hour sea trial. She was launched July 14, 1908, and on completion sailed from Liverpool carrying passengers via Suez for Melbourne, calling at Durban en route. Entering her service run, she reached Victoria, December 15, 1908, where she received a cordial welcome on arrival at the Outer Wharf. By the size of the crowd which awaited her, it is evident that there was recognition of the importance of the new steamer's advent to this service.136 As an indication of the interest shown toward passenger-ships in those days by the general public, it may be noted that the habit had grown in both Victoria and Vancouver to 1 go down to the wharf to see (134) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 87. (135) The next largest in the company's fleet at that time were the Marama, built in 1907, 6,437 tons, and the Maheno, built in 1905, 5,282 tons. (136) For technical details see Lloyd's Register of Shipping. See also Victoria Colonist, December 16, 1908, and 50th Anniversary . . . , p. 29. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 61 the new ship." The newspapers of the time report in almost every instance of the arrival of a new passenger-liner that hundreds assembled at the wharf or dock and gave a vociferous welcome. The event usually prompted such functions as a banquet tendered by the City Council or the Chamber of Commerce. Similar welcome had been given to the new Canadian Pacific Empresses on their first voyage to take their place in the Oriental service. The Makura appears to have been considered as something more important compared with the previous "All-Red " ships—she was built especially for this service. The passenger accommodation provided was 207 first class, 114 second, and 72 third. There were many things to attract the attention of the public. The heating system was of a type not hitherto seen at the port, electric heating in every room, while the ventilation, which was on I an unusually efficient natural system was assisted by a complete range of exhaust fans," that drew the vitiated air from each room. In addition, the new system of Ozonair purifier (long since discarded) was fitted. Another feature which caught the attention of the reporter was the efficiency of the electrical installation, with Siemens dynamos fitted in triplicate to cope with " the unusually complete system of lighting and heating, and to render it unlikely that any hitch would occur, resulting in a breakdown." Altogether there were 2,000 lights throughout the ship; motors also drove appliances in the kitchens, sculleries, and laundry department. Note was taken of the new and efficient mechanical features—Welin davits, patent boat-chocks, etc. A steam-launch was provided for service when lying off ports of call. The many readers who may have travelled in the Makura will, by the above description, be reminded of the good impression this valiant ship made on her passengers at first sight, and that the promise was found to be fully justified throughout the voyage. The newspaper reporter's impression — " the passenger accommodation is everywhere marked by spaciousness, elegance and luxuriousness "—will not be denied by any who travelled in the Makura. The accommodation provided in the second and third classes also was of a comfort unusual at that period.137 The Makura maintained her regular service opposite the Marama. On arrival of the Niagara from the Clyde in 1913 the run was sustained temporarily by the three ships, Makura, Niagara, and Marama, the latter being withdrawn shortly afterwards in August, 1914, the other two main- (137) Victoria Colonist, December 15 and 16, 1908. 62 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. taining the run throughout the war and until the new Aorangi II came out in 1925, when the Makura went to the San Francisco service. During her period in the Vancouver service the Makura was a successful ship, meeting with very few interruptions of service other than normal lay-off for inspection and necessary repairs. At Vancouver there were two instances where she met considerable delay. A strike of certain stubborn members of the crew occurred in 1919 which kept the ship at her berth for nearly two months, and passengers had a long sojourn at near-by and inland hotels, hourly awaiting a call to board the ship.138 In August, 1920, she was sent down to San Francisco for overhaul and repairs and did not return until about four months later. During her absence the Tahiti came up from the San Francisco service, returning there when the Makura resumed her place in December, sailing from Vancouver on the 15th.139 When the Aorangi arrived in 1925, the Makura was released and went down to enter the San Francisco service, running without break until that service was discontinued. She was then laid up at Sydney and shortly afterwards was sold to China Shipbreakers Limited of Shanghai for demolition,140 thus ending a career of twenty-eight years of creditable service, which enhanced the reputation of her owners and was of considerable value to the progress of the "All-Red Route." Before closing the narration of the Makura's service, it would be remiss not to take notice of an informative item which was provided by a friend of the writer who travelled to Australia in this ship. He had retained a memento which indicates the joys available on an ocean liner. It appears that a year after entering the Sydney-Vancouver service the Makura had the distinction of issuing | The first daily newspaper ever printed aboard a Transpacific passenger liner,"141 according to the announcement on the front page of the first issue. It was a small four- page publication and owed its existence to Rev. J. W. Chapman, whose "Alexander Mission Party " was on the way to enlighten the people of Australia and New Zealand in the manner of the American evangelist. A bright little paper, distributed free to passengers and crew alike, it contained some items of ship's news, daily-run and other little matters (138) Harbour and Shipping, III (1920), p. 553. (139) Ibid., p. 613. Both the Makura and the Tahiti were converted to oil- burning equipment while at San Francisco. P. B. Cooke to the writer. (140) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 89. (141) Makura News, April 15, 1909. Marama at the dock, Vancouver. (Courtesy Leonard Frank Photos. Vancouver.) Makura docking at Vancouver. r (Reproduced from Australian Steamers Past and Present.) Zealandia. (Courtesy Leonard Frank Photos, Vancouver.) Tahiti leaving Vancouver Harbour, 1920. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 63 which in the pre-radio days used to be so interesting in the absence of world news. On the back page each issue carried a full-page hymn, complete with music, in the Salvation Army style, every verse followed by a "chorus." The paper bore a different name every day—Makura Globe, Makura Post, Makura Journal, Makura News, etc., each with an apology to one of the Boston newspapers, thus indicating the home town of the missionary party. These relics of bygone days now repose in the Provincial Archives in Victoria, British Columbia. Among other entertainments, prizes were offered for the best poem submitted. The second prize was awarded for a lyric which is partially reprinted here—excellent, with possible exception of the last stanza. which went: — Till, when Australia's shores loom large from out the golden west, Her course is run, her work is done, she sighs and sinks to rest. Let us hope the passengers all got ashore in good time! Poetic licence may allow a ship to sigh, but even a poet should know that for a passenger-liner to sink is unladylike. The San Francesco Service The Union Company's Auckland-Suva local service had been commenced in 1881, one of the several South Pacific Island services, like that to Samoa, the Tonga group, the Cook Islands, and Tahiti. In 1885 its operations went farther afield, when, in conjunction with the Oceanic Company, it established its first trans-Pacific service, carrying mails for England via San Francisco. This service had to be abandoned in 1900, but is here mentioned again since it became an important factor in 1909 in relation to the "All-Red Route," when the Union Company inaugurated, under subsidy from the New Zealand Government, a monthly passenger and mail service between Wellington, Raratonga, and Tahiti. This service connected at Tahiti with the Oceanic liner Mariposa, which was running on a regular schedule between that port and San Francisco. This provided for New Zealand a direct mail connection with San Francisco, carried part of the way by the Union Company. The following year it was arranged with the New Zealand Government that larger and faster steamers should be employed, and the service continued right through to San Franciso without transhipment at Tahiti, thereby affording a monthly alternative mail service to Great Britain, which suited New Zealand welL Thus it came about that the Union 5 64 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. Company resumed, after a lapse of ten years, the carriage of New Zealand mails across the Pacific to San Francisco. The itinerary was extended the following year, 1911, to include Sydney, and the sailing dates were so arranged that the two services—one between Sydney and Vancouver and the other between Sydney and San Francisco—provided a fortnightly service from Sydney. The Canadian-Australasian steamers left Sydney every twenty-eight days for Auckland, Fiji, Honolulu, Victoria, and Vancouver, while the San Francisco steamers were leaving Sydney a fortnight later for Wellington, Raratonga, Tahiti, and San Francisco. Through passengers had the choice of any rail route across Canada or the United States and of any steamship line across the Atlantic.142 Advertisements of this alternative arrangement clearly showed the advantages of the service.143 UNION STEAM SHIP COMPANY OF NEW ZEALAND LIMITED. Fortnightly Trans-Pacific Service to and from New Zealand and Australia. CANADIAN AUSTRALASIAN ROYAL • MAIL • LINE THE ALL-RED ROUTE. Fortnightly from Vancouver (alternating with fortnightly sailings from San Francisco by Union Royal Mail Line). Through bookings from the United Kingdom with choice of travel by any Atlantic Line and Any through rail route .over Canada or U.S.A. Apply in London: The TRANS- PACIFIC PASSENGER AGENCY, Ltd. (IV L. James. General Manager), 14, Cockspur Street, (1*/ Floor) S.W.1 Telephone -. Regent 6724. Paris : Society Francaise P. & 0., 14. Bid. des Capucines. or for Vancouver Service, any Office of the CAN AD IAN RAILWAYS The Initial Seventeen Years On January 1st, 1910, the twenty-seven year old Aorangi sailed for the last time from Vancouver and proceeded to New Zealand for refit, having been for thirteen years on the Vancouver run. That brief statement carries with it a realization of the ending of the initial seventeen-year period of the Sydney-Vancouver service. At this juncture significant changes took place which marked the arrival of (142) 50th Anniversary . . . , pp. 17-18. (143) The advertisement reproduced below appeared in F. C. Bowen, op. cit. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 65 the line at a point of development which would set the pattern for its future. It thus is suitable to pause briefly to recapitulate the situation which now faced the "All-Red Route." It had for some time been evident that it was necessary, if the service were to be developed to its ultimate need, that steamers designed and built especially for this service must be provided. With the sole exception of the Makura, which arrived from Scotland in 1908, the service had been maintained by ships constructed with a view to employment in other services. These were the two pioneer steamships Miowera and Warrimoo, built in 1892 for employment in the intercolonial trade, to which had been added the now ageing Aorangi, built for the United Kingdom-New Zealand trade. With the completion of full purchase of the Canadian Australian Line in 1910, the Union Company saw the necessity of placing the service on a sound and competitive foundation, employing ships of speed, type, passenger accommodation, and amenities which would attract a fair share of the potential traffic in face of the competition by the all-water routes to Europe operating in the Australian and New Zealand trade. While the "All-Red Route " offered certain advantages over the direct lines between Europe and the Antipodes, not the least of which was the opportunity of travelling by rail across the North American continent, it is obvious that this route, part by water and part by land, was more costly than by the all-water routes entirely aboard ship. On the other hand, dread of the tropical heat of the Red Sea, which the travellers via Suez must endure, was a factor favouring the more comfortable "All-Red Route." Doubtless these advantages were well understood by the owners of the line and encouraged them to direct their attention to the need for larger, faster, and more luxurious ships. The Makura was the first of a distinguished line of vessels which the company built during the years which followed. Another unresolved problem which demanded attention was Huddart's original idea of making the line a valuable asset to New Zealand, especially in regard to the mail situation. But his hopes in this direction had not been realized. A satisfactory subsidy agreement had not yet been made with New Zealand for the carriage of mails by way of Vancouver, earlier tentative plans having failed. Differences had arisen regarding the ports of call, which needed adjustment, and the new service had just been commenced between Wellington, Tahiti, and San Francisco, requiring additional steamships. The manner in which all these 66 J. H. Hamilton t Jan.-Apr. problems were solved by the Union Company reflects great credit on the men responsible for its direction. It is significant that, with these problems looming, changes were being effected in the Union Company's financial structure. By 1913 the paid- up capital of the company stood at £1,000,000, there being 2,575 shareholders. During that year the capital was doubled by the issuance of £1,000,000 SV2. per cent cumulative preference shares. At the annual meeting of shareholders in October, 1913, it was decided to reconstruct the company, and accordingly it was wound up and a new company bearing the same name, with a capital of £3,000,000, was incorporated.144 Another noteworthy development at this juncture was the recognition that the company's trans-Pacific passenger and mail steamers had not been able to load all the general cargo offering, and that it had been necessary to charter steamers to accommodate the increased quantities of canned salmon and other Canadian export products, or sugar at Fiji and frozen meats at Brisbane. In 1913 it was therefore decided to acquire suitable freight-steamers and to establish a regular trans-Pacific cargo service. Two 4,200-ton ships were purchased and renamed Waimarino and Waihemo and appeared on the company's fleet fist in 1914 145 Rapid growth of this general-cargo trade, both import and export, necessitated a monthly cargo service. Within a short time three additional ships were acquired, each receiving a new name with the initial " W." These ships sailed between Vancouver, Victoria, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to various ports in New Zealand and Australia, calling at other southern ports as required. The ravages of time and losses in two world wars have eliminated all these pioneers, but the service has been fully maintained with larger, modern steamers. While this cargo service is, and has always been, operated by the Union Company as a separate service not connected with the Canadian Australian Line, it obviously has been a beneficial factor in the operation of the passenger line, both being served in British Columbia by the same office and under the same management. End of the Pioneer Ships Before launching into the history of the interesting period beyond this critical juncture, we may now bid farewell to the three pioneer ships (144) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 69. (145) Ibid., p. 146. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 67 which initiated the service—the Miowera, Warrimoo, and Aorangi. The Warrimoo, which operated opposite to the Miowera when the service commenced in 1893, continued until 1901, when the Union Company assumed management. She was then taken off the Sydney-Vancouver run and, after a refit in New Zealand, was placed in the intercolonial trade. In 1915 she was one of fifteen of the Union Company's fleet which engaged in troop-carrying and other war services. The Warrimoo was sold, together with several of the company's older vessels, in 1916 to foreign owners.146 The Miowera ran in the Vancouver service until replaced by the Marama in 1908. She went to New Zealand for extensive refit, her name being changed to Maitai. Later she was placed in the Wellington-San Francisco service, prior to which she paid a last visit to Vancouver, arriving March 10, 1910.147 On a south-bound voyage from San Francisco in December, 1916, she anchored at Raratonga. A heavy gale sprang up, causing her to drag her anchor, and she drifted on to a reef, becoming a total loss, thus ending her twenty-three years of useful service. The third of Huddart's pioneer trio, R.M.S. Aorangi, which entered this service in 1897, continued therein until the end of 1909, when she was transferred to the newly-formed Wellington-San Francisco service. The occasion of her final departure from Vancouver was marked by laudatory comments in the press, indicative of the esteem in which this historic and remarkable steamship was held. The Vancouver Province commented as follows:— The withdrawal of the Canadian-Australian liner Aorangi from the Vancouver- Sydney run recalls the fact that she is a vessel with a splendid record and there are thousands upon thousands of people in all parts of the world who look back with pleasure to trips made in this vessel. In her whole career the Aorangi has never been spoken of as other than a lucky ship, having never been in a serious disaster or accident. Her present voyage is her fifty-fifth on this run and allowing 15,000 miles for the round trip she will have covered 825,000 miles between Vancouver and Sydney when she reaches the latter port on her last run from here on Dec. 31.148 Referring to the mileage covered by the Aorangi, it should be remembered that prior to her purchase by Huddart she had made thirty-two (146) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 77. More than two-thirds of the 125 embarkations of New Zealand troops between 1914 and 1918 were made in the steamers of the Union Company. Ibid., p. 72. (147) Victoria Colonist, March 11, 1910. (148) Vancouver Province, December 23, 1909. ■ ■< nr 68 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. round-the-world voyages for the New Zealand Shipping Company in its United Kingdom-New Zealand service. Allowing 25,000 miles per voyage, this would add 800,000 miles to the 825,000 of the total Vancouver run. To this must also be added her five years' service in the Wellington-San Francisco run, which would give a grand total of some 2,000,000 miles. Captain J. D. S. Phillips, who joined the company in 1893, was quite as well known as the Aorangi. He had been her master for a short period in 1899, rejoined her in 1901, and continued until 1909. He had made in the Aorangi and other vessels of the line seventy-six voyages to Vancouver, giving him a mileage record of 1,140,000 miles between Vancouver and Sydney. Captain Phillips told the Province that he had often met New Zealanders travelling in the Aorangi who said that their parents came out from England to that country in the vessel in the early days. The newspaper report concluded:— The last trip of the Aorangi . . . will see her with a full list of passengers and an unusually large number of Vancouver people who are bound for Honolulu for the winter. The withdrawal of the liner from this run after so many years of service will be regretted by a large circle and the best wishes of these will accompany the vessel and her popular skipper.t49 As if the Aorangi's long and strenuous service as a passenger-liner were not enough, she still had useful work to do. After withdrawal from the San Francisco trade, she was laid up for a time at Sydney. Early in 1915 she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and went to England as a supply ship.150 Later, together with several other old steamers, she was scuttled at Scapa Flow as a block ship to provide protection against submarines at the Orkney Islands naval base.151 Even that was not her end, for, after resting on the sea-bed for five years, she was refloated in 1920. When examination proved that her hull was in a sound condition, she was converted into a storage hulk, and for several more years she remained on duty before eventually going to the ship-breakers.152 Surely the Aorangi is entitled to a niche in the memory of Victoria and Vancouver as a grand old ship—a credit to her builders and operators during more than forty years of service afloat. (149) Vancouver Province, December 23, 1909. (150) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 77. (151) History of the Union Steam Ship Company . . . 1875-1940, p. 26. (152) "Ships that made History," Shipbuilding and Shipping Record, August 4, 1949, p. 142; and Sea Breezes, X (1950), p. 302. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 69 Zealandia In order to maintain the San Francisco-Wellington service, the Union Company found it necessary to transfer steamers from other routes and in addition to charter other suitable tonnage. For this purpose the Aorangi had been withdrawn from the Vancouver run, and to fill the gap a new steamer was chartered, the Zealandia, just completed on the Clyde for Huddart, Parker & Company of Melbourne. Other steamers were purchased or chartered—the Tahiti and Willochra—and made occasional voyages in the Vancouver service. The Zealandia, a 6,600-ton twin-screw steamer, was built especially for the Australian coastal trade, and, although principally designed as a passenger-ship, had a large cargo capacity and was equipped with heavy lifting gear. She made her first arrival at Victoria on August 24, 1910, under command of Captain J. D. S. Phillips, bringing 230 passengers from Australia. She had sailed from Greenock, on the Clyde, on May 14 for Australia, and on her arrival was chartered and went straight into the Union Company's service. The Victoria Colonist, reporting her arrival, stated that her builders were Alexander Stephen & Sons, which is an error, for she was actually built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank.153 Her dimensions were: Length, 410.3 feet; breadth, 54.7 feet; and depth, 23.4 feet Her quadruple-expansion engines had eight cylinders, two each of 24^, 35, 49V£, and 70 inches.154 Although designed for the Australia trade, she fitted well into the requirements of the trans-Pacific service, having excellent passenger accommodation, fitted with all the latest amenities. She continued to run as a relief ship in the Vancouver and the San Francisco services until the Niagara came out from Scotland in 1913, when she was returned to her owners, the charter having expired. Like so many Australian and (153) The error was obviously due to the fact that another ship of similar name, but spelt slightly differently—Zeelandia—was completed by Alexander Stephen & Sons one month earlier for the Royal Dutch Lloyd, of Rotterdam. An earlier ship of the same name, built in 1899 by Gourlay Brothers, Dundee, for Huddart, Parker & Company was a smaller vessel of 2,771 tons. She was purchased in 1908 by the Union Company and renamed Paloona and operated in the coastwise trade until 1928. This ship was sometimes confused with the new Zealandia operating in the Vancouver service. Still another Zealandia was built in 1875 by Elder, Glasgow, a 2,489-ton steamer which was chartered by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company for employment in its Australia service, running between Sydney and San Francisco until 1885. (154) Lloyd's Register of Shipping. If" 70 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. New Zealand steamers, she was taken out of the passenger service during the war period, being requisitioned by the Admiralty as a troop-ship. She carried American troops between New York and Liverpool and then made one voyage to Australia and back to London and another round voyage to India. In all she steamed 70,000 miles conveying troops and dependents. On the termination of her war service, she was returned to her owners and resumed her normal coastal trade in Australia and New Zealand.155 She met her end during the Second World War, being sunk on February 19, 1942, by Japanese air attack at Darwin, Australia.156 Willochra Another vessel which the Union Company chartered during this period to augment its fleet of passenger and cargo ships until new ships were delivered was the Willochra, a newly constructed passenger-liner having also a good cargo capacity, a useful relief ship for its various intercolonial or ocean trades. She was one of a trio of sister ships built in 1912-13 by William Beardmore & Company of Glasgow for the Adelaide Steamship Company. She was a handsome vessel of 7,787 tons, with capacity for 250 first-class passengers, 120 second, and 60 third. Her dimensions were: Length, 411.7 feet; breadth, 56.7 feet; and depth, 34.1 feet. Her quadruple-expansion eight-cylinder engines drove her twin screws, with steam supplied by six water-tube Babcock & Wilcox boilers, providing an indicated horse-power of 6,500 and a service speed of about 16 knots.157 The Willochra arrived at Australia in 1913 but did not enter the coastal trade for which she had been designed, having been chartered by the Union Company, who placed her in the San Francisco-Tahiti- Wellington service, replacing the Aorangi. She was scheduled to sail from San Francisco, October 15, 1913, on her first trip.158 It is claimed that she also made sailings in the Vancouver-Sydney trade as a relief ship, but the author so far has been unable to secure definite arrival or sailing dates. (155) Dickson Gregory, Australian Steamers, Past and Present, London, 1928. (156) The wreck lay there fifteen years and is now (October, 1957) to be broken up by Japanese ship-breakers. Marine News, September, 1957, p. 211. (157) J. H. Isherwood, "An Australian Trio," Sea Breezes, XIX (1955), pp. 332-334. (158) Victoria Colonist, May 29, 1913. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 71 On the outbreak of war the Willochra was withdrawn from the service and taken over for troop transport, in which capacity she served for five years, being finally returned to her owners, the Adelaide Steamship Company, in 1919. Shortly thereafter it decided to dispose of the three ships, which it found rather large for its services, and they were acquired by the Furness, Withy Company for its Atlantic Coast- Bermuda trade. The Willochra was then renamed Fort Victoria and served in this run until 1929, when she was sunk in collision off the Ambrose Lightship.159 Tahiti An additional steamer being required for the Wellington-San Francisco service, advantage was taken of an opportunity to purchase from Elder, Dempster & Company an interesting and suitable ship which had been built in 1904 for the West Indies passenger and fruit trade, the Port Kingston. She was acquired by the Union Company in 1911 and renamed Tahiti. She was a steel ship of 7,585 tons gross, 460 feet length, 55.5 feet beam, and 24.4 feet depth. With a forecastle and short poop, she had two open decks amidships. Twin screws were driven by two sets of triple-expansion engines with cylinders of 30-, 50-, 80-, and 54-inch stroke.160 With steam at 180 pounds, her engines produced an indicated horse-power of 9,000,161 and on her trials in 1904 she averaged 18.53 knots, touching 19 at times. The Port Kingston was constructed with accommodation for 160 first- and 60 second-class passengers and had room in her cool-chambers for 40,000 stems of bananas. She proved a popular ship in the West Indies passenger trade, but the fruit trade fell on evil days, and in consequence the Port Kingston was laid up at Bristol. The subsidy for the service having lapsed, the four ships engaged in the trade were offered for sale. When taken over by the Union Company in August, 1911, the newly named Tahiti was allotted to the San Francisco service, her speed being ample to compete with the American steamers then employed on the same route—the Sonoma and Ventura, twin-screw 17-knotters. Her passenger accommodation was drastically altered to make provision for 277 first-, 97 second-, and 141 third-class passengers, and her insulated space was cut down to 37,000 cubic feet. Going to her station in her (159) J. H. Isherwood, "An Australian Trio," pp. 334-335. (160) Lloyd's Register of Shipping, 1912-13. (161) 50th Anniversary . . . , p. 29. 72 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. new service, she relieved the smaller but still fast ship Moana, and quickly made a place for herself, holding the speed record for the run for several years.162 Like so many other Union Company ships, she was requisitioned on the outbreak of war, carrying New Zealand troops to England, Gallipoli, and France, and making several trans-Atlantic voyages carrying United States troops to England. Returned to her owners early in 1919, she was given an extensive refit and her boilers were converted to oil fuel. She then returned to her regular run on the San Francisco-Tahiti-Wellington service, and continued therein until August, 1930, making several runs into Vancouver as a relief ship. In 1920, while the Makura was off the run, having gone to San Francisco for dry-docking and refit, the Tahiti took her place for four round voyages.163 On her last call at Victoria, December 19, 1920, Sir Keith Smith was a passenger returning to Australia to rejoin his brother, Sir Ross Smith, who had accompanied him on the pioneer air flight between Australia and England. Sir Keith reported that advices had been sent to authorities on the various islands between the Straits Settlements and Australia which would be crossed by the Vickers-Vimy aircraft, requesting that the natives be told that they might expect a great bird." He added that on approach of the plane the natives rushed away in all directions and could not be induced to approach for some considerable time.164 This incident is mentioned not only for its inherent interest, but it was an omen—the arrival in Australia of the first aircraft to make the long 15,000-mile flight from England presaged the possibility of the carriage of mails by air. To a steamship line whose main purpose was to transport passengers and mails across the world's greatest ocean, the threat of the seemingly impossible competition of a speed infinitely beyond that of a sea-borne ship, unrecognized at that time, was later to prove a vital factor in the abandonment of the service. On August 15, 1930, the Tahiti succumbed to an accident of a type which has occurred a number of times, but seldom has resulted in loss of the ship. While on passage from Wellington to San Francisco, being about 460 miles from Raratonga, her starboard propeller-shaft broke near the stern bearing. The racing engine could not be controlled fast (162) J. H. Isherwood, "The Port Kingston, later Tahiti," Sea Breezes, XIX (1955), pp. 18-20. (163) Harbour and Shipping, II (1920), p. 283. (164) Victoria Times, December 20, 1920; Vancouver Province, December 20, 1920. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 73 enough to prevent the broken, jagged shaft from battering a large hole in the vessel's stern, below water-line. What happened then has been written by the pen of one of the most dramatic of marine writers, William McFee, a professional marine engineer, who makes it evident that the rescue of the 103 passengers and 149 crew of the Tahiti, taken off the sinking ship two days after the accident occurred, was not a matter of chance, but was made possible only by the strenuous, unremitting, and expert labour of the ship's engineers, officers, and crew, aided by volunteers from the passengers. The Norwegian steamer Penybryn and the American passenger-liner Ventura, which had picked up the distress calls, arrived about forty-eight hours after the accident occurred and managed to take off all the passengers, letter mail, bullion, and baggage, and finally the crew. The captain was the last to leave the doomed ship, but he boarded her again shortly afterwards and found the engine-room completely flooded, and the ship slid below the water as he left her.165 The place of the lost Tahiti in the San Francisco service was taken by the former P. & O. liner Razmak, which was purchased by the Union Company and renamed the Monowai.166 Niagara Soon after the Makura entered the service, running between Sydney and Vancouver, it became evident that the interest of the route as a tourist attraction was sufficient to warrant close attention. While steamers hitherto employed had been of the type found most suitable for the coastal and intercolonial trades of Australia and New Zealand, those in the trans-Pacific trade had to compete with the trans-Atlantic liners as regards both through traffic to Europe and as an invitation to those travelling for pleasure or relaxation. While the Makura had been constructed with this factor in mind, it was soon realized that vessels of greater tonnage and closer approximation to the Atlantic standard should be placed in the service. Note was taken of the position of the Canadian Pacific's service to the Orient, for which that company had for some time been considering the construction of new steamships of a tonnage far exceeding their initial trio of Empresses. Those were beauti- (165) William McFee, "Engine-room Stuff," in More Harbors of Memory, reprinted in Rafael Sabatini (ed.), A Century of Sea Stories, London, 1935, pp. 835-846. (166) This was the second ship so named, the first having come into the company's fleet-list in 1890 and remaining until 1926. V. infra, p. 87. 74 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. ful ships with yacht-like lines and a good speed, and had served excellently to establish the reputation of the line. But after twenty-two years of steady and satisfactory service they were being increasingly outclassed by larger vessels placed in the trans-Pacific trade by American and Japanese companies. The Pacific Mail Line had acquired four ships, all of them twice as large as the early Empresses, and the Toyo Kisen Kaisha had new turbine ships of an even greater tonnage and a service speed of 18 knots, which operated in the San Francisco-Orient service. As a result of its study of the situation, the Canadian Pacific finally placed an order for two ships, which were launched on the Clyde in 1912, the Empress of Russia and the Empress of Asia.161 Although the problems confronting the Canadian Pacific's Oriental service differed greatly from those of the Union Company's Canada- Australia service, they had parallel origins and similar implications— the necessity of meeting competition and of maintaining a leading position. By strange coincidence the physical result of this forward effort by the two lines, the first ships to be placed in service, the Niagara and the Empress of Russia, arrived at Vancouver on their maiden voyages at practically the same time, the former on May 28 and the latter on June 7, 1913. The two Empresses were larger and faster than the Niagara—50 feet longer, 2 feet wider, 3,300 tons bigger, and nearly 2 knots faster. But their size and speed must be considered in relation to the ships with which they were to compete—considerably larger and faster than any which the Niagara would be opposing. The Union Company claimed that its new ship "in size, speed, and equipment surpassed anything up to that time running to Australasia " from either Europe or North America.168 The anticipation with which the arrival of the new ship was awaited is well expressed in the Vancouver News- Advertiser:— Today will mark another step forward, and a big one, in the type of vessel running between the two great Dominions of Canada and Australia, for today the splendid new liner built for the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand, the Niagara, will arrive in port from Australia and New Zealand, via Suva and Honolulu.169 The Niagara not only was given a Canadian name—the only ship in the company's fleet yet to be so honoured—but a further compliment was paid to Canada by inviting the wife of Prime Minister Robert L. (167) W. Kaye Lamb, " Empress Odyssey," British Columbia Historical Quarterly, XII (1948), pp. 1-6. (168) 50th Anniversary . . . , p. 17. (169) Vancouver News-Advertiser, May 28, 1913. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 75 Borden to launch the ship170 on August 17, 1912. Built at the Clyde shipyards of John Brown & Company, Govan, the Niagara was a triple- screw steel ship of 13,415 tons gross, with a 17-knot service speed. Her two four-cylinder triple-expansion engines, rated at 14,500 i.h.p.,171 provided power to the two wing-shafts, the centre propeller being driven by a low-pressure turbine operating on the exhaust steam from the cylinders of the reciprocating engines. This combination type of propulsion machinery was new to the company's liners, having been introduced in 1908 and adopted by several Atlantic liners. Steam was provided by eight boilers, four of which were fitted to burn either coal or oil. Her fuel-bunkers were so constructed that they could be converted to use fuel-oil exclusively. She was the first vessel having a passenger certificate of the British Board of Trade to install oil-burning equipment. Arrangements were made for adequate supplies of oil to be delivered on her arrival at Vancouver, and the change-over was duly effected during her stay in port. This was accomplished by the British Columbia Marine Railways Company at Vancouver172 well within the few days permissible, and the ship was enabled to sail with a minimum of delay.173 It should be noted that the Union Company was one of the earliest passenger-line companies to adopt the use of oil fuel and its later application, the diesel internal-combustion engine. At the annual meeting of the company in 1912, Sir James Mills said: " The directors were fully alive to the important developments, such as the combination engines which were being fitted in the Niagara, and geared turbines."174 Perhaps more important still was the diesel engine, adapted for marine propulsion, and the directors had sent the company's superintendent engineer (170) Dr. W. Kaye Lamb to the writer. (171) 50th Anniversary . . . , p. 31. (172) The company did much of the necessary deck repairs and reconditioning of the Union Company's ships during the whole of their operation in the Vancouver service. The oldest shipyard in Vancouver, it was established in the early 1900's, under the management of George Bushby, a grandson of Sir James Douglas, as a branch of the Victoria firm. In later years W. D. Howie succeeded Bushby. The Victoria yard began operating as the Esquimalt Marine Railway in 1893 and was incorporated in 1898 by the brothers W. F. and H. F. Bullen, Mrs. W. F. Bullen being a sister of George Bushby. In 1914 Sir Alfred Yarrow purchased " Bullen's Ways," as the firm was popularly known, and changed the name to Yarrows Limited, under which name it is still being carried on, although in 1946 it passed into the hands of the Burrard Dry dock Company of Vancouver. (173) P. B. Cooke to the writer. (174) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 45. r 76 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. to Europe to study these new developments. With the advent of war in 1914 it was impracticable to proceed with plans for general conversion of its steamers from coal to oil fuel, but the plans were tentatively made, and later were acted upon, and the Union Company provided oil-storage facilities in New Zealand, not only for their own needs, but also for the bunker trade with other shipping companies.175 The Niagara arrived at Vancouver on May 28, 1913, and received from the press somewhat more intense attention than did the Empress of Russia ten days later. From the memory of the writer, both of these fine ships were worthy of the admiration they received, for both were important improvements to their respective services. The following description of the passenger accommodation of the Niagara, written by the reporter of the News-Advertiser, is a satisfying and correct description of the features which might interest the travelling public:— Accommodations for 281 first-class passengers is provided amidships on main, upper, shelter and promenade decks, the staterooms being arranged for one, two, three, or four passengers, while several groups of cabins or suites have been arranged for family parties. On the shelter and promenade decks there have been a number of one and two berth cabins fitted with bedsteads, similar to rooms in a big hotel. There are also two cabins de luxe, suitable for distinguished travellers. . . . The saloons, rest rooms, smoking rooms, library and other quarters for the first and second class cabin passengers are luxuriously fitted up, and the equipment of the entire vessel is as complete as any of the big liners operating on the Atlantic. Electric elevators, darkrooms for developing photographs, a children's saloon, music room, recreation room and practically everything required for the comfort or amusement of passengers is provided on the new steamer.1^ The Vancouver Sun had an equally enthusiastic and informative report on the comfort and conveniences provided for the passengers and added:— As has been the case on other steamships of the company, there will be sufficient lifeboats, with automatic davits and other modern devices, to care for a full passenger list and crew. Arrangements have also been made to provide the best possible method of heating and ventilation as the vessel passes from tropical to cold weather on the voyage across the equator. . . .177 Throughout her many years of successful operation she proved to her owners, her officers and crew to be not only comfortable for the passengers, but, what is far more important, a " reliable " ship. Her engineers stated that she gave them less trouble than any other ship in (175) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 79. (176) Vancouver News-Advertiser, May 28, 1913. (177) Vancouver Sun, May 28, 1913. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 77 which they served, and she received equally complimentary expressions of opinion from those responsible for the management of the ship— " smooth operation, satisfactory to travellers, and to cargo shippers." A not unusual retrospective comment from the management level is: "Best ship we had." It should be noted here than in 1935-36 the Niagara was renovated and improved with a view to bringing her into closer modernity as compared with the new competition of the United States liners. Tne old-fashioned open well in the first-class lounge was floored over and the room greatly improved. Several new cabins with private baths were installed, and she was given an outside swimming- pool.178 The company's trans-Pacific ships were . equipped with Marconi apparatus. L. S. Hawkins, Vancouver manager of the Marconi Company's branch, was closely identified with the prominent place which was secured by British Columbia shipping in the installation of ship-to- shore and ship-to-ship radio-telegraphy and radio-telephony. As an instance of the care given to maintaining the Union Company ships in the front rank, the following report of the record long-distance communication, which at the time was an item of wide interest, is quoted:— What is said to be a world's record for wireless transmission is reported from R.M.S. Niagara. W. H. Marin, chief wireless operator aboard, maintained communication with Sydney when 6,600 miles distant from that port, several messages having been taken and transmitted for passengers. The Niagara now maintains daily communication with home ports, and passengers are able to send messages at any time. For this service the rate is said to be cheaper than any other wireless or cable charge. 179 One of the very few mishaps of any consequence which befell the Niagara was a collision in 1935 with the British freighter King Egbert while in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, 23 miles west of Race Rocks. The collision took place on the night of July 17 during heavy fog. The Niagara was holed and taking water, so her passengers were taken off at 7 a.m., although no one was injured. Damage to the other ship was extensive, but the Niagara received only comparatively minor damage forward, a portion of the superstructure being crumpled. After local temporary repairs, she was able to proceed on her south-bound run.180 Operating at first opposite the Marama and Makura and later the Aorangi 11, the Niagara faithfully maintained the schedule, with excep- (178) Dr. W. Kaye Lamb to the writer, March 4, 1957. (179) Harbour and Shipping, VII (1925), p. 445. (180) Victoria Colonist, July 18, 19, and August 2, 1935. — 78 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. tion only of the necessary periods for overhaul, for twenty-seven years. Had it not been ordained that her career would then cease, she would doubtless have carried on for a number of years longer. Probably the finest compliment ever paid to her was the comment of the editor of Sea Breezes when he wrote: " In June 1940 the Niagara, still running like a new ship was sunk by a mine."181 This remarkable casualty occurred on June 19, 1940, when the Niagara was on her north-bound run to Vancouver. It was the unexpected and first indication that enemy mines had been laid in New Zealand waters. This had been accomplished by the German raider Orion when, crossing the Pacific Ocean from Cape Horn, she laid 228 mines off the coast of New Zealand near Bream Head. The Niagara revealed the presence of these mines, and although several other ships crossed the line of mines within a few days, she was the only merchant vessel to be lost. Subsequently a mine-sweeper was blown up with loss of several lives. The Niagara's engines were disabled by the explosion and shortly she reported that she was sinking. The emergency was capably met by her master, Captain W. Martin, and his ship's company and the entire passenger list of 136 and crew of 203 got safely away in the ship's life-boats.182 Included in her cargo was about one-half of the New Zealand stock of small-arms ammunition, which was being sent to England to relieve the critical shortage existing after the evacuation of Dunkerque. In the strongroom was a shipment of 295 boxes of gold bullion, valued at about £2,500,000, which was being shipped to the United States. A large proportion of this valuable gold cargo was salvaged, its recovery being regarded as one of the most remarkable and successful operations of its kind ever undertaken. The technical obstacle in blasting a way to the sunken vessel's bullion room, the depth of water in which the operation had to be conducted, and even the difficulties encountered in locating the hull render the successful outcome of this operation the more remarkable. A sectional model of the vessel was first made for planning the submarine operations. The entire project was handled by an Australian salvage company, United Salvage Proprietary, with whom was associated Captain J. W. Herd, of Brisbane, who, together with Captain J. P. Williams of the salvage company and its chief salvage diver, Johnstone, headed (181) "A Link of Commonwealth," Sea Breezes, XVI (1953), p. 14. [Italics are the writer's.] (182) Vancouver Province, June 18, 19 and August 5, 1940. it rf*> ' '*** \ / (Courtesy Leonard Frank Photos, Vancouver.) Niagara leaving Vancouver Harbour. (Reproduced from Harbour and Shipping.} H.M.S. Avenger (ex-Aotearoa) sinking after being torpedoed off Scapa Flow, 1917. Aorangi II arriving at Victoria on first voyage, January, 1925. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 79 the expedition to search for the wreck. A salvage vessel of any kind was hard to find during the war, and all that turned up after a diligent search was a superannuated vessel, the Claymore, which had been lying on the mud in Auckland harbour for several years. Considerable repair and refitting was needed to make her fit for the purpose, but this was done satisfactorily, for she gave excellent service throughout the lengthy, and at times perilous, months ahead. The approximate depth at which the Niagara sank was shown in the Admiralty chart as 420 feet. Ordinary diving-gear was precluded by the pressure at such depths, and the protection of a heavily constructed diving-bell was necessary. A Melbourne engineer, David Isaacs, designed a Bj bell" embodying several unique features, which he termed an " observation chamber." This weighed some 3 tons, was 9 feet 6 inches in height, and was surmounted by a bronze dome about 6 feet in diameter. The Claymore steamed to the base camp of the expedition on December 10, 1940. The Navy had not yet completed sweeping the area for mines and offered considerable objection to salvage operations being conducted owing to the risk incurred. However, the salvage officers and crew accepted the known risk, which they fully understood, and the Claymore began the search and conducted systematic sweeping for several weeks. In January the trawl encountered a heavy obstruction and the diving-bell was sent down. It touched bottom at 470 feet by the depth recorder, but Johnstone telephoned up that no evidence of the wreck was visible. The diving-bell was then drawn up, and when near the surface fouled a wire which turned out to be the anchor warp. When the warp was hove aboard, it was seen that a mine was entangled in it and was only a few feet from the Claymore's forefoot. Luckily the mine was freed and destroyed by rifle fire. A week later another mine was encountered. It was drawn up with the anchor and bumped slowly along the ship's side. For a vessel to have her side bumped by a mine would normally mean being blown sky high. Such occurrences were taken as unavoidable and luckily no explosions took place. On January 31, 1941, the wreck was definitely located. Johnstone went down in the bell to investigate and found himself on the ocean-bed close to an upturned suitcase and some broken cases of canned fruit. Later he was able to see the Niagara herself, and there was great rejoicing, but many months were yet to elapse before a sight of the first ingot of gold rewarded his efforts. A detailed narration of the hazardous and strenuous undertaking, while of great interest, would be too lengthy. r 80 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. Suffice it to say that eleven months after the start of the operation, by November, 1941, the bulk of the lost gold to the value of $7,500,000 had been recovered by the salvage ship.183 The unusual nature of this salvage received world-wide attention and interest. It was known that the gold recovered from the wreck fell short of the quantity which had been loaded on to the ship. British salvage experts calculated that some £135,000 had not been recovered. Immediately after the end of the war in 1945 there was a flurry of urgent salvage work, and no time for exploration of possible further recovery of the gold which had eluded the efforts of the Australian company. Eventually eyes were turned southward in the direction of the theoretical $400,000 lying on the sea-bed off the New Zealand coast. The owners of the salvage tug Foremost 17, Risdon Beazley, Limited, of Southampton, England, decided to make an attempt at further salvage, using their own special design of diving equipment, vaguely described in the press as a robot in the shape of a diving-bell having movable arms and legs.184 This expedition, according to subsequent reports, was successful in recovering thirty more of the gold bullion bars, worth about $450,000. It is now believed that only five bars remain on or around the wreck,185 and by now they must be deeply embedded in the mud and silt. In the sea-faring man's tradition of the affinity of ships, which he likes to regard as akin to humans, few better examples can be found than the relationship of the Niagara and the Empress of Russia. Both were built for the trans-Pacific service and laid down at Clyde shipyards almost within sight of each other. Both were completed and delivered to their owners within a month or two of each other and only ten days separated their arrival at Vancouver on their maiden voyages. Although engaged on different runs, the two ships got to know one another by their frequent contacts at Vancouver. Both remained on their mail and passenger runs in the early days of the First World War, and the Niagara was kept on her regular run in order to maintain the necessary communication with Australia, while the Russia was called for war duty on the Pacific. The (183) The writer is indebted to the late J. C. Irons for an extensive description of this operation, which was published in Harbour and Shipping, XXIV (1942), pp. 174-177. Another detailed and accurate account is to be found in James Taylor, Gold from the Sea, London, 1943, and for technical details the reader is referred to Sir Robert H. Davies, Deep Diving, London, 1952. (184) Syren and Shipping, February, 1953. (185) Vancouver Province, August 20, 1953. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 81 Niagara was lost in the early days of the Second World War, and shortly thereafter the Russia was sent from Hong Kong to the South Pacific to take up the task of bringing Australian and New Zealand air recruits to Canadian training-stations, for which the Niagara had been nominated. Still later the Russia took the place of the Aorangi, the Niagara's nmning- mate, as a depot ship in the English Channel. And to bring the parallel to finality, both vessels met tragic ends—the Niagara sunk by a mine and the Russia completely destroyed by fire at her berth in 1945. Aotearoa Shortly after the Niagara was delivered in 1913, the keel was laid down by Fairfield for a large passenger-liner designed for the Vancouver mail and passenger service. A great deal of planning had been done before a decision was reached, for the new ship was designed as the largest, fastest, and best-equipped vessel in this service—a 14,744-ton, 20- knot, gear-turbined steamship. From all reports this ship would have far exceeded any previous vessel employed in this service, not only in size and engine power, but also in luxury and modern improvements. Although she appeared as No. 152 in the Union Company's fleet list for the years 1915 to 1917, actually she was never delivered to her owners, for the Admiralty requisitioned her in 1915 before she was completed. The changes effected to convert her for the Navy reduced her dimensions and tonnage. The designed superstructure was not built, and her gross tonnage was thus reduced by about 1,300 tons.186 As completed, her dimensions were: Length, 548 feet; breadth, 68.2 feet; and depth, 34 feet. Her proposed name Aotearoa was dropped and she was christened the Avenger, an armed merchant cruiser. After serving two months in the 9th Cruiser Squadron in the Cape Verde region, she joined the famous 10th Cruiser Squadron on blockade control between the Orkney Islands and Iceland in September, 1916. While en route to Scapa Flow to refuel, she was torpedoed on hex port side at 2 a.m., June 14,1917. As she was settling rapidly, Captain A. L. Ashby, R.N., ordered " abandon ship," but he himself remained aboard with four officers and two ratings. Two destroyers arrived on the scene about an hour later and took the crew aboard, and shortly after midday the Avenger settled gradually by the stern and sank.187 (186) Dr. W. Kaye Lamb to the writer. (187) S. D. Waters, op. «*„ p. 74. r 82 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. The Aotearoa, as she was to have been named, would have been a magnificent addition to the Sydney-Vancouver service. J. C. Irons, Vancouver manager of the line, greatly deplored the loss of this ship, which would have filled his ideal for the service,188 although he feared that Canadians might well have had difficulty in the pronunciation of her name. When it was announced that another new ship would be laid down as soon as possible, the newspapers stated that she would be given the same name. But this proved to be incorrect, for the company decided to give the projected ship a name which had already become famous—Aorangi—after the iron-hulled steamer of the pioneer days of the service. Aorangi II The sinking of the Aotearoa—the company always thought of her by that name—made it imperative for the Union Company to acquire a ship to take the place for which she had been intended. The enormous loss of tonnage during the war had created a demand which quickly filled the capacity of shipyards everywhere. It was not until November, 1922, that the keel was laid down by the Clyde yard of Fairfield Shipbuilding Company for " the largest and fastest motor liner in the world," to use the description of the vessel at the company's jubilee celebration in 1925.189 This, of course, was the Royal Mail Motorship Aorangi, which represented the determination of the Union Company to place the service on the best competitive foundation. In planning the new ship a full study was made of the latest type of marine propulsion, the oil-operated internal-combustion engine, the diesel, which had, only a few years previously, demonstrated its economy and reliability in several large cargo-vessels of moderate speed. But to apply it for the propulsion of a large and fast passenger-liner of the highest type was a bold, untried, and challenging step. Naturally the new departure was watched with great interest throughout the ship-building and engineering world. The Aorangi's entry into the Pacific trade is regarded as the beginning of the adoption of motor-engines on that ocean. The following excerpt from a shipping journal indicates the great interest shown in regard to the Aorangi's engines:— During the past few weeks there has been activity on the Clyde in connection with the launching and completion of motor-vessels and test-bed trials of the new types of Diesel engine. Chief interest has perhaps been aroused by the trials that (188) J. C. Irons to the writer. (189) 50th Anniversary . . . ,p. 33. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 83 have been carried out on the 3,250 b.h.p. Sulzer type engine constructed by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company. This would be noteworthy if only from the fact that it is the most powerful marine oil engine yet constructed. It is, moreover, the first of four similar sets to be installed in the 20,000 ton motor- liner Aorangi now being built for the Canadian Austral asiaM Royal Mail Line for the Vancouver service. . . . The second motor will be ready for tests in the course of a week or two, and the other two engines will follow shortly, representing in all by far the biggest installation yet made in any motor-ship.WO The new Aorangi was built at the same shipyard on the Clyde in which her namesake had been built thirty-nine years earlier in 1883, although then known as Elder & Company but subsequently becoming the Fairfield Shipbiiilding & Engineering Company Limited. Her keel was laid down in November, 1922, and the launching took place on June 17, 1924. Trial trips were run from December 8 to 29, on which date she sailed from the Clyde. The Aorangi commenced her first voyage from Southampton on January 3, 1925, calling at Kingston (Jamaica), Panama, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Victoria, Vancouver, Honolulu, and Suva, finally arriving at Auckland on February 24, 1925.m Although a motorship, she was given two full-size funnels, making her similar in profile to other ships of the line. Most of the cargo motor- vessels built prior to this time had abandoned the funnel, the waste gases from the engines requiring only a comparatively small vent pipe. But it was realized that for a large passenger-liner the absence of a funnel would have been too radical a change. Running opposite the Niagara, her appearance therefore disclosed no difference in the type of propulsion. It would seem that the Aorangi set the pattern, for all passenger- ships built since have been given funnels, whether steam or motor propelled. Not only that, but the cargo-vessels have followed the idea, although the modern ships carry modified funnels which differ greatly from those of the traditional cc^-burning steamships. It thus is seen that the Aorangi profile had a wide effect on ship design, which is still apparent The Aorangi was 3,000 tons larger than the Niagara and 75 feet longer, having a gross tonnage of 17,491 and over-all length of 604 feet; breadth, 72.2 feet; and depth, 43.4 feet. Her engines were of the Sulzer two-stroke single-acting type, with maximum revolutions on service 127 per minute. Her oil consumption was about 54 tons per day, as com- (190) Harbour and Shipping, VI (1924), p, 301. (191) 50th Anniversary . . . , p. 33. r 84 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. pared with 100 to 150 tons consumed by contemporary oil-fuelled steam- engines of similar power. Quadruple screws, driven by four engines, developed a total of 17,000 i.h.p., giving a cruising speed of 18 knots, which at times she exceeded. Her maximum speed on trials was 18.5 knots, the average being 18.237 knots.192 Passenger accommodation for 947 was provided. Dr. Percy Hillhouse, naval architect for the Fairfield Company, who had designed the Empress of Russia and the Empress of Asia for the Canadian Pacific Steamships, gave them " cruiser sterns," making them the first large liners to have that feature. He suggested the same design for the Aorangi. With her cruiser stern, four decks, and a promenade deck of 419 feet, she somewhat resembled the two Empresses but exceeded them in size, being 10 feet longer, 4 feet wider, and of 680 tons greater tonnage. These comparisons are made to give a clearer picture of the size of the Aorangi, although the comparison lacks any reference to passenger accommodation or other interior amenities, but it does demonstrate that the new vessel was in fact a considerable step forward. Her immediate predecessor, the Niagara, had been the largest ship in the Union Company's entire fleet. Her owners were very proud of the new Aorangi, which entered the service during the fiftieth year of the company's history. In the programme printed on the occasion of the celebration of the jubilee of the Union Steam Ship Company at a banquet held in Wellington on May 15, 1925, a description of the new ship included the following:— Apart from the method of propulsion, with its freedom from smoke and vibration, she is, in her general detail, appointments, and equipment the Union Company's finest ship. rJHer beautiful Louis XVI. dining room and music room, Georgian lounge, and Elizabethan smoke room, form the most luxurious apartments of any vessel which has been seen in Australia; she has cabines de luxe in all the best styles of decoration, together with verandah cafes, an auxiliary dining- saloon, a nursery, gymnasium, electric lifts, and every other accessory to comfort which the most refined luxury can desire. Great care has been given to ventilation; ■she is steam-heated throughout, has a most extensive electrical system, including an electrically-driven laundry, and is provided with the best modern aids to navigation.193 Many of the large number of Vancouver residents, including the writer, who visited the ship on her first arrival will recall their admiration of the passenger accommodation and attractive decoration, and will agree with (192) "Ships That Made History," Shipbuilding and Shipping Record, March 17, 1949, p. 320. (193) 50th Anniversary . . . , p. 22. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 85 the company's description. The engine-room, with its then strange new engines and looking so different, called for special interest, although it remained a mystery to most of those privileged to view it. She arrived at Victoria on January 29, 1925, after a twenty-six-day run from Southampton, on which she averaged 16.24 knots, and was thrown open to public inspection. The welcome accorded to the new ship at both Victoria and Vancouver was enthusiastic, as it had been at each of the ports at which she had called on her way out, but it would appear that her " home port," Auckland, where she arrived on February 24, surpassed all the others, although Sydney came a good second. She sailed from Vancouver on her first mail run on February 6, 1925, and on this voyage the Pacific greeted the new ship with a cyclonic storm, which beset her for five days between Victoria and Honolulu, and she proved herself to be a worthy successor to the old-timers that ploughed the same track before her. Four months later she demonstrated her capacity to maintain the schedule of the line by arriving at Vancouver thirty-six hours ahead of time.194 No time had been lost in placing her on her regular run, opposite the Niagara, and she was operated in this service with conspicuous success and remarkably few difficulties. Her diesel engines, after settling down to normal requirements, demanded only reasonable care to maintain them in first-class condition. With occasional lay-off for inspection and the usual overhaul, she maintained her regular service between Vancouver and Sydney. It must be noted, however, that in her later days when she returned in 1948 from her exacting war sendees, ih& operation of her diesel engines was maintained in satisfactory condition only by constant care and frequent repairs and replacements involving considerable expense. There appears to have been little doubt that new engines would have been imperative had it been decided to continue her in operation, a factor which made it impossible to find a purchaser when it was decided to withdraw her from the service. The arrival of the Aorangi in 1925 permitted the withdrawal of the Makura, which then went to the San Francisco service, replacing the Marama. To maintain continuity in this story, further relation of the record of the Aorangi will be deferred to permit consideration of important matters which arose subsequent to her entering the service. (194) Will Lawson, op. cit., p. 236. 86 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. Maunganui The Maunganui was one of the Union Company's outstanding steamers, built for its intercolonial trade in 1911, but she was also employed as a relief ship for both the San Francisco and the Vancouver runs. A beautifully appointed twin-screw steamer, she was launched on the Clyde at the Govan yards of the Fairfield Company. She was of 7,527 gross tons, and her quadruple-expansion engines at 220 pounds pressure provided 8,000 i.h.p. and a cruising speed of 17 knots.195 Coming out in 1911 she ran with conspicuous success for thirty-five years. The Maunganui served in both world wars—in the first as a troop-ship and in the second as a hospital ship for four years.196 After the First World War she was refitted in June, 1919, and converted to oil fuel before taking over from the Makura in the San Francisco run while that ship was undergoing overhaul and refitting.197 She was also at Vancouver on a relief run during 1927, temporarily replacing the Niagara. Her regular run between the wars was in the San Francisco service, in which she ran opposite the Makura until the service was discontinued in December, 1936. In January, 1941, she was taken over by the Government of New Zealand for conversion to a hospital ship, the work being carried out by the Union Company at Wellington to Admiralty specifications. For the main part, she was employed on voyages between New Zealand and the Suez, carrying wounded New Zealand soldiers and other servicemen back to the Dominion, and, in addition, she carried other British troops on special voyages. During this service she rescued and rendered aid to many distressed seamen in the Indian Ocean. She was also active in the Fleet Train on the Pacific, in evacuating sick and starving prisoners of war. In August, 1946, she was finally returned to Wellington and paid off,198 and the following year she was sold to Panama owners and her name changed to Cyrenia. Shortly thereafter she was purchased by Hellenic Mediterranean Lines Ltd. of Piraeus for the Mediterranean passenger service, where she operated until April, 1957, when she was sent to Italian ship-breakers.199 (195) 50th Anniversary . . . , p. 29. (196) S. D. Waters, op. cit., pp. 58, 72, and 89. (197) Harbour and Shipping, II (1919), p. 29. (198) S. D. Waters, op. cit., pp. 108-109. (199) Sea Breezes, April, 1957, p. 300. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 87 Monowai II The Monowai II, another interesting steamer which operated in the Vancouver service as a relief ship, was built in 1925 but did not appear on the Union Company's fleet-list until 1930, when it purchased her to replace its Tahiti. Designed for the P. & O. Company for its fast Aden and Bombay mail and passenger service, she was built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, and named Razmak, but the Union Company renamed her Monowai, the second of this name in the service, the first a much smaller ship appearing in its fleet-list from 1890 to 1926. The Monowai was a typical P. & O. liner, of 10,852 tons, 500 feet in length, 63 feet in breadth, and 34 feet in depth. Her 14,740-i.h.p. engines consisted of two sets of quadruple-expansion four-cylinder reciprocating, each coupled to a double-reduction Bauer-Wach low-pressure turbine operated by exhaust steam. Twin screws provided a cruising speed of 19 knots.200 A handsome ship, with two masts and two funnels, she made several runs in iho Vancouver service, replacing the Aorangi II in June, 1931, in June and September, 1933, and in October, 1935. On October 21, 1939, she was taken over by the New Zealand Government for conversion to an armed merchant cruiser, being fitted out at the naval dockyard at Auckland and commissioned on August 30, 1940. At first she was employed on escort duties, during which she sighted a Japanese submarine and is believed to have sunk it. Later, in 1943, she went to England for conversion into a troop-ship and the following year she was again refitted, this time as an L.S.I, (landing ship, infantry), and served in the Mediterranean on D-day carrying 1,800 commando troops. In August, 1949, she was returned to her owners to resume her run in the New Zealand-Sydney service and carries in her lounge a copper plaque commemorating her notable war service.201 Awatea Regarded by many as one of the outstanding passenger-ships of her time and certainly the speediest ship on the Pacific, the Awatea, although not well known in British Columbia ports, had a special call on Canada for recognition for her services. She was regarded by her owners as their finest ship, the plans and specifications for which were prepared by the company's own staff. Built in 1936 by Vickers, Armstrong at its (200) Lloyd's Register, and P. B. Cooke to the writer. (201) S. D. Waters, op. cit., pp. 105-108. 88 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, this handsome ship was destined for a short career—one filled with activity and adventure. In her short life of six years she steamed a total of 576,132 nautical miles. Measuring 13,482 tons gross on a length of 527 feet and a breadth of 74.2 feet, she was propelled by twin screws driven by two sets of turbines supplied with high-pressure super-heated steam from six water-tube boilers, giving her a service speed of 22 knots. Her engines were rated at 22,500 shaft- horsepower, and on her trials she ran a maximum of 24.5 knots.202 Her owners were proud of the Awatea, for, apart from her speed, which made her at the time of building the third fastest British ocean-going vessel, exceeded only by th& Queen Mary and the Empress of Britain, her fittings struck a new note in luxury and modernity—telephones in each stateroom, radio-telephone communication with shore, punkah- louvre ventilators, sound pictures, and other innovations for the line. On her maiden voyage from the Clyde to Wellington, New Zealand, in 1936, steaming on three boilers only, she made the passage of 11,218 miles via the Panama Canal in twenty-eight days, setting a new record. It is interesting to compare this with the fast run of the Miowera, first ship of the service, which was applauded for making the 14,500 miles from Victoria to the Tyne in 1894 in sixty days. The Awatea's passenger accommodation was 337 first class, 151 cabin, and 38 third, and she was designed as a fast liner of the highest class to meet subsidized foreign competition in the intercolonial trade. Her best day's run was 576 miles at an average of 23.25 knots, the fastest steaming ever made by a merchant ship in the southern hemisphere. Because of her speed and comfort, she became the most popular ship in the intercolonial service, where she remained from her first sailing in September, 1936, until the outbreak of war in 1939. During this period she made 225 crossings of the Tasman Sea (a distance of 1,281 miles) as well as nineteen passages between Wellington and Auckland. In December, 1939, she carried the advance guard of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force to Colombo, whence they proceeded to Egypt. She resumed her normal run, and then in July, 1940, went to Manila to pick up a large party of women and children evacuees from Hong Kong and elsewhere in the Far East. After that she made several voyages in the Vancouver mail run, and while in port at Vancouver she was greatly admired by all who visited her. Her recurrent arrivals at Vancouver with Australian and New Zealand airmen will long be remem- (202) Dr. W. Kaye Lamb to the writer. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 89 bered by those who were privileged to witness these living demonstrations of Empire unity. In all, she carried 3,600 Australian and New Zealand airmen to Canada for training. In September, 1941, she was requisitioned by the British Ministry of War Transport and ordered to proceed to England. Shortly after leaving Vancouver, however, she was damaged in a collision with a U.S. tanker, the Lombardi, and had to return to Vancouver for repairs, in the course of which she was stripped of most of her luxurious fittings and converted to a troop transport. However, the imminent threat of Japan's entry into the war now presented a new and pressing task, for Canadian troops were to be sent without delay to Hong Kong to reinforce the British garrison, and for this purpose the Awatea was ordered to embark as many troops as possible. Units of the Royal Rifles and Winnipeg Grenadiers, totalling approximately 2,000 officers and men, arrived by rail at Vancouver on October 25 and were embarked immediately. That same day the Awatea sailed under convoy of the ex-Canadian National liner Prince Robert, which had been converted as an R.C.N, escort ship. The convoy arrived at Hong Kong a few days prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, and the Canadian troops were soon engulfed in the losing battle which resulted in the fall of the colony. The survivors spent the remainder of the war in Japanese prison camps. After landing the troops at Hong Kong, the Awatea proceeded without delay to the United Kingdom via Singapore, Colombo, and Mom- bassa. Three days out from Liverpool she was attacked by a U-boat and narrowly dodged a torpedo. After a quick turn-around at Liverpool she went out on convoy with troops for the Near East, proceeding to Bombay, thence returning to England with women and children from the East Indies. Home-bound she was intercepted by an armed raider, but her speed enabled her to escape. Her next voyage was in convoy to Durban and thence via Bermuda to Halifax, N.S. On this trip she was in collision in South African waters with the British vessel Pride, but no serious damage resulted. At Halifax she embarked Canadian troops for England. On the second day out in convoy she collided with an American destroyer, the U.S.S. Bush, which was cut in two while trying to cross the liner's bow. The destroyer sank immediately, unfortunately with heavy loss of life. This accident is thought to have been due to a lack of realization on the part of the navigator in the destroyer of the high speed of the Awatea. In the collision the impact fired a number of depth charges carried on the destroyer's deck, resulting in very heavy 90 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. damage to the bow of the Awatea and some damage also to the forward part of the ship. She had to put back to Halifax for repairs, which were rushed to permit her sailing for Glasgow, where she was scheduled to undergo structural changes. After the planned changes were hurriedly made, she sailed in company with other vessels to take part in Operation Torch, a great combined operation involving literally hundreds of ships and landing-craft, all destined for the assault on the coast of North Africa. Now fitted out as an L.S.I., she was assigned the task of carrying the Sixth Commando Group and formed part of the force which successfully assailed Algiers in November, 1942. Leaving Algiers, she proceeded eastward on further assignment, but two days later was attacked by a heavy force of German bombers which scored many hits. Badly damaged and on fire, she was beached, but slipped off the bank and had to be abandoned, sinking immediately thereafter. Some of the crew got away in life-boats, but the remainder were taken aboard a destroyer. Captain G. B. Morgan together with his officers and crew received official recognition of their services, citations stating that their behaviour had been in the best traditions of the Navy.203 Thus closed the short but active and gallant life of the Awatea, one of the most beautiful ships ever to be seen in Vancouver harbour. Her war service is noteworthy for the reason that she was the only merchant vessel manned, in the main, by a New Zealand crew. It certainly will be conceded that her three years of war service were full of action and full of valour on the part of her officers and men. 1930—Crisis and Challenge While the intricate but interesting subject of subsidies has been relegated to a special appendix, notice must be taken at this critical juncture of an approaching crisis, well discernible in advance. Those interested in world shipping and international commerce well remember the years which followed the Great War of 1914-18, uneasy years which imposed heavy burdens on shipping. The volume of world trade was far below the pre-war level, and profitable occupation could not be found for a large proportion of the mercantile shipping, which post-war building had increased far beyond the replacement of losses incurred during the war. (203) P. B. Cooke to the writer, and S. D. Waters, op. cit., pp. 101-104. For further information on the movement of troops to Hong Kong, see C. P. Stacey, Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War, Ottawa, 1955, Vol. I, pp. 447-461, passim. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 91 None will forget the onset of the great economic depression of the early thirties and its consequences. British shipping, already in difficulties and declining, was forced into a situation never before experienced. Beset by reduction in trade, a new competition had to be faced—the wave of war-incited nationalism in many countries, seeking by flag discrimination and by subsidies, and other less obvious means, to establish and foster the growth of their national merchant shipping. Even Canadians were fully aware of this phenomenon, for they had engaged in the venture of a nationally owned shipping operation which, while apparently assisting export industries, resulted finally in heavy operating losses and the sale of the entire fleet of sixty-five ships. During this period a number of the great liner companies were forced to lay up many ships, and tramp-ship owners faced a tragic situation when it became impossible to secure cargoes except at rates below the cost of operation.204 Even the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand was forced to withdraw from service a number of its vessels.205 It was during this critical period that the Union Company's competitor and former partner in the San Francisco-Australia trade, the Matson Line, which had taken over the old Oceanic Line, decided to discard its old ships employed in that service and to take advantage of the bounty of the United States Government Orders were placed for three new liners, one in 1931 and one in each of the two following years, at a total cost of over $24,000,000. For these a subsidy was secured under the Act of 1928 by which $250,000,000 had been appropriated as a loan fund to aid the construction of merchant shipping. Ship-owners could borrow from the fund three-fourths of the cost of the ships to be built, the money being lent for a term of twenty years at a rate of interest not to exceed the lowest rate paid by the Government on loans contracted during the contract. In addition, Matson secured a contract for the carriage of mails between the United States and Australasia at a remunera- (204) The following quotations indicate the depressed condition of the industry at this period: f The outlook for shipping, especially from this coast, for some time to come, is very dismal, and the volume of tonnage laid up is now reported to be over two and a half million deadweight tons, which of course represents enormous capital lying idTe." Harbour and Shipping, XEH (1930), p. 152 " Rates of freight . . . are lower than what was considered a 'low rate' in pre-war times. . . . Every trade seems to be surfeited with tonnage. . . . Rates have reached a level which have squeezed out the tramp altogether. . . . Newly built vessels continue to be taken delivery of from the shipbuilders' yards, and they are immediately laid up by their new owners." Ibid., p. 328. (205) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 87. 92 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. tion far higher than that received by the Canadian Australasian Line. The new ships were fast vessels; they were excellent passenger-steamers; and they were to go into service at the depth of the depression. This oncoming competition was viewed with alarm by the Union Company, whose ships had to be built by funds provided by its shareholders and operated in open competition, receiving by way of subsidy a sum inadequate even to offset losses currently being incurred. Those who had been observing the situation welcomed the announcement on August 4, 1931, of the formation, jointly by the Union Company and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, of a new company to purchase and operate the two ships Niagara and Aorangi then being operated in the Sydney-Vancouver service. The new company, under the name Canadian Australasian Line Limited, was incorporated in Ottawa by letters patent dated July 2, 1931. In its annual report to shareholders for 1931 the Canadian Pacific Railway Company gave the following information:— Canadian Australasian Line. To promote its interest in traffic between Canada and Australia and New Zealand, your Company during the year acquired a half interest in the motorship Aorangi and the steamship Niagara, theretofore operated by the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand between Vancouver, Auckland and Sydney. The price agreed upon was £500,000, which by arrangement with the Union Steamship Company, was paid by the delivery of Canadian Pacific Preference Stock to the amount of £625,000 at an agreed price of 80. For the purpose of carrying out the transaction, The Canadian Australasian Line, Limited, was incorporated in Canada, to which the vessels were transferred by the Union Steamship Company in consideration of the issue of 48,666 shares of the par value of $100 each, one-half of which were then purchased by your Company in the manner described. This juncture of the two companies who had from the beginning been closely allied in operation of the Union Company's Canadian-Australasian service was no great surprise to the shipping industry. It was obvious that the combination of Canadian and New Zealand capital in the hands of shipping companies long experienced in the intricacies of passenger and mail services would be the best assurance that every effort would be made to maintain the line in existence. The following quotation well expresses the general feeling in the shipping industry at that time:— The Union Steam Ship Company had long maintained close and friendly relations with the Canadian Pacific Railway Company and, rightly or wrongly, the formation of the joint company was interpreted in the shipping world as a reply to the activities of the Matson Navigation Company.206 (206) S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 89. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 93 With the transfer to the new company of ownership of the two ships engaged in the service, Aorangi and Niagara, they were removed from the fleet-list of the Union Company. But so far as their operation was concerned there was little change, the management of the line's business in Australasia remaining in the hands of the Union Company, as general agents. Its office in Vancouver became the head office of the new company, which appointed J. C. Irons as its general manager. In addition, he continued to act as manager of the Vancouver office of the Union Company, handling the general agency of that company's service of cargo-steamers operating between Canada and the Antipodes. The staffing, storing, and maintenance of the two passenger-liners remained in the hands of the Union Company both in Australasia and in Vancouver, the Canadian Pacific continuing, as heretofore, as passenger agents in Canada. The board of directors was equally divided between the two interests. Under the new ownership the line faced the problem of transforming the operation into a fully competitive position. It was recognized that the primary objective must be to provide new ships of a type and speed capable of meeting the competition of the new ships in the American service. Although this necessity had been apparent for several years, the position of the line as regards subsidy had become considerably worse, making the problem even more complicated. Canada had seen fit to make successive reductions in her participation in the subsidy. Canada's share, set at $180,509 in 1911, was reduced by $50,000 in 1921 and three years later by a further cut of $30,509 was reduced to a flat $100,000, the lowest amount paid by Canada since the line commenced operations in 1893. This rate continued until 1935.207 (207) As evidence of the reason for the reluctance of the Canadian Government to expand its commitments in this field, the following opinion regarding the losses incurred by the Canadian Government Merchant Marine is pertinent: "The financial losses incurred by the Canadian government throughout the past ten years or more, in the operation of steamers, whether under . . . Canadian National or the Government Merchant Marine, have been stupendous, but it has, apparently, taken all these years and the hard facts of financial inability to carry on, to bring matters to the point where the courage could be screwed up to cut the loss and get rid of the ships.' . . . The loss to the government to be written off, if all the ships are sold, would be approximately $90,000,000. That loss has already been incurred. Continuation of operation merely increases it, as there are deficits on operating account every year." Harbour and Shipping, XVI (1933), p. 31. r 94 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. It is plain that the new company received little by way of encouragement when it incorporated in 1931 with the hope that it would be possible to place the line in a safe position. Not until 1935 did the Government of Canada take note of the precarious position into which the line had been forced and decide that some financial recognition should promptly be voted. The debate on the 1935 proposal to increase the subsidy disclosed the fact that even with the granting of an increase further action was necessary, and views were exchanged with the Australian and New Zealand as well as the British Governments. In the meantime Canada's share in the subsidy was increased from $100,000 to $200,000. It was obvious that the matter was not thus adequately settled and that it would be further examined at the next session of the House of Commons. But before the next session of Parliament met a terse announcement was issued at Wellington indicating that consideration was being given to the abandonment of the Union Company's San Francisco-Wellington service owing to the heavy losses being incurred. This touched off a tempest of indignation that the situation had been allowed to drift to such a level. In the London Times strongly worded editorials and lengthy articles deplored the apparent apathy of the countries concerned, including Great Britain, and stressed the necessity of immediate action to avert the abandonment of the trans-Pacific services between North America and the Antipodes. They also advocated aid from the United Kingdom in providing larger and faster steamers and assistance in financing. Dispatches from New Zealand reported that the Government was considering the possibility of giving preference to British steamship lines. In Canada a change in Government had occurred when Parliament assembled for its 1936 session, and it is not surprising that the matter received urgent consideration. The subsidy was again increased, to $300,000, and the debate on this proposal revealed the full facts of the situation — that the previous Government had held the opinion that " lesser subsidies should be paid and that no increase was indicated," although the former Prime Minister, R. B. Bennett, and his former Minister of Trade and Commerce, H. H. Stevens, now expressed the contrary view that not only should the subsidy be increased, but a definite effort be made to put faster steamers into service. Shortly after the increased subsidy was voted the Union Company formally announced the discontinuance of its Wellington-San Francisco service and added: ". . . the future of the Canadian Australasian Vancouver service, as already stated by the president of the company, Mr. Beatty, is similarly threatened."208 (208) London Times, April 16, 1936. i A WaBm mmmSUM (Courtesy Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand.) Maunganui. M, WML -,:v,-«-^«rr \^t (Courtesy Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand.) Awatea. (Courtesy The Trident.) Aorangi II at the ship-breakers, Glasgow, 1953. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 95 This gloomy prognostication was well founded. It had long been evident that the "All-Red Route " was facing a dead-end unless new ships were provided, which was impracticable under the circumstances then existing. The wisdom of the co-operative venture by the Union and the Canadian Pacific Companies soon became apparent, for the latter company had to face the prospect of replacing the Empress of Russia and the Empress of Asia, which had entered the trans-Pacific service in 1913. In 193 8 the Canadian Pacific company was ready to embark upon another great ship-building programme if it could be done at a reasonable cost. After some deliberation it was decided that to this programme should be added two new ships for the Vancouver-Sydney service, designed to be far ahead of any previous ship employed and fully capable of competing with the American ships. It was also decided to add another new ship, as companion to the Empress of Britain for the Atlantic service, and it was hoped that the five ships could be secured for £11,000,000.209 Preliminary tentative plans were drawn by the Union Company in conjunction with the Canadian Pacific—the two partners in the Canadian Australasian Line Limited. Much study was given to the details which were completed at Vancouver in June, 1938. Authentic information regarding the proposed ships has not hitherto been available as they were never built, and the meagre details published at the time in the shipping press were largely conjectural. The writer, however, was privileged to examine and study the plans. The ships were to be identical, with estimated gross tonnage of approximately 25,000. They were to be engined with geared turbines providing an estimated service speed of 22-23 knots.210 The ships' dimensions were to be: Length between perpendiculars, 645 feet; breadth moulded, 83.7 feet; depth to shelter deck, 45.6 feet211 Armed with these plans, Sir Edward Beatty, president of the Canadian Pacific, went to England, arriving there on July 14 with the expecta- (209) W. Kaye Lamb, " Empress Odyssey," pp. 42, 43. (210) This information is not included in the plans but is quoted from Harbour and Shipping, XXI (1938), pp. 232-233, and the London Times, July 15, 1938. (211) For a more detailed description of the plans, .see Appendix V. It should be noted that these dimensions were almost identical with those of the second Empress of Japan, nor was the similarity confined only to the dimensions. They were designed for similar speed, their profile was similar, except that the proposed ships were to have two instead of the three funnels designed for the Japan. r 96 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. tion of remaining about ten days. During this interval he hoped to place orders for the two ships and to make arrangements for the three additional vessels for the other Atlantic and Pacific services. But the project went astray, for on July 22 a joint statement was issued by Sir Edward and Lord Craigmile, head of the P. & O. Company (largest holders of common stock of the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand), in which it was stated that" shipbuilding prices have reached an uneconomical peak, and construction of ships is impracticable for the present," although it was added that "the Canadian Australasian management expects to resume discussion of the ships when economical shipbuilding prices again prevail."212 The new ships would not be built, which fact presaged the end of the service. The recurrence of war, following the uneasy twenty-one years of peace, was bravely met by the two remaining ships—one continuing in the Vancouver-Sydney service until she was sunk by an enemy mine in 1940, as already recounted; the other, called into war service, later returned to her normal assignment to carry on the regular run. Last Ship of the Line The Aorangi maintained her regular service on the Vancouver run during the first eighteen months of the Second World War. During this period she carried, like the Awatea, a large number of Australian and New Zealand airmen for further training in Canada, bringing no less than 1,900 servicemen. On one voyage in October, 1940, she landed the first New Zealand troops for the defence of Fiji. But in September, 1941, she was requisitioned by the British Ministry of War Transport and went to England. She was in the convoy of large liners which conveyed troops and supplies to the Mediterranean via the Cape of Good Hope, which arrived at Durban in January, 1942. At that time the Japanese invasion of Malaya was in progress, and five of the ships, including the Aorangi, were diverted when north of Madagascar and proceeded to Singapore. Upon arrival there she was subjected to heavy daily air attacks by Japanese planes but was able to take aboard a large number of women and children and evacuate them to Australia. Following this assignment she continued to carry troops via South Africa to India and the Mediterranean and also from Canada to England. All told she transported more than 36,000 troops and 5,500 refugees. In May, 1944, she arrived at Southampton, where she was fitted out as a (212) Harbour and Shipping, XXI (1938), loc. cit. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 97 depot ship for some 150 tugs, carrying supplies and repair parts of all kinds. In addition, she provided hospital accommodation and quarters for small-craft personnel. From D-day (June 6, 1944) to the end of July she serviced nearly 1,200 vessels and countless small craft, and her hospital beds comforted many wounded men from the beachheads.213 When released from duty at Southampton, she returned to the Clyde, where she was again refitted as " commodore ship " in the Fleet Train of the British Pacific Fleet. She went to Hong Kong, where she was stationed from September, 1945, until April, 1946, from whence she proceeded to Sydney to undergo extensive reconversion for normal service. Owing to the delays in sending the necessary materials out from Britain and constant industrial troubles, this work took sixteen months and was reported to have cost the British Government over £1,000,- 000.214 Not until 1948 was she ready to resume her mail and passenger service between Sydney and Vancouver; sailing from Sydney in August, she arrived at Victoria on September 10, 1948.215 On this trip the Aorangi carried a full passenger list. When she had first come out from the Clyde in 1925, she had room for 947 passengers, but this was reduced to 639 when she was refitted in 1935, and now her total accommodation was still further reduced to 485.216 Upon her arrival at Victoria she received a welcome comparable to the acclaim that had been given to her on her first arrival. Chamber of Commerce and civic officials and a crowd of citizens hailed her return from the war, and there were similar demonstrations at Vancouver. The renovated Aorangi had been given a white hull instead of the customary dark green of the Union Company, but although much admired this change was short-lived. White paint had been used on the Canadian Pacific fleet of trans-Pacific Empresses quite satisfactorily, but it was to prove unsuitable on the Vancouver-Sydney run with its different atmospheric conditions; consequently, after two round trips the Aorangi was returned to her usual dark green. 217 She continued her regular run, making six round voyages a year. Passenger lists were consistently good and there was ample cargo offer- (213) S. D. Waters, op. cit., pp. 99-100. (214) Shipbuilding and Shipping Record, March 17, 1949, p. 320, and S. D. Waters, op. cit., p. 128. (215) Victoria Times, September 11, 1948. (216) Dr. W. K. Lamb to the writer, March 4, 1957. (217) P. B. Cooke to the writer. 98 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. ing, but due to the slow rate of discharge and loading at ports of call, which plagued the post-war period, the freight position was unsatisfactory. Payment of the subsidy by Canada, Australia, and New Zealand had been suspended during the war and had not been renewed. It is not surprising that under these circumstances substantial losses made it impracticable to continue the service. An official announcement in July, 1950, indicated that the Aorangi would be withdrawn from service on completion of her south-bound passage in January, 1951. Prime Minister Sydney Holland of New Zealand had offered an annual subsidy of £13,000 (approximately $31,000 at the then current rate of exchange), but neither Canada nor Australia had indicated any intention of participating.218 This announcement came as no surprise to those who were aware of the financially unsatisfactory results of the service. There was an immediate clamour for some action by the governments concerned which would permit a continuance of the service, even if temporarily on a one-ship basis, in the hope that other ships might later be secured to maintain a full service. For a time it was thought that a postponement might be secured, but when the announced date arrived neither Canada nor Australia had come to any decision. Thus it came about that on January 4, 1951, the Aorangi sailed on schedule from Vancouver and bade good-bye to Vancouver and Victoria. But it was not the end, for efforts to maintain even a skeleton service were not completely abandoned. The developments which led to a temporary revival of the service and its final closure two years later will be found in the appendix on the subsidy question, and note will here be taken only of the tardy efforts to revitalize the "All-Red Route." Upon her arrival at Sydney late in January, 1951, the Aorangi was decommissioned and laid up, but on April 5 she sailed once again from Sydney, arriving at Victoria on April 26. This resumption of the service lasted until May 14, 1953, when she sailed for the last time from Vancouver to Sydney, where she was again laid up awaiting decision as to her disposal. She had completed the sixty-year mission of the "All-Red Route" of passenger and mail steamers. The mails no longer were carried by surface ships; airships had won their victory. Progress has its victims as well as its beneficiaries. The Aorangi had completed a career of twenty-eight years of useful employment as a mail and passenger liner and during the war had served with distinction. She was the last of the many interesting and valiant (218) Victoria Colonist, July 6, 1950. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 99 trans-Pacific liners which had become a tradition on the Canadian West Coast and the main link for travel between the British Empire countries in the North and South Pacific. Laid up at Sydney, the fate of the old Aorangi was difficult to decide. To maintain her in working condition had become a great expense; her diesel engines had latterly been giving trouble and would require extensive overhaul or possibly replacement She attracted no buyers. The idea was mooted that she might be acquired by the Australian Government for operation as an immigrant ship, but this proposal came to naught Finally the announcement came that her owners had decided to dispose of her to the ship-breakers, and in due course she departed on her final run to Glasgow, where she arrived in August, 1953. As a fitting conclusion to this narration of the history of the "All-Red Route," it will suffice to quote briefly from an article by Oliver Kemble, who had known the Aorangi in her earliest days, having seen her while under construction on the Clyde. Later he travelled in her across the Pacific. But he found himself back in Glasgow in August, 1953, when the old ship arrived back at that port. She had made her final voyage, her career at sea was finished, and she was now destined to submit to the indignities of the ship-breakers' yard. Kemble was impelled to pay her a farewell visit and to write his impressions for the Trident of January, 1954, from which the following extracts are taken. His visit was tinged with nostalgic memories as he boarded her at the yard of Arnott, W. H. Young & Company Ltd. on dydeside:— I climbed her gangway with a sense of sadness. . . . Eerie silence hung over the deck above. The long stretch of teakwood that ran forward, deck-quoit markings in white paint against the brown planking, climbing so slightly with her sheer, was empty and deserted. Then I was on the boat deck, peering into cabins. There was about her an air of silent mystery like the Marie Celeste, as if her crew had vanished hurriedly, no man knew where. The New Zealand Herald and the Sydney Daily Telegraph, alien to Clydeside . . . lay on the Chief Officer's settee. A pair of abandoned white canvas shoes had been flung carelessly on the deck. My haunting sense of sadness increased. From the wheelhouse windows, the forecastle head was astonishingly clean and orderly, as if she would put to sea tomorrow. Then I was idly thumbing the Bridge Notice Book. Honolulu, February 28th, 1953. Blue uniforms will be worn tomorrow. But tomorrow was gone, and blue uniforms would never again be worn in Aorangi. Honolulu to Victoria, B.C. Clocks will be advanced thirty minutes to-night. But the brass clock was silent, the hands stopped at twenty minutes to eight And there was her last course marked on a chart of the Firth of Clyde. They had brought her up to Gourock where the pilot had taken over, and the steering compass now showed an immovable course—N. 50 IL, the card motionless as if nailed to the bowL None now to peer into the binnacle and murmur "Watch f 100 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. your steering!" Nobody to pace the bridge vigilantly examining the blue Pacific horizon. There was about it all a horrible sense of desertion, as if men had wantonly abandoned this gallant creature they themselves had created. I fought against the melancholy that oppressed me. Passengers not allowed forward of the breakwater read a notice up forward, and where no one again would muster was painted: TO ALL MUSTER STATIONS. ... I passed through an oak-panelled smokeroom, with small tables, curtains still looped on windows, as they had been on long Pacific runs when the harder element of the passenger list thumbed poker decks and called for yet another bottle of Canadian rye. Today, 3.45, Children's Party, read a notice chalked on a blackboard. Ghost children! . . . Nor had I been the only pilgrim to Messrs. Arnott Young's yard. There had been one other, the designer of her diesel engines, a Mr. Tucker, once in the service of the Fairfield Shipbuilding Company. I would have liked to meet him. His, like mine, was a sentimental journey. She had been his first motorship and he passed anxious, sleepless nights wondering if his design would be a success. Mr. Tucker had no need to worry. Had he in 1924 been gifted with second sight, he would have seen, as I did, his beautiful Aorangi speeding across the Pacific somewhere east of Fiji, a triumph of ship construction and design. Now she had returned to die on the river where she was born. Oliver Kemble had written a sad farewell to a gallant ship. But it was also the end of an era in the history of British Columbia and Canada, which had witnessed a phenomenal development of the western coast, bringing the seaports into rapid, world-wide contacts with overseas markets and affording an outlet for the ever-growing flow of the products of Canada. It was an era which had created and fostered a closer connection between British Dominions on both sides of the Pacific. Economic conditions and the great advances in rapid mail and passenger transport overseas have brought this great service to an end. Whatever the future may hold, it will be based upon the foundations laid during this period. The lessons learned will not be forgotten. It is to be hoped that the task of putting in order and in proper perspective the inception, progress, and ending of the "All-Red Route" will make possible a true evaluation of the work of the men who devoted themselves to its establishment and to nursing it through initial difficulties to a prosperous maturity. The resurrection of transocean travel calls for ships constructed especially for tourists. Let us add our salute to the last ship of the "All-Red Route," Aorangi farewell! And in the words of Ovid: Factum abiit, monumenta manent! (" the deed has gone, the memorial thereof remains "). ^to.| J. H. Hamilton. Victoria, B.C. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1895-1953 101 APPENDIX I SUBSIDIES The matter of the subsidies in connection with the establishment and continued operation of the Canadian-Australian mail and passenger service has been a complex and changing factor in its development and maintenance. While evidence of the vital effect of this subject has been indicated in the history of the line, a more detailed study gives a more integrated understanding of the difficulties and perplexities which resulted in many of the changes in operation, ownership, and service rendered. Only by this means can the changes in the amount of the subsidy, in the countries contributing, and the ports of call be understood. From the first sailing, which arrived at Victoria June 6, 1893, until the departure from Vancouver of the Aorangi 11 on her final run to Sydney in 1953, the subsidy question became, from time to time, a vital one, productive of considerable difference of opinion among die countries providing it and of abortive efforts to make changes in the route. The original intention of James Huddart, when he decided in 1893 to embark on an effort to establish a trans-Pacific service, was a regular monthly run connecting Australia with Canada, hoping also to interest New Zealand and FijL The Government of Canada amended its existing Ocean Steamship Subsidy Act of 1889 by reducing the requirements as to frequency of sailings. This Act provided a statutory payment for a fortnightly service which was now reduced to a monthly service, but the amount of the subsidy remained, as originally, £25,000. In effect this actually doubled the subsidy, for on a basis of twenty-six sailings per year it provided only £961 per sailing, whereas on the basis of twelve sailings it would provide £2,083. By this shrewd device Huddart succeeded in securing a better subsidy than that originally authorized. The amendment called for a service " between British Columbia and the Australian colonies including New Zealand." In Huddart's contract with the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, August 14, 1893, under which the latter company was to act as general agents for the line, the proposed ports of call were specified as " Sydney, Honolulu, Vic to ii a and Vancouver, with the option of calling at Brisbane." New Zealand was not included, nor any reference made to an option call there, nor at FijL The Canadian subsidy was granted for a term of ten years, the contract with the Canadian Pacific being co-tenninous. The New South Wales subsidy agreement was for a term of three years at the amount of £10,000. It was renewed in 1896 and again in 1899 on the same terms, except that the call at Brisbane was made obligatory instead of optional. The first sailings were via Brisbane as a port of call; no call was made at Fiji, so the route was Sydney-Brisbane-Honolulu-Victoria-Vancouver. The Brisbane call, however, was dropped after only four sailings, the last being in September, 1893, by the Warrimoo. This was Huddart's first disappointment He had negotiated the payment of a subsidy by the Government of Queens- 102 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. land in return for this call at Brisbane, but it appears that no payment was forthcoming. Huddart, who had been a passenger in the Warrimoo on her first arrival at Victoria, July 8, 1893, is reported to have said:— We have had good encouragement from New South Wales, but Queensland has not yet come in. The people there are with us and the press also, but the Premier, Sir Thomas Mcllwraith ... is inclined to delay in making a move. . . . Unless they join in assisting us in the way of a subsidy I don't think we can continue to touch there, i The matter of the subsidies paid to Huddart's Canadian Australian Line and its successors by the Crown Colony of Fiji is less complicated than those paid by Canada, Australia, or New Zealand. In the initial period when Huddart's company was operating the line, it is plain that a small subsidy was paid by the Fiji Government for a call at Suva, although definite official information as to the amount is lacking. A clue to the situation is provided by Huddart in an interview given while he was in London in September, 1893, in which he stated that Sir John Thurston, the Colonial Administrator, was strongly desirous that Fiji should be included in the ports of call. This Huddart was not prepared to arrange unless the British Government acceded to his "proposal that the steamers should be put on the Admiralty list as available for the purposes of cruisers in case of war, thus becoming entitled to Imperial assistance."2 The matter does not appear to have been received favourably since no further reference to it can be traced. It is evident, however, that failure to secure the Admiralty support did not deter Huddart from coming to terms with the Fiji Government. The call at Suva was first made in 1893 by the Warrimoo, which arrived at Victoria on November 8, and was continued by vessels of the line through 1894 and did not cease until November, 1895, with the call of the Miowera. When Huddart decided to make a call at Wellington in the hope of securing a subsidy from New Zealand in September, 1897, the call at Suva was still omitted. But later, when the New Zealand subsidy had been arranged, the Suva call was restored and continued until August, 1899, the last call being made by the Warrimoo, which arrived at Victoria on September 8. The reason for cessation of the call is clearly that the subsidy had been withdrawn, for the Victoria Colonist reporting the ship's arrival noted: "This was the last [trip] on which the Warrimoo will call at the Fijian capital, the mail subsidy from that colony having recently been withdrawn."3 This story was subsequently confirmed by the Vancouver News-Advertiser: " The Fijian Government has decided to withdraw the small subsidy previously granted to the Company for carrying H.M. mails."4 After a lapse of about two and a half years, during which time management and part ownership of the line had been acquired by the Union Company, the Suva call was renewed, the first visit being made by the Moana in March, 1902, and from then onward Suva remained a regular port of call (1) Victoria Colonist, July 9, 1893. (2) London Times, September 29, 1893. (3 ) Victoria Colonist, September 9, 1899. (4) Vancouver News-Advertiser, September 22, 1899. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 103 without any further cessation until 1941. Although no official confirmation of the amount of the subsidy paid to Huddart and to the liquidator of the old company can be found, it can be assumed that it was quite small, for when the Union Company took over and renewed the Suva call the Fiji Government then paid an annual mail subsidy of £1,500, probably the same amount as that previously allocated. The amount was increased in 1903 to £2,045 and in 1905 to £2,282, where it continued until 1911, when it was increased to £5,000, at which figure it remained until the service was discontinued in 1941. Although the service was resumed in 1948, no further subsidy was paid.5 From the outset Huddart had hoped to secure a subsidy from New Zealand, and after negotiation he signed an agreement in London on April 19, 1895, with the Postmaster-General of New Zealand, the Honourable J. G. Ward, by which a subsidy was promised for regular service between " a port in Australia and Auckland or Wellington and the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia " on both the outward and homeward voyage. The contractor was to have the option of making either of the two New Zealand ports the terminal port, in which event the contractor undertook to arrange connection at that port with a line of steamers for Sydney and other ports in Australia. The subsidy offered was £30,000 a year if the port in New Zealand were made the terminal port, or alternatively £20,000 if a port in Australia became the terminal port. This agreement was for a period of ten years. There was, however, a note attached to the agreement, signed by Huddart, that it was understood and agreed by the parties signing the agreement that it was 1 subject to the ratification of the New Zealand Parliament."6 This tentative agreement was duly considered by the New Zealand Parliament but was not ratified. This action was not intended to indicate objection to the idea of having a direct mail and passenger service connection with Canada nor was it considered that the rejection was final, for mail advices brought by the Miowera in December, 1895, and reported in the Victoria Colonist indicated . . . that the postponement of the arrangement whereby Mr. Huddart's line was to receive a handsome bonus is but a temporary one, due to complications arising from the manner in which the proposition was brought forward. The steamship subsidy was it appears so connected with the reciprocal duties bill that when at the close of the session it was thought advisable to put over the tariff proposals until the legislature next meets, the subsidy arrangement could not very well be put through. There is little reason to doubt, however, that it will prove acceptable again next session. . . .7 Confirmation of the temporary nature of the decision is seen in the proceedings of the New Zealand Parliament in its October, 1895, session. A token item of "£5,000 for the Vancouver Mail Service" in the budget was the subject of a question in the House, and the Postmaster-General reported that (5) R. W. Parkinson, Commerce and Industries Officer, Suva, to the writer, September 12, 1956, with its enclosure of D. A. Butler, Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, Limited, Suva, to R. W. Parkinson, September 5, 1956. (6) New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, Vol. 127, pp. 621-622. (7) Victoria Colonist, December 11, 1895. r 104 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. he had been authorized by the Government to try to secure a service between New Zealand and Canada, and when in London had entered into negotiations with Huddart, resulting in the tentative agreement. After debate the members were of the opinion that more time should be given to consideration of the subject and leave was granted to withdraw the vote.8 In 1896 the question was raised in the New Zealand Parliament as to whether any proposal regarding the projected Vancouver mail service was to be considered. The Premier, the Honourable R. J. Seddon, replied that a representative of Huddart was coming to make submissions to the Government, and when they had the fullest information, an opportunity would be given to discuss the subject.9 However, no action was taken, and the following year when the subject again received attention the Premier reminded the House of the interim agreement, subject to ratification, by which New Zealand was to pay £20,000, and which when presented had been opposed until the termination of the San Francisco service, when the whole situation could be reviewed.10 This provides the key-note to the underlying reason for the delay in bringing to a practical outcome the proposal to establish an adequate mail connection with Canada. It must be borne in mind that New Zealand had for several years since 1885 sustained by subsidy a mail service connecting Auckland with San Francisco. This was not very satisfactory and appeared to be on the brink of cessation, which in fact ensued two years later. The New Zealand mails for England were being carried more expeditiously by this route than by way of Australia, which had since 1852 heavily subsidized a mail service to England by way of the Suez.11 The New Zealand mail would take several days longer by this route than by the Canadian. Apart from that, New Zealand was, for reasons of trade as well as the carriage of mails, desirous of establishing a direct route via Canada, and for that reason was willing to make a beginning, if necessary on a temporary basis, pending determination of the difficulties which were arising with the San Francisco service then operated jointly by the Union Company and the Oceanic Steamship Company of San Francisco. Following the Premier's statement in 1897, a resolution was introduced into the Parliament authorizing the Government to arrange an agreement with the Canadian Australian Line. The proposal was for a four-weekly service—not monthly, as hitherto proposed—between New Zealand and Vancouver via Fiji and Honolulu, the port of call in New Zealand to be Wellington and the carriage of mails to be at rates similar to those of the Auckland-San Francisco payment, with a guaranteed minimum payment of £7,500 per annum. This agreement was to run from December 1, 1897, until March 31, 1899. Concurrently with this agreement a similar short-term one was made regarding the San Francisco service which merely extended (8) New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, Vol. 91, pp. 851-856, passim. (9) Ibid, Vol. 92, p. 290. (10) Ibid., Vol. 100, p. 667. (11) Official Year Book of Australia. 1901-20, Melbourne, 1921, p. 635. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 105 the existing arrangement to make it expire on the same date as the Vancouver agreement. Both agreements were passed by the Legislature.12 These short- term co-terminous agreements made possible a later review of the situation as a whole and, in the final outcome, proved to have been a wise decision in so far as New Zealand was concerned. Huddart had just acquired the Aorangi, and the addition of this third ship to the service predicated a more reliable and regular operation than had hitherto been possible, and also made it possible to provide a four-weekly service instead of the monthly service aimed at originally, thus providing thirteen instead of twelve voyages a year. Without waiting for the authorization, Huddart had decided, as he had in the case of Queensland, to commence the New Zealand service " on faith," hoping thus to prove both his willingness and his ability to provide a satisfactory service. By this shrewd action he anticipated that he could secure the support of the Wellington merchants, and in this he was not disappointed, although he personally did not reap the benefit. The Aorangi inaugurated the new schedule for the Canadian Australian Line, sailing from Sydney August 7, 1897. Arriving at Wellington on the 12th, she proceeded by way of Suva and Honolulu to Victoria, where she arrived September 8. The Warrimoo arrived at Wellington on her first call from Sydney on September 16. It is interesting to note that these initial calls pre-dated by four months the passage of the resolution authorizing the subsidy, December 13, 1897, which specified December 1 as the starting date. It is evident that Huddart was confident that the short-term subsidy agreement would be passed by the New Zealand Parliament, notwithstanding the fact that his original signed agreement of 1895 had been rejected. That the initial sailings were "not subsidized is evidenced by a resolution passed by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce tendering congratulations to the colony and to Wellington in particular | that the proprietors of the Vancouver line have made Wellington a port of call . . . and it is to be hoped that their action in that direction without subsidy will receive support from the colony of New Zealand generally."13 But the situation as regards the operation of the service had in the meantime reached a crisis. Huddart's company, The Canadian Australian Royal Mail Steamship Company Limited, went into liquidation in February, 1898, and the New Zealand Shipping Company, as principal creditor, was appointed as receiver. When the New Zealand Parliament met in 1898, the matter of the recently arranged subsidy naturally came up for discussion. The Premier indicated that with the Huddart company in liquidation the Postmaster- General had decided not to sign the contract at present, although the draft contract had been accepted by the agents for the liquidator. The services specified, however, were being carried out.1* The call at Wellington continued through 1898 and until the end of March, 1899, with the sailing of the Warrimoo from Victoria, March 24. This was in accord with the contract (12) New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, Vol. 100, p. 668. (13) Vancouver News-Advertiser, September 14, 1897. (14) New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, Vol. 101, p 346. 106 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. authorized in 1897, the terms of which had been carried out notwithstanding the fact that it had not been signed. Thus ended, for the time, the inclusion of New Zealand in the itinerary of the Canadian-Australian Line. For a period of twelve years no calls were made by steamers of the line at any New Zealand port. Omission of the New Zealand call was due to the decision to include Brisbane in the contract, for when the existing contract expired on March 31, 1899, Queensland, on the urgent request of Brisbane, was included in the renewal. From the first it had been the intention to include Brisbane in the itinerary, but when the promised subsidy did not materialize, the opportunity had been opened for New Zealand to make a bid for participation in the service which had resulted in the short-term contract of December, 1897. It is evident from the proceedings in Parliament that New Zealand greatly regretted the loss of the Vancouver mail service, albeit they had had it for fifteen months only and were then unable to renew it. Efforts were made to regain the New Zealand call, but failed for reasons which are disclosed later in the parliamentary debates. In 1903 when the Australian subsidy agreement was due for renewal and the New Zealand agreement for the joint service with the Oceanic Shipping Company of San Francisco had expired and was being carried on under a temporary arrangement, the opportunity presented itself for launching another attempt by New Zealand to secure the Vancouver service. In the November, 1903, session of the New Zealand Parliament two resolutions were presented: one to renew the expiring San Francisco contract for a further period of six months, and the other to establish a three-weekly service between Vancouver and a port in New Zealand. This latter proposal called for a subsidy not to exceed £20,000 a year and was introduced by the Postmaster-General, Sir J. G. Ward, who stated:— Up to now the Government have not been successful in their endeavours to arrange for a line of steamers to and from Vancouver. Recently the contract with the Australian Commonwealth was extended for two years and it will expire in March, 1905. The difficulty with the present Vancouver service is that the steamers cannot by calling at Brisbane come on to New Zealand also. ... Unless Queensland is left out of the service we cannot get suitable connection with Vancouver under the existing contract under which the steamers are now running between Australia and Vancouver.^ During the debate the words " three-weekly " were struck out, thus leaving open the question of frequency, and in this altered form the resolution was adopted. No practical outcome of the 1903 resolution is in evidence, and in August, 1904, the matter again came before the New Zealand Parliament. On August 11 the Postmaster-General was asked as to the correctness of a report in the press that the Commonwealth of Australia was prepared to relinquish to New Zealand the Vancouver mail service and that negotiations had been opened With the Queensland Government for the transfer but that nothing had transpired since February. In reply the Postmaster-General (15) New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, Vol. 127, p. 626. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 107 admitted that both the Commonwealth and the Queensland Governments were willing to have the steamers call at New Zealand instead of Brisbane but that the negotiations had been delayed as it was understood that Canada objected to the change. He stated further: " It is intended to proceed with the negotiations. The Canadian Government has already been asked to state definitely whether it will or will not agree to the Vancouver steamers calling at Auckland in place of Brisbane. The reply so far is not satisfactory."16 Less than a fortnight later, on August 23, the Postmaster-General introduced to the House the following cablegram just received from the Deputy Postmaster-General of Canada in response to a second cable that had been sent to the Canadian Government urging the substitution of New Zealand for the Queensland stop: "This Department considers delay caused by steamers calling Auckland would seriously weaken service. Regret, therefore, unable to agree to proposition." Sir J. G. Ward concluded that nothing further could be done, for he recognized that Canada as the principal party to the contract had the right of refusal even though it had been pointed out that the Federal Government of Australia had indicated its willingness that Queensland be allowed to drop out. Moreover, this was the second time that Canada had declined the request.17 Irritation at the frustration of their repeated efforts to secure participation in the Vancouver service is increasingly evident in the parliamentary debates in New Zealand. In 1906 and again the following year, questions and resolutions on the vexed subject appear in the official record, the blame being largely placed on Canada for the lack of success. In 1907, in response to a question by the Leader of the Opposition, W. F. Massey, the New Zealand Postmaster-General made the following remarks concerning the Vancouver service:— ... he was strongly in favour of it—of establishing an all-red route . . . but they could not get it for £20,000 a year . . . every effort had been made by him on behalf of the country, and also by the chairman of directors of the Union Steamship Company to get that service from Australia to Vancouver to come to New Zealand, but without success, for the reason that a contract was entered into with Queensland; and the £20,000 was of no use, because Queensland would not forego the existing contract, otherwise the directors would have been quite willing to come down here monthly for the additional £20,000 if they could have got free of calling at Brisbane, which was provided for under the contract. . . A* Thus the matter remained until 1910, although it is difficult to understand the basic reason for this condition having persisted so long. Objection on the part of Canada to New Zealand's proposals may be attributed to a disinclination to dictate to Queensland or it may have been for other reasons, such as the usefulness to Canada of the Brisbane call. Canada's objection to dropping the Brisbane call remains a matter of conjecture. However, equally remarkable is the fact that in 1910 Sir J. G. Ward reecived and read to the New Zealand House the following telegram from (16) New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, Vol. 129, p. 410. (17) Ibid., Vol. 129, p. 601. (18) Ibid., Yol. 141, p. 220. r 108 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister of Canada, dated September 26, 1910:— With reference to your letter of 16th September, and 20th September, we are today infoming [sic] Government of Commonwealth of Australia that we forthwith notify contractors they have Government of Canada's permission to make call each way at New Zealand under old contract present, and am expressing hope Australia will concur; also informing Australia that in any case Canada is obliged to insist on call at New Zealand under new contract when awarded from and after 1st August next.1^ While commenting on this information the Postmaster-General remarked: " It is very important, I think, in the interests of Australia and New Zealand and Canada, as well as of the Empire as a whole, that we should get this all-red route established as soon as possible." This complete reversal of Canada's previous attitude suggests that New Zealand's persistent and consistent efforts, coupled with the obvious advantage to Canada of extending the service to New Zealand, overrode the wishes of Queensland. The opinion of Canada, as the largest contributor to the subsidy, finally prevailed. The climax in the long-drawn exclusion of New Zealand from participation in the "All-Red Route " came the following year. In 1911 both Canada and New Zealand concluded a contract with the Union Steam Ship Company for a regular four-weekly service, calling at Auckland. Thus was established the route of the Canadian Australian Royal Mail Line as it now became named, which persisted until 1931, when it was incorporated as the Canadian Australasian Line Limited. The route Sydney-Auckland-Suva-Honolulu- Victoria-Vancouver and reverse was continued from 1911 until the service ceased in 1953. On May 10, 1911, an item in Supply came up for debate in the Canadian House of Commons—" Steam service between Canada and Australia on the Pacific Ocean, $180,509." The Prime Minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, moved that this item "instead of reading as it does now, it should read: Steam service between Canada and New Zealand or Australia or both," in explanation of which he stated:— ... we are not able to make any agreement yet with Australia in regard to this subsidy. We have made a contract with New Zealand, that Dominion contributing an amount in proportion to our own. We expect that Australia will come in later.20 In the course of the debate the Prime Minister explained that the subsidy was in the amount of £37,090 15s. 2d. by a contract beginning August 1, 1911, and running for five years. J. E. Armstrong, a private member, raised the point of the lack of contribution from Australia although the Commonwealth would benefit greatly from the service, to which Sir Wilfrid replied:— As far as I can understand the reason, it is this: The steamship service is performed by the same company with Australia and New Zealand. If we had a service direct to Australia I think Australia would contribute, but the fact that the steamers going from Vancouver to Australia call at New Zealand, lengthens the journey, and therefore the service is not as speedy as it might otherwise be. . . . This subsidy is for a service between Canada and New Zealand, and not between Canada and Australia. ... I may say to my hon. friend mat Australia was (19) New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, Vol. 152, p. 3. (20) Canada, House of Commons, Debates, Session 1910-11, Vol. V, p. 8754. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 109 readv to contribute if we were willing to ignore New Zealand, but we would not do that, and Australia retired.21 Following the Canadian debate on the subject of the subsidy the following resolution was introduced into the New Zealand Parliament on September 21, 1911:— That this House empowers the Government, in conjunction with the Government of the Dominion of Canada, to establish a four-weekly mail-service between the Port of Auckland and the Port of Vancouver, subject to the following conditions: (a) That the contract shall be for a term of five years; (b) that the payment to be made by New Zealand shall not exceed £20,000 per annum; (c) that the service shall be performed by vessels of not less than 6,000 tons, having first-class passenger accommodations, and fitted with all modern improvements, and also refrig- erating-chambers, and chilled chambers for fruit and dairy-produce; and (d) that the time shall not exceed nineteen days between Auckland and Vancouver, and vice versa. In the debate which followed, Sir J. G. Ward, Prime Minister as well as Postmaster-General, went into a great deal of detail regarding the proposed new service, some of which is pertinent in explaining the long delay in securing the Vancouver connection and is quoted in some detail:— At one time we had this service running to this country from Vancouver for a short period, but in view of the fact that Brisbane became a port of call the service was rendered absolutely useless from the point of view of convenience to New Zealand, or advantage in connection with the mails. This was because a service running from Canada and touching at Brisbane, then at Sydney, then at Auckland, or coming to Auckland and then going to Sydney and then to Brisbane on the outward voyage, would from a mail point of view have been almost worthless so far as New Zealand was concerned. As against a mail-service of that kind, it would have been more advantageous from a purely mail point of view to go on through the Suez Canal to England, and from England to this country via the Suez Canal; but as a matter of usefulness to the country generally, and of giving us a good mail-service, it obviously was advantageous to have a service via Canada established to New Zealand under the best conditions that could be obtained. Owing to the discontinuance of the old San Francisco mail-service, under conditions the Minister could not control, it was rendered all the more important that we should have a steamer service providing for a mail and passenger service across the Pacific giving us connection with Canada and at the same time conveyance to England of either passengers or mails. . . . The subsidy the Canadian Government is to give is £37,091, and for Fiji the amount of the subsidy is £2,282. . . . I had hoped, Mr. Speaker, that the Commonwealth of Australia would have seen its way to join with Canada and New Zealand in connection with the service, but for reasons of their own they have not seen their way to do so. The proposal I am submitting to the House gives the contractors the option of going to Australia from Auckland—that is, from Auckland to Sydney, and returning from Sydney to Auckland and on to Vancouver. It is necessary that the option should be given to enable them to do that, because if we were to attempt to confine the service at present to New Zealand we could not expect to get it at anything like £20,000 per annum. I do not think, myself, that this is in any way unfair to New Zealand, though perhaps it may seem a little hard from the standpoint of view of the con- tributories that the full benefits should be given to a neighbouring country . . . without their giving any portion of the subsidy that is being given by Canada, Fiji and New Zealand. Although the present steamers are of a very fine class indeed, at the same time if there v/ere larger contributions, and if the several countries were all standing in together, there could be no doubt that we could have a faster and still better class of steamers. . . . We must remember that our friends in (21) Canada, House of Commons, Debates, Session 1910-11, Vol. V, pp. 8770-8771. 110 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. Australia are paying a very large subsidy for a mail-service of their own through the Suez Canal to England. One can only express the hope that later on they may be able to see their way to join in this service too. The relative merits of a service to San Francisco or to Vancouver also came into the discussion, as did also the altered circumstances created by the annexation of Hawaii by the United States. The latter gave rise to the opportunity to decry the handicap now placed on British vessels consequent upon American law becoming applicable to the Islands, and the Prime Minister pointed out the advantage the proposed service would enjoy:— . . . another difference between this proposal and the former one [the San Francisco service] is that British-owned steamers are not allowed to embark a passenger or any cargo as between Honolulu and San Francisco at all. Now the Vancouver steamers can embark as many passengers and as much cargo as they like.22 The resolution was agreed to and the new service began with the sailing of R.M.S. Marama from Sydney on August 1, 1911, calling at Auckland on August 5 and arriving at Victoria on August 22.23 The new contract under which New Zealand finally became a full partner, contributing a substantial proportion of the total subsidy—£20,000 of the £62,000—was a salient point in the history of the "All-Red Route." The decision of Australia to cease payment of a fixed subsidy was a direct outcome of the changed route, although it must be noted that Australia continued to use the service of the fast steamers, which in fact were carrying the largest portion of their cargo and passenger traffic to and from Sydney, the terminal port of the run, as well as such mails as were tendered for Canada, Fiji, and the United Kingdom, for which they paid the regular postal rates but without any guaranteed minimum. The principal difference, so far as Australia was concerned, was the omission of the call at Brisbane. The subsidy paid by Fiji at this time was increased to £5,000 from the £2,280 previously paid. This made the total subsidy paid to the Canadian Australasian Line £62,000, as compared with the £66,000 in effect prior to the 1911 contract and £60,000 in 1903. While this did not represent a very large difference, nevertheless it was a factor in the change in the nature and prospects of the line for expansion and development. Canada continued her payment of £37,000 established under the 1911 agreement for ten years. In the 1921 session of Parliament, Sir George Foster, Minister of Trade and Commerce, introduced the customary item in Supply covering the subsidy but for only $130,509—a reduction of $50,000. The House had been critical of other items in the Supply resolutions, particularly as to the value of various services rendered, and in this instance the Minister said: " I should be very sorry to see the subsidy taken away, because I think the service would be withdrawn."24 After debate the item was passed. In explanation of this decision it should be noted that the feeling had developed that the creation of the Canadian Government Merchant Marine, a nationally owned and operated fleet of sixty-six cargo steamers, all (22) New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, Vol. 156, pp. 22-31, passim. (23) Victoria Co/onto, August 23, 1911. (24) Canada, House of Commons, Debates, Session 1921, Vol. n, p. 1493. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 111 Canadian-built, had in some degree lessened the importance of assisting other steamship services. The Canadian Government owned ships were placed in operation between Canada and Australia, New Zealand, India, the Orient, Central and South America, the West Indies, and the United Kingdom. It was becoming increasingly evident that these operations were resulting in heavy deficits. The tendency thus developed to effect reduction in the amount of subsidies then being contributed by Canada to other steamship lines. In the debate Sir George Foster explained that the Government vessels, built as cargo-carriers and having no passenger accommodation, with exception of a few with a very limited number, and having slow speed, were not comparable to the fast passenger and mail steamers for which subsidies were being paid.25 However, it is evident that the amount of the subsidy to the Australia-New Zealand passenger and mail service was reduced by reason of the general opinion that "it seemed unnecessary to subsidize shipping companies whose vessels competed with the Canadian Government steamers." This probably is why Sir George Foster expressed his strong objection to " withdrawal of the subsidy " and compromised with a reduction. The situation which had developed at the 1921 session of the Canadian Parliament had not improved when the renewal of the subsidy again came up for consideration three years later. In 1924 a further reduction was made, this time of $30,509, making it thus a flat $100,000 for the year, with the stipulation of twelve trips in the period as compared with the thirteen trips hitherto specified. This vote was passed almost without comment.26 The seriousness of the situation becomes evident when it is noted that the amount of Canada's subsidy to this important mail and passenger service was now reduced to the lowest level ever assigned. Even at the beginning of the service in 1893 Canada subscribed $121,000, and raised it to $166,000 in 1903 and to $180,509 in 1910. This reduced amount was continued in effect until 1935. It is also to be noted that with this reduction a new principle was introduced—a "flat rate," uncomplicated as had been the case previously by reductions for voyages and half-voyages omitted. An examination of the Public Accounts showing expenditures in previous years divulged the amounts actually paid to the line did not always conform to the amount voted. The principle of dividing the vote into the proportion per voyage, with deductions for voyages not completed during the fiscal year, had resulted in some confusion, and the annual payment occasionally varied from the actual vote, but by carrying forward unpaid arrears the final result closely approximated the total amount originally made available. When the customary item for the subsidy came before the House in 1935, it was for $200,000—double the amount which had been voted for each of the past ten years. This increase naturally excited considerable attention, and the debate disclosed the situation which called for the drastic increase: the critical position of the line as a result of the increasing competition of new American passenger-steamers now operating in the trans-Pacific trade. The (25) Canada, House of Commons, Debates, Session 1921, Vol. II, p. 1494. (26) Ibid., Session 1924, Vol. IV, pp. 3156-3157. 8 r 112 J.H.Hamilton Jan.-Apr. Matson Company had built three speedy ships in the past three years, and the Canadian Australasian Line realized that its position was in jeopardy. The question now to be faced was whether to maintain or abandon the mail and passenger communications between the Pacific Coast of Canada and New Zealand and Australia. As a preliminary move to ameliorate the situation, the additional $100,000 had been placed in the Estimates. This left open for study the necessity for further consultations with New Zealand and Australia on the whole question of the maintenance of the service. In the meantime the increased subsidy was approved by the Canadian Parliament.27 By the time Parliament assembled in 1936 the question had assumed the dimensions of an international problem of considerable urgency. What took place in the debate on the usually routine vote for the continuation of the subsidy is best understood by noting the happenings in the interim. The London Times of January 12, 1935, carried a Reuter dispatch from Wellington:— Withdrawal of Marama attributed to competition of foreign subsidized shipping in the Australia-NewZealand trade. The Company declares that if the service were protected withdrawal of Marama would be unnecessary. On December 16, 1935, the Times correspondent in Wellington cabled the following item:— The contemplated withdrawal of British shipping services from the Southern Pacific has caused the Government of New Zealand much concern. Prime Minister, Mr. Savage, who, with some of his colleagues, discussed the matter to-day with the representative of certain shipping interests, said afterwards that the Government would take up the matter early in the New Year, and would have to do something to give preference to British steamship lines.28 With the above and similar warnings of the necessity for action in mind, it is simple to discern the basic reason for the reception given by the Canadian Parliament to the item in Supply presented to them on February 18, 1936, which raised the subsidy to the New Zealand service another $100,000 to $300,000. The Honourable R. B. Bennett, Prime Minister in 1934 and 1935 but now in Opposition, in a lengthy speech laid bare the difficulties facing the Union Company and the necessity for prompt action if the situation was to be ameliorated. The following extracts from his speech are pertinent:— ... in view of the experience that the late government had in connection with matters of this kind I think it desirable that I should make a statement with respect to some of the questions that have been discussed this afternoon and evening. The minister is new to his position and is perhaps unaware of the fact that the difficulties we have experienced in maintaining steam communication between Australia and New Zealand and Canada have been very great and have been considerably intensified by subsidies granted to the Matson line and other lines sailing from United States ports to New Zealand and Australia, stopping at Honolulu en route. The real truth is that the late government held the same views that the minister expressed this afternoon and that have been expressed by members of the committee this evening, namely, that lesser subsidies should be paid and that the necessity for paying increased subsidies certainly had not arisen. But in view of the trade that we have been carrying on with Australia and New Zealand, we have (27) Canada, House of Commons, Debates, Session 1935, Vol. II, p. 1864. (28) London Times, December 17, 1935. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 113 had to face a position that was very simple: Could we or should we maintain communication between the Pacific coast of Canada and New Zealand and Australia, or should we have to abandon the service? . . . Little New Zealand gives a grant of $100,000 a year, roughly speaking for this service. We have subsidized it all these years, and we increased it some years ago under the following conditions. It is a service of one ship of sixteen knots and another of about seventeen or eighteen knots, one a motor ship and the other a steam turbine ship. . . . The United States has a line known as the Matson line. That line built three large passenger ships running from San Francisco and Los Angeles to the antipodes. As Honolulu is a United States community, part of the United States republic, they can do coastwise traffic between San Francisco and Honolulu and Australia and New Zealand, and thereby derive the advantages that accrue from being able to pick up traffic at San Francisco and to deliver it at the Hawaiian islands. The three ships that the Matson line built, one in 1931, one in 1932, and another in 1933, were vessels to which the American shipping board lent over seventeen millions of dollars at one and a half per cent interest, and the subsidies that were paid to the Matson line for the antipodes service in all amount to over $1,300,000 per annum, part of it for the freight service from Los Angeles, part of it for a mail service, and part of it for a general service, based upon speed. The subsidies have been based largely upon the speed of their ships. Reference was then made to a memorandum which the former Minister of Trade and Commerce had prepared for the Prime Minister outlining the position of the British lines. Before setting up depreciation the companies were operating at a loss, and it was under these circumstances that the Government decided that it could not possibly do other than maintain the subsidy.29 Still later in June when the matter was again before the House, the Honourable H. H. Stevens, former Minister of Trade and Commerce, added the weight of his opinion:— I suggest to the minister that the service between British Columbia Pacific ports and New Zealand and Australia is a very important one to Canada from the standpoint both of maintaining trade and of the mail service, and the subsidy which is paid is quite a modest one compared with the service that is involved. . . . I have always had in mind that we should negotiate with the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand, of which the Canadian Pacific is now half-owner, for a faster and more efficient service with more modern vessels, even if it is necessary to increase the subsidy. ... I would suggest to the minister, now that he has increased the subsidy to $300,000, that a definite effort should be made to put on faster steamships and possibly to give a more frequent service. At any rate there should be faster and more modern ships. I certainly believe that the service is one which it is well worth sustaining.3® By this time the situation had further degenerated, for on April 16, 1936, the Union Company had reached the decision to discontinue its Wellington^- San Francisco service. This disquieting news appeared in the London Times:— The Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand announced the discontinuance of the Union Royal Mail Line between Sydney, Wellington, and San Francisco, taking effect with the arrival in Sydney of the Maunganui in November and the Makura in December. (29) Canada, House of Commons, Debates, Session 1936, Vol. I, pp. 302-303 (30) Ibid., Vol. IV, p. 3522. 114 J.H.Hamilton Jan.-Apr. The announcement states that the decision has been made after some years of heavy loss in this service, and emphasizes that private enterprise cannot compete with a high State subsidy. Under existing conditions it is not practicable to continue the present service or to make a replacement with more modern tonnage. The statement adds that the future of the Canadian-Australasian Vancouver service, as already stated by the president of the company, Mr. Beatty, is similarly threatened.31 The shipping correspondent of the Times gave further amplification:— The service between San Francisco and Australia and New Zealand has been maintained by the Union Steam Ship Company ... for half a century. • . . The losses incurred on the actual conduct of this service are believed lately to have been at the rate of about £50,000 a year. In the service of the Canadian Australasian Line, Limited, between Vancouver and New Zealand ... the losses have been still heavier than those suffered on the route to and from San Francisco. In 1934 they exceeded £100,000 without making any allowance for depreciation of the vessels. There appear to be only [two] alternative futures for this service. One is that, in the face of the competition of the heavily subsidized American lines, its fate will be the same as that of the San Francisco service, and shortly it will cease to exist. The other is that it shall be given a new lease of life by the construction of two fast ships which would be able fully to hold their own with the American liners. The total cost of building two fast ships of over 20,000 tons gross each is estimated at about £2,500,000. ... It is believed that the Canadian Australasian Line . . . would probably be able unaided to finance the construction of the liners. But it would not be able to meet the annual debit balances on the working of the ships, and it is calculated that assistance to the extent of about £290,000 a year . . . would be needed. . . . Canada already contributes to the cost of the present trans-Pacific service, and the cost of the proposed sailings by new and larger ships would need to be met by the Dominions and by this country.32 The newspaper summed up the situation with a terse and candid editorial:— For many years British shipping in the Pacific has suffered from foreign competition heavily subsidized and protected in other ways. The two services, one of which has now actually closed down, have long been run at a loss, and it was clearly impossible for them, with only the resources of private shareholders to draw upon, to keep up the fight indefinitely against rivals lavishly supported by the American taxpayer. Their difficulties have been set out repeatedly. They have been discussed at length in Australia, New Zealand, and in Canada, which are even more closely affected than this country. From time to time statements have been made that the different Governments were engaged in working out measures for the defence of these British services against subsidized competition. There . . . has been a recent small increase in the mail subsidy paid by the Canadian Government to the Canadian-Australasian Line.33 The tight situation confronting British steamship lines in the trans-Pacific trade was ably demonstrated in an informative letter written to the Times by Edward N. Bewley:— There is really more to the American, subsidy . . . than meets the eye. In fact, there are two distinct subsidies that the Matson Company is operating under. The first is the construction subsidy under the Jones-White Act of 1928. In this Act the sum of $250,000,000 (£50,000,000) was appropriated as a loan fund to aid the construction of merchant vessels. Shipowners can borrow from the fund three- (31) London Times, April 16, 1936. (32) Ibid. (33) Ibid. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 115 fourths of the value of new ships to be constructed. The money is loaned for the term of twenty years and bears interest at the lowest rate paid on any Government Bond . . . issued during the term of the loan. ... It was under the provisions of this Act that the Matson company built the Monterey, the Mariposa, and the Lurline. . . . The cost of the three ships was $24,601,513 (£5,056,837) on which cost the Government loaned about $18,000,000 (£3,600,000). ... Under the 10-year contract awarded the Matson Line the mail is carried at toe rate of $10 per mile between San Francisco and Sydney ... the contract stating that the homeward mails are to be carried at the expense of the outward trip. As a result, each sailing of the Matson ships brings a payment of $67,930. Thirteen sailings a year bring in a total of $883,090 (£181,519), no mean sum on a 10-year contract! Besides the main route the Matson Company run several freight ships to New Zealand and Australia. They also carry mail under contract, bringing in another $200,000. Therefore the Matson Company receives as a subsidy over a million dollars a year from the American Government. Against this the Union Line (San Francisco-Sydney service) receives from the New Zealand Government £22,500 per year for carriage of the New Zealand mail. To this must be added the American payment . . . [which] amounts to about $60,000 (£12,000) a year. The Union Line therefore receives about £34,500 per annum against the Mat- son's £200,000. . . . Only a direct subsidy and new ships will enable the British flag to stay where it has been for so many years.34 The above excerpts from a considerable volume of newspaper, parliamentary, and other comment on the situation have been selected as giving a reliable and concise presentation of the difficulties confronting the "All-Red Route." It is obvious that the outlook for the line had become critical and the steps taken by the owners of the Canadian Australasian Line, Limited, have been related earlier. There remains only the consideration of the subsidy arrangements which enabled the line to continue running for the few years before further operations became impossible, and the sole continuing liner sailed from Vancouver for the last time in May, 1953. The subsidy granted by the Canadian Parliament in 1936 was continued through 1940 and 1941, but the $300,000 was not fully paid to the line. The loss of the Niagara in June, 1940, accounts for the reduction in that year, when the payment was only $276,923. The next year only $34,615 was paid, for the Aorangi was requisitioned by the British Ministry of War Transport in September. In 1948 the Aorangi resumed sailing in the service, having completed her war duties and having undergone a refit. She arrived at Vancouver in September, but no subsidy was paid, and plans were made to resuscitate the service, if only on a temporary basis, in the absence of any practicable plan for its long-term future continuance. The Canadian Government conferred with Australia and New Zealand on the feasibility of offering a substantial subsidy, but the negotiations lagged, and finally the owners came to the conclusion that the losses currently being incurred were a waste of money in the face of a very uncertain outlook for future operation. Consequently, in 1950 the announcement was made that the Aorangi would be withdrawn at the end of the year. Pressure was brought to bear for a temporary suspen- (34) London Times, July 2, 1936. 1 116 J.H.Hamilton Jan.-Apr. sion of this decision, but in the absence of a firm proposal from the interested Governments on January 4, 1951, the Aorangi sailed from Vancouver for Sydney, where she was laid up. This decisive action brought to a head the lagging discussions regarding the subsidy. On February 23, 1951, shortly after the Aorangi had been laid up, the Honourable Lionel Chevrier, Minister of Transport, announced to the Canadian House of Commons that an agreement had been reached whereby the three Governments concerned would pay a subsidy totalling $400,000, of which two-thirds would be paid by Canada and one-third jointly by Australia and New Zealand.35 Concurrently a similar announcement was made in Australia by Prime Minister Menzies stating that his country's share would be $100,000 and Canada's $270,000. He further indicated that Canada had previously declined to offer a subsidy and had agreed to accept this share of the subsidy for one year only.36 No reference was made to the New Zealand contribution, which it is assumed would be for $30,000. This apportionment appears to have been unsatisfactory, and finally agreement was reached which provided that Canada would assume 66Y3 per cent, Australia 25 per cent, and New Zealand 8V& per cent, and on this basis the subsidy was settled.37 However, while Menzies' statement approximated that issued in Ottawa, it did not represent the final decision in regard to the amount to be paid. Originally intended to provide a total of $400,000, it was reduced to $250,000 before it came into effect. Thus the Canadian share became only $166,667, that of Australia $62,500, and of New Zealand $33,833.38 The vote on this subsidy came before the Canadian Parliament on June 26, 1951, and when queried as to whether this amount would be adequate to maintain the service, the Minister replied that it would be for the fiscal year.39 The Aorangi, having resumed the Vancouver-Sydney run in 1948 after refitting, thus far had received no subsidy. It was thus most regrettable that the proposed subsidy had been reduced by as much as 35 per cent, and the general opinion was that it would be impracticable to continue the service. The payment of the reduced subsidy commenced April 1, 1951, and expired on March 31, 1952, when it was renewed for one year at the same rate. It was not sufficient to keep the ship in service, and on May 14, 1953, the Aorangi sailed from Vancouver homeward bound for Sydney for the last time. To provide an integrated statement of the complicated changes in the subsidy, the participants and the ports of call, the data quoted in the above appendix has been arranged in tabular form. (35) Canada, House of Commons, Debates, Session 1951, Vol. I, p. 611. (36) Vancouver Sun, February 22, 1951. (37) Commonwealth of Australia Department of Shipping and Transport, quoted in H. L. White, Librarian, Commonwealth National Library, Canberra, to the writer, January 4, 1957. (38) This ratio is confirmed in Canadian Maritime Commission, Fifth Annual Report, Ottawa, 1952, p. 10. (39) Canada, House of Commons, Debates, Session 1951, Vol. V, p. 4731. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 117 Subsidies, Summary, and Routes Compiled from Data Previously Quoted Ports of Call I Sydney, N.S.W. 2. Brisbane. 3. Wellington, N.Z. 4. Auckland, N.Z. 5. Suva, Fiji. 6. Honolulu. 7. Victoria, B.C. 8. Vancouver, B.C. 1896 1897 1902 1903 Country 1910 1911 1921 1924 1930 1935 1936 1942-51 1951 1952 1953 New South Wales- Fiji New South Wales renewed- New Zealand Fiji renewed—., New Zealand contract expired, Brisbane- i Fiji ceased Fiji renewed Contracts expired. New contracts: Canada- New South Wales- Queensland Fiji- New contracts: Canada Australia- FijL Contracts extended 1 year to July 31,1911 Contracts expired. New contracts: Canada New Zealand- Fiji Canada reduced to Canada further reduced to— New Zealand reduced to New Zealand returned to Canada increased to Canada increased to _ No subsidy paid Canada Term Amt. lOyrs. 3yrs. Annual 3 yrs. \Vi yrs. lyr. lyr. 2 yrs. Annual 5 yrs. Annual lyr. 5 yrs. 5 yrs. Annual Australia.. New Zealand.—^ Above subsidy renewed Service discontinued in May.. lyr. lyr. lyr. lyr. £10,000 £1,500 £7,500 £1,500 £7,500 £1,500 £34,091 £13,636 £10,227 £2,046 £37,090 £26,628 £2,282 £20,000 £5,000 Nil £26,500 £20,000 £16,000 £20,000 £38,800 £60,000 $166,667 $62,500 $20,833 £35,000 £36,500 £35,000 £44,000 £42,500 £44,000 £66,000 £62,091 £51,500 £45,000 £41,000 £45,000 £63,800 £85,000 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 1, 5, 6, 7, 8 1, 6, 7, 8 1,3,576,778 1,2,3,1,6,7,1 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 Unchanged 1,5,6,7,8 Unchanged Above unchanged until 1942 $250,000 $250,000 1, 4, 5, 6, 7,! Four calls made at Brisbane. Expected subsidy not forthcoming, service ceased. Suva call began October, 1893; ceased at end of 1895. Monthly calls at Wellington and Suva from August, 1897. Wellington call ceased April and Suva call ceased August, 1899. Brisbane call renewed. Suva call renewed March, 1902. Australian Commonwealth paid subsidy for Sydney call. Canada continued this payment until 1921. New Zealand through to 1930. Fiji until 1941. Australia dropped subsidy. Mails carried at poundage rates. Fiji paid subsidy until 1941 only. Australia and New Zealand paid in Canadian currency. Great Britain went off the gold standard in 1931. The figures given for subsidy payments are quoted above in pounds, but the value in Canadian dollars would vary in the period subsequent to that date. The Canadian subsidies were voted in Canadian dollars throughout, but are quoted above in pounds at the fixed rate of $4.85=£1 sterling, and thus must be regarded as approximate. The actual dollar amounts voted by the Canadian Parliament are quoted in the preceding chapter on subsidies. Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji subsidies were in the pound value of those countries, which varied more or less in accordance with current sterling demand. 118 J.H.Hamilton Jan.-Apr. APPENDIX II PASSENGER-STEAMERS OF THE "ALL-RED ROUTE" The data for this alphabetical listing of the ships in this service is compiled from a variety of sources, including Lloyd's Register of Shipping, to which reference has previously been made. The date following the name is the year built; the length given is between perpendiculars; and i.h.p. is indicated horse-power. Aorangi (1883) 4,268-ton single-screw one-funnel, three-masted, steel steamer. Built by J. Elder & Company, Fairfield, Glasgow, for the New Zealand Shipping Company Ltd. In the United Kingdom-Australia-New Zealand service for fourteen years, making thirty-two voyages around the world, outbound via the Cape and homeward bound via the Horn. Purchased in 1897 by James Huddart as the third ship for his Sydney-Vancouver service and sent to C. S. Swan & Hunter, Newcastle-on-Tyne, for extensive changes and installation of new boilers and engines. Dimensions after refit: Length, 389 feet; breadth, 46 feet; depth, 23.17 feet. Engines: Triple expansion, three cylinders—32- inch, 51-inch, and 86-inch; stroke, 54 inches. Steam at 180 pounds; i.h.p., 4,950. Service speed, 14^ knots. Accommodation: 100 first and 50 second; in 1910 changed to 94 first, 52 second, 42 third. In Sydney- Vancouver service until January, 1910, making fifty-five round voyages, totalling 825,000 miles. Transferred to the San Francisco service. In 1915 taken over by the Admiralty as a supply ship, later scuttled at Scapa Flow as a block ship, refloated in 1920 and employed five years as a storage hulk. Aorangi (1924) 17,491-ton, quadruple-screw, two-funnel, two-masted, cruiser-stern motorship. Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding Company, Glasgow, for the Union Company's Sydney—Vancouver service. Keel laid, November, 1922; launched, June 17, 1924. Left Southampton January 3, 1925, via Kingston, Panama, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Victoria, Vancouver, Honolulu, and Suva, arriving at Auckland February 24. Dimensions: Registered length, 580 feet; over-all length, 604 feet; breadth, 72.2 feet; depth, 43 feet; loaded draught, 27.1 feet. Engines: Four Fairfield Sulzer-type, two-cycle, single- acting oil engines each having six cylinders of 21 Vi inches diameter and 39-inch stroke, driving four propellers; i.h.p., 17,000. Speed on trials: Average, 18.237 knots; service speed, 17 knots. Average fuel consumption first seven trips, about 54 tons per day. Accommodation: Total 947, reduced to 639 after refit in 1935 and to 486 after refit following war service. Maintained Sydney-Vancouver run from 1925 to 1941, when requisitioned by Admiralty as a troop-ship and later used as a depot ship. Released in 1946, refitted at Sydney, and resumed the Vancouver service in 1948, arriving at Vancouver on first trip September 11. Last sailing from that port May 14, 1953. Laid up at Sydney and sold to ship-breakers at Glasgow, where she arrived August, 1953. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 119 Arawa (1884) 5,026-ton, four-masted, two-funnel, clipper-bow steel steamer. Built by Denny Brothers, Dumbarton, for Shaw-Savill Company's United Kingdom- Australia trade. Chartered for six months in 1893 to replace the Miowera during her repairs in England. Dimensions: Length, 439 feet; width, 46 feet. Engines: Triple expansion, four cylinders, 37-inch, 61-inch, and two 71-inch. Awatea (1936) 13,482-ton, twin-screw, two-funnel, cruiser-stern steamer. Built by Vickers Armstrong Limited, Barrow-in-Furness, for the Union Company's intercolonial service. Dimensions: Length, 527 feet; breadth, 74.2 feet; depth, 41.7 feet. Engines: Six turbines, single reduction geared to two propeller-shafts. Steam at 450 pounds; shaft horse-power, 22,500. Service speed, 22 knots (often exceeded on intercolonial run). Third fastest British ocean vessel when built. Accommodation: 337 first, 151 second, and 38 third. Made several voyages on the Vancouver run, carrying in 1940-41 Australian and New Zealand airmen. Requisitioned by British Ministry and converted at Vancouver to troop-ship. Carried Canadian troops to Hong Kong. Later refitted as landing ship and engaged in North African assault in 1942. Bombed and sunk. Steamed 576,132 miles during her six years afloat. Maheno (1905) 5,282-ton, triple-screw, two-masted, two-funnel, steel turbine steamer. Built by Denny Brothers, Dumbarton, for the Union Company and placed in the Sydney-Vancouver service. First turbine passenger-liner to cross the Pacific. Dimensions: Length, 400 feet; breadth, 50 feet; depth, 33.5 feet. Engines: Parsons turbines, built by Dennys, direct coupled, two low pressure and one high pressure, driving triple screws; i.h.p., 6,500. In 1915 altered from triple-screw direct-drive to twin-screw and geared turbines. Speed on trials, 17.5 knots; service speed, 16.4 knots. Accommodation: 234 first, 116 second, and 60 third. First arrival at Victoria, May 8, 1906. Requisitioned and converted to hospital ship in 1914, and at conclusion of war refitted and sent to the intercolonial trade. In 1935 sold to Japan for breaking up and, while being towed there, stranded and sunk. Makura (1908) 8,075-ton, twin-screw, two-masted, one-funnel, steel steamer. Built by Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd., Linthouse, Glasgow, for Union Company's Sydney-Vancouver service. Dimensions: Length, 450 feet; breadth, 58 feet; depth, 32 feet. Engines: Triple expansion, eight cylinders—two 28- inch, two 46-inch, and four 55-inch; i.h.p., 10,000. Speed on trials, 18 knots; service speed, 16^ knots. First vessel specially designed for the Sydney-Vancouver service, and at the time of construction largest vessel in the company's fleet. Accommodation: 207 first, 114 second, and 72 third. r 120 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. First call at Victoria, December 15, 1908. Ran opposite Marama until Niagara came out in 1913, the former being withdrawn for war service in 1914 and the other two maintaining the service until 1925. Then sent to the San Francisco service until withdrawn in 1936. Laid up at Sydney and later sold to ship-breakers in Shanghai. Manuka (1903) 4,534-ton, twin-screw, two-masted, one-funnel steamer. Built by Denny Brothers, Dumbarton, for Union Company's intercolonial service. Launched September 8, 1903. Dimensions: Length, 368.7 feet; breadth, 47.2 feet; depth, 31 feet. Engines: Eight cylinders, triple expansion; nominal registered horse-power, 423. Trial speed, 15 knots. First arrival at Victoria, June 7, 1904. In 1905 broke the record for the Sydney-Fiji run. Taken over as a troop-ship in 1914, and following the war returned to her owners and operated in the intercoastal service. In 1929 struck a reef off the New Zealand coast and became a total loss. Marama (1907) 6,437-ton, twin-screw, two-masted, one-funnel steamer. Built by Caird & Company, Greenock, for the Union Company's intercolonial service. Dimensions: Length, 420 feet; breadth, 53 feet; and depth, 31 feet. Engines: Triple expansion, eight cylinders—two 28-inch, two 44V2 -inch, and four 50-inch; stroke, 48 inches; i.h.p., 7,500. Service speed, 16 knots. Accommodation: 229 first, 79 second, and 153 third. Replaced the Miowera on the Vancouver run in 1908. Inaugurated the Auckland call in 1911. In August, 1914, requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted into a hospital ship in New Zealand. Reconverted after the war and went to the San Francisco service, although for four months acted as a relief ship on the Vancouver run. In 1935 went to the intercolonial service and in 1937 sold to the Shanghai ship-breakers. Maunganui (1911) 7,527-ton, twin-screw, two-masted, one-funnel steamship. Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd., Govan, for the Union Company's intercolonial service. Dimensions: Length, 430.8 feet; breadth, 55.7 feet; depth, 31.2 feet. Three decks and promenade deck. Accommodation: 244 first, 175 second, and 80 third. Engines: Quadruple expansion, eight cylinders—24^-inch, 35Vi-inch, 5Q>V2-mch, and 73-inch; stroke, 45 inches. Steam, 220 pounds; i.h.p., 8,000. Service speed, 17 knots. Served in First World War as a troop-ship, and when in 1919 refitted she was converted to oil fuel and sent to the San Francisco service until its abandonment. Served on the Vancouver run as a relief ship in 1927, replacing the Niagara undergoing refit and repairs. Returned to the intercolonial service in 1936, and in 1941 requisitioned and converted to a hospital ship. Returned to her owners in 1946, she was sold to the Hellenic Mediterranean Line and operated under the name Cyrenia. Sold to Italian ship-breakers in 1957. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 121 Miowera (1892) 3,393-ton, three-masted, one-funnel screw steamer. Built by C. S. Swan & Hunter, Newcastle-on-Tyne, for James Huddart's Australia and New Zealand coastal trade. Dimensions: Length, 345 feet; breadth, 42 feet; depth, 25 feet. Engines: Triple expansion, three cylinders—33-inch, 53- inch, and 85-inch; stroke, 54 inches. Steam, 165 pounds; i.h.p., 4,500. Service speed, 14 knots. Accommodation: 233 first and 127 second. First arrival at Victoria, June 8, 1893, being the first vessel inaugurating the "All-Red Route." Continued in the Vancouver service until 1908, when refitted and placed in the intercolonial service under the name Maitai. Made one call at Vancouver as a relief ship, arriving March 10, 1910. Taken over as a troop-ship in 1915, at which time she was serving in the Wellington-San Francisco service. Struck a reef near Raratonga in December, 1916, and became a total loss. Moana (1897) 3,915-ton, single-screw, triple-expansion, two-masted, one-funnel steamer. Built by Denny Brothers, Dumbarton, for the Union Company's intercolonial service. Dimensions: Length, 350 feet; breadth, 44 feet; depth, 32.6 feet. Two decks and awning deck. Engines: Triple expansion, three cylinders— 33-inch, 53Vi-inch, and 85-inch; i.h.p., 4,500. Service speed, 16 knots. Accommodation: 198 first and 100 second. Replaced Monowai I in Sydney-San Francisco service and transferred to Vancouver run, arriving Victoria May 15, 1901, replacing the Warrimoo. Continued in Vancouver run until 1908, returned to the intercolonial service, where she remained until 1925. Dismantled in 1927. Monowai (1925) (ex Razmak) 10,852-ton, twin-screw, two-masted, two-funnel steamer. Built by Har- land & Wolff, Belfast, for the P. & O. Company for its fast Aden and Bombay mail and passenger service under the name Razmak. Purchased by the Union Company in 1930 to replace the lost Tahiti in the San Francisco- Sydney service. Dimensions: Length, 500 feet; breadth, 63 feet; depth, 34 feet. Engines: Two sets of quadruple-expansion four-cylinder, each coupled to a double-reduction Bauer-Wach low-pressure turbine operating on exhaust steam; i.h.p., 14,740. Service speed, 19 knots. Made several runs to Vancouver in 1931, 1933, and 1935. In 1940 converted to an armed merchant cruiser and in 1944 to a landing ship for Mediterranean service. Returned to her owners in August, 1949, and resumed the New Zealand-Sydney service. Niagara (1912) 13,415-ton, triple-screw, two-masted, two-funnel steamer. Built by John Brown & Company Ltd., Clydebank, for the Union Company's Sydney- Vancouver service. Launched August, 1912. First sailing from Sydney in the new service May 5, arriving at Victoria May 28, 1913. Dimensions: Length, 524.7 feet; breadth, 66.3 feet; depth, 34.5 feet. Engines: Combination reciprocating and turbine, eight cylinders—two 27 V£-inch, two 42-inch, 122 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr, and four 47-inch; stroke, 54 inches, on the wing shafts and one low-pressure turbine on the central shaft; i.h.p., 14,500; steam at 220 pounds. Service speed 16-17 knots. The first passenger-liner under British Board of Trade certificate to use fuel-oil, being fitted originally to burn coal or liquid fuel; oil fuel installed during her first call at Vancouver. Accommodation: 281 first, 223 second, and 191 third. Overhauled and refitted in 1935-36, her passenger accommodation was increased. Continued in the Sydney—Vancouver service during both world wars until June 19, 1940, when she struck an enemy mine off the New Zealand coast and sank. Tahiti (1904) (ex Port Kingston) 7,585-ton, twin-screw, triple-expansion, two-masted, one-funnel steamer. Built by Alexander Stephen & Sons Ltd., Glasgow, for the United Kingdom- West Indies passenger and fruit trade. Purchased in 1911 by Union Company for its San Francisco-New Zealand service and renamed Tahiti. Dimensions: Length, 460 feet; breadth, 55.5 feet; depth, 24.4 feet. Engines: Triple expansion, six cylinders—30-inch, 50-inch, and 80-inch; stroke, 54 inches. Steam, 180 pounds; i.h.p., 9,000. Speed on trials, ISY2 knots. Accommodation after refit in 1911: 277 first, 97 second, and 141 third. Employed as relief ship on Sydney-Vancouver service in 1920 and 1927. From 1914 to 1918 served as a troop-ship. Sunk in 1930 while south-bound from San Francisco, when broken tail-shaft pierced her bottom. Warrimoo (1892) 3,528-ton, single-screw, two-masted, one-funnel steamer. Built by C. S. Swan & Hunter, Newcastle-on-Tyne, for James Huddart's Australia-New Zealand coastal trade. Dimensions: Length, 345 feet; breadth, 42 feet; depth, 25 feet. Engines: Triple expansion, three cylinders—33-inch, 53- inch, and 85-inch; stroke, 54 inches; i.h.p., 4,500. Service speed, 14 knots. Accommodation: 233 first and 127 second. Entered service 1893; first arrival at Victoria July 8, operating opposite Miowera. Continued in this service until 1901, when she transferred to the intercolonial service. In 1915 requisitioned for war service and returned to her owners in 1916 and sold to foreign interests. Zealandia (1910) 6,600-ton, twin-screw, two-masted, one-funnel steel steamer. Built by John Brown & Company, Glasgow, for Huddart, Parker Company's Australian coastal trade. Dimensions: Length, 410 feet; breadth, 54.7 feet; depth, 23.4 feet. Engines: Quadruple expansion, eight cylinders—two 24Vi-inch, two 35-inch, two 49*/^-inch, and two 70-inch. Sailed from the Clyde, May, 1910, and on arrival at Melbourne was chartered by the Union Company for the Sydney-Vancouver service; first arrival at Victoria, August 24. Remained in this service until 1913, when she was returned to her owners. Requisitioned by the Admiralty 1914-18 and continued in Australian coastal trade until February, 1942, when she was sunk by lapanese air attack off Darwin, where the wreck remained until 1957, when it was salvaged by Japanese ship-breakers. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 123 APPENDIX III VANCOUVER OFFICES AND OFFICIALS Vancouver being the terminal port of the Canadian-Australasian service, the line's principal Canadian offices were maintained there from the first. The agreement between James Huddart and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, entered into prior to the commencement of the service in 1893, specified the Canadian Pacific as general agents of the line, and its offices, both at Vancouver and Victoria, handled the ship-agency business of the line and also acted as passenger and freight agents. Shortly after the Union Company became financially interested and with the prospect of its establishing a regular service of cargo-steamers to Canada in addition to the passenger and mail line, it became desirable for the company to have a personal representative in Canada. In 1902 E. Crawford was sent from Dunedin, then the head office of the Company, to occupy a desk in the office of the Canadian Pacific Railway terminal. In 1906 he was relieved by J. C. Irons. Later, in 1912, when the Union Company had acquired full ownership of the line, it was decided that the interests of all concerned would better be served if the Canadian-Australasian offices were separately operated, handling in addition to the business of the mail and passenger steamers the growing business of its cargo-steamers then coming into service. The Canadian Pacific, having acted as general agents since the beginning, relinquished the ship agency, but continued to act as passenger and freight agents throughout Canada. The Union Company's first office, under the management of J. C. Irons, was located immediately adjoining the Canadian Pacific telegraph office on Hastings Street. Within a few years it became necessary to have more commodious quarters, and larger offices were established at 440 Seymour Street. Increase of business necessitated several successive moves, first to the Winch Building in 1922 and two years later to the newly built Bell-Irving Building (now the Seaboard Building) at the corner of Hastings and Burrard Streets, which served as the Union Company's offices, and from 1931 also as the head office of the jointly owned Canadian Australasian Line Limited. In 1949, when the Seaboard Company purchased the Bell-Irving Building, the Union Company's offices were finally removed to their present situation in the Benthall Building, 444 Burrard Street. J. C. Irons occupied the position of manager at Vancouver from 1906 until his death in 1936 at the early age of 56. He had been born in New Zealand in 1880 and joined the Union Company's service as a young man, coming to Canada in 1906 as the company's representative. Although of a quiet and retiring disposition, he was intensely public-spirited and willing to aid any worthy cause. He will long be remembered in British Columbia, not only as a sturdy pioneer of the shipping trade and commerce between Canada and the Antipodes, but also as a sound counsellor on the development of British Columbia ports, aids to navigation, and improvement of land services r 124 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. connected with shipping. He was one of the ardent group who established the now important and flourishing Vancouver Merchants Exchange and the Vancouver Chamber of Shipping, of which latter he was the first president. Philip B. Cooke, who had served the company for many years ashore and afloat in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, succeeded J. C. Irons, under whom he had been assistant manager. Mr. Cooke, who had for twelve years been assistant manager of the company's Melbourne office, was appointed as general manager of the jointly owned passenger and mail line, continuing also as Vancouver manager of the Union Company's cargo-ship services. During the difficult years of the world war he was called upon to handle a host of conflicting problems connected with the movement of personnel and war supplies, especially when the war extended to the Pacific. He earned the thanks of the Canadian Shipping Board for his assistance in securing and helping to maintain order in the chaos of war-cargo demands for the South Pacific, a fact to which the writer can testify, having been Pacific Coast representative of the Board during that period. After forty-nine years service with the Union Company he retired in 1949. Following a holiday in his native New Zealand, he returned to British Columbia, where he has continued to reside and to maintain his interest in shipping. Mr. T. W. Brawn, also a long-time official of the Union Company, succeeded Mr. Cooke. Although the Canadian Australasian Line has ceased to exist, the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand continues to maintain offices in Vancouver and its services of fast freighters and also acts as Vancouver agents for the Orient Line. Mr. Brawn continued as manager until October, 1957, when he retired after forty-three years in the company's service. 1956 The "All-Red Route," 1893-1953 125 APPENDIX IV PLANS COMPLETED AT VANCOUVER, JUNE, 1938, OF PROPOSED NEW SHIPS FOR THE CANADIAN AUSTRALASIAN LINE. The following details, amplifying the information given in the text, are from the tentative plans. There were to be eight decks:— Boat Deck: First-class promenade, 248 feet; sports deck amidships, 55 x 80 feet; children's playroom, 25 x 80 feet. Promenade Deck: Covered promenade, glassed in, 310 feet; entertainment hall amidships, 67 x 60 feet; first-class lounge, 40 x 55 feet; first-class smoking-room, 60x45 feet; cocktail bar, 30x15 feet; men's club, 30 x 15 feet. "A I Deck: Details omitted but indicated that it was intended almost entirely for first-class passenger accommodation, with the after-deck open, with possibly an open-air pool that could fit into one of the hatchways. "B" Deck: First-class berths, 134; swimming-pool, 20 x 25 feet; second- class lounge, 50 x 75 feet. "CI Deck: First-class berths, 74; second-class berths, 106 (of which 36 were marked "changeable to first class"); second-class smoking- room, 75 x 80 feet. "D" Deck: First-class berths, 27; second-class dining saloon, 25x50 feet, seating 160; first-class dining saloon, 75 x 80 feet, seating 280. "E" Deck: Second-class berths, 132; third-class berths, 120; air-conditioning plant on this deck (a very advanced feature in a 1938 plan). "F" Deck: Engines, fuel-tanks, cargo-hold, etc. The above provided for 235 first-class passengers, which could be increased to 309 by conversion from second-class; 238 second-class, or alternatively 202; 120 third-class. To this should be added the accommodation available on "A" Deck not detailed in the plans, but it may be assumed providing about 150 first-class accommodations, making a total passenger accommodation of 743 or thereabouts. 126 J. H. Hamilton Jan.-Apr. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In gathering the material for this record of the "All-Red Route," the writer owes thanks to many people. Especially is he indebted to Dr. W. Kaye Lamb, Dominion Archivist, Ottawa, whose Empress Odyssey, a history of the Canadian Pacific passenger and mail service to the Orient, prompted the writer to essay a similar examination of the long and chequered history of the Canadian-Australasian service from its inception in 1893 to its cessation in 1953. Dr. Lamb, a long-time student of maritime history, has been of inestimable assistance in seeking and collating information, especially as regards Canada's interest in the service. In Victoria, Mr. Willard E. Ireland, Provincial Librarian and Archivist, has encouraged the production of this history. He and his very competent staff have courteously provided all possible assistance in tracing the information available in the extensive records and documents in his charge. In Vancouver Mr. P. B. Cooke, retired manager of the Canadian Australasian Line, has provided much information and advice which has widened the scope of the record. His successor, Mr. T. W. Brawn^ also has given assistance. Captain R. W. McMurray, retired general manager of the Canadian Pacific Steamships, and his predecessor, the late Captain Edmund Aikman, have aided the writer in securing information and ensuring technical accuracy and sound conclusions. Mr. Justice Sidney A. Smith, of the Admiralty Court, has clarified legal points and terminology. Thanks are also due to Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Limited, of Wallsend-on-Tyne, builders of the original ships of the "All-Red Route"; and to Lloyds' Register of Shipping, London, for authentic details of construction and repairs; and to Mr. D. A. Butler, manager of the Suva, Fiji, office of the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand; Mr. R. W. Parkinson, commerce and industry officer of the Government of Fiji; Mr. H. L. White, librarian of the Commonwealth National Library, Canberra, Australia; and Mr. W. McGregor, assistant librarian of the Parliamentary Library, New Zealand, for detailed information in their respective fields. It would be impossible to specify all those who have aided the writer, without whose help the story would have fallen short, and in thanking all these people for their interest and courtesy the writer must not overlook the valuable aid and expert assistance given by his wife, formerly Madge Wolf- enden, who for many years was Assistant Provincial Archivist of British Columbia. Thankful for her encouragement and expert knowledge of reliable sources of information and her ability to sift the wheat from the chaff, one may frankly say that without her interest and indefatigable help this three- year undertaking would not have been completed. To unearth and collate the interesting and complicated story of this steamship line, which has now receded into the history of British Columbia and of Canada, in which it has played by no means a small part, many hundreds of facts and opinions must be collected, and while every effort must be made to ensure accuracy, errors nevertheless creep in. But for such faults and elisions the writer accepts full responsibility. INDEX Abyssinia, 22 Adelaide Steamship Company, 70, 71 Alameda, 11, 13, 22 "All-Red Route," 1893-1953, The, 1-126 Allan Line, 55 Aorangi I, 13, 20, 38-44, 46, 50, 51, 64, 65, 67-70, 118 Aorangi 11, 11, 12, 58, 62, 77, 81-85, 87, 92, 93, 96-101, 115, 116, 118 Aotearoa, 12, 13, 59, 81, 82 Arawa, 28, 29, 119 Armstrong, J. E., 108 Arnott, W. H. Young & Company Ltd., 99, 100 Arundell, Capt. R. E., 35 Ashby, Capt. A. L., 81 Aspinwall, William Henry, 6, 7 Aspinwall, 5 Atlantic and Pacific Corporation, 8, 9 Australasian and American Mail Steamship Company, 9 Australasian-Pacific Mail Steam Packet Company, 3 Australasian, Sandwich Island and Canadian Steamship Line, 23 Australasian Steam Navigation Company, 10 Australia, 10, 23, 28 Australian and New Zealand Shipping Company, 32 Australian Steam Navigation Company, 9 Avenger, 81 Awatea, 12, 87-90, 96, 119 Beardmore, William, & Company, 70 Beatty, Sir Edward, 94-96, 114 Beaver Harbour, 7, 8 Beazley, Ernest H., 4. Beazley, James, 4 Bennett, R. B., 94, 112 Bewley, Edward N., 114 Bird, Capt., 37 Black Star Line, 4 Black Swan, 3 Borden, R. L., 74, 75 Bowell, Sir Mackenzie, 45 Brawn, T. W., 124 Brighton, 55 British Columbia Marine Railway Limited, 54, 59, 75 British Columbia Sugar Refining Company, 53 Brown, David E., 18 Brown, John, & Company, 69, 75, 121, 122 Bullen, Douglas, 54 Bullen, H. F., 75 Bullen, W. Fitzherbert, 54, 75 Bullen, Mrs. W. Fitzherbert, 75 Bullen's Ways, 75 Burns, Philp & Company, 43, 50, 51 Burrard Drydock Company, 75 TJ.S.S. Bush, 89 Bushby, George, 75 Caird & Company, 59, 120 California, 7 California, New Zealand and Australia Steam Navigation Company, 9 Canadian Australasian Line, 92, 95, 96, 108, 110, 112, 114, 115, 123-125 Canadian Australasian Royal Mail Line, 4, 64, 108 Canadian Australian Line, 1, 8, 14-16, 22, 23, 32, 43, 47, 50, 57, 58, 65-67, 102-106 Canadian Australian Mail Line, 38 Canadian Australian Royal Mail Steamship Company, 38, 40, 41, 50, 105, 108 Canadian Australian Steamship Company, 19 Canadian Government Merchant Marine, 93 Canadian Pacific Railway Company, 11, 18-23, 33, 40, 43-45, 52, 55, 61, 73, 74, 84, 92-96, 101, 113, 123 Chapman, Rev. J. W., 62 H.M.S. Charybdis, 54 Chevrier, Lionel, 116 Chile, 2 China Shopbreakers Limited, 62 City of Melbourne, 10 City of New York, 10 City of Sydney, 10 Claymore, 79 Clemens, Samuel, 35-37 Coal, Vancouver Island, 7, 8 Coffer-dam, Esquimalt, 54 Colima, 10 Colon, 5 Constance, 4 Cook, Mount, 13 Cooke, P. B., 58, 124 Courtney, George L., 40 Craigmile, Lord, 96 Crawford, E., 123 Cunard Line, 2 Cyphrenes, 9 Cyrenia, 86, 120 Dakota, 9 Dartford, 58 Deaville, A. S., 26 Denny, Peter, 49 Denny Brothers, 49, 52, 55, 57, 59, 119-121 Dinoris, 3 Elder, Dempster & Company, 71 Elder, John, & Company, 10, 38, 69, 83, 118 Emeu, 3 Empress of Asia, 74, 84, 95 Empress of Britain, 88, 95 Empress of Japan, 95 Esquimalt Marine Railway, 75 Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Limited, 10, 81-84, 86, 100, 118, 120 H.M.S. Flora, 54 Foremost 17, 80 Fort Vancouver, 7 Fort Victoria, 71 Foster, Sir George, 17, 110, 111 Furness, Withy Company, 71 Gaudin, Capt. James, 35 Gourlay Brothers, 69 Grade, Beazley & Co., 4 Grand Pacific Hotel, Suva, 53 127 128 Index Hamilton, J. H., The "All-Red Route," 1893- 1953, 1-126 Harbour Steam Company, 49 Harland & Wolff, 87, 121 Hauraki, 12 Hawkins, L. S., 77 Hellenic Mediterranean Lines Ltd., 86, 120 Herd, Capt. J. W., 78 Hillhouse, Dr. Percy, 84 Himalaya, 33 Holland, Sydney, 98 Howie, W. D., 75 Howland & Aspinwall, 6 Huddart, James, 1 14-21, 23, 32, 38-50, 53, 65, 67, 101-105, 118, 121, 123 Huddart, James, and Co., 41, 42 Huddart, Parker & Co., 14, 16, 47, 48, 69, 122 Huddart, Peter, 47 Hunter, 42 Imperial Steam Navigation Company, 45 Irons, J. C, 80, 82, 93, 123, 124 Isaacs, David, 79 John Duthey, 35 Johnstone, 78, 79 Jones, John, 49 Kangaroo, 3 Kemble, Oliver, 99, 100 King Edward, 55 King Egbert, 77 Laurier, Sir Wilfrid, 108, 109 Law, George, 6 Lombardi, 89 Loongana, 12, 55 Lome, 30 Lurline, 115 McFee, William, 73 McGregor, 9 Macrae, Kenneth, 28 Maheno, 53, 55, 56, 59, 60, 119 Mail service, 5-10, 13-16, 18, 21-28, 33, 44-46, 63-65, 72, 85, 102-115, 117 Maitai, 67, 122 Makura, 57, 59-63, 65, 72, 73, 77, 85, 113, 119, 120 Makura Globe, 63 Makura Journal, 63 Makura News, 63 Makura Post, 63 Manuka, 13, 57, 58, 120 Marama, 13, 56-61, 67, 77, 85, 110, 112, 120 Mararoa, 11-13 Marie Celeste, 99 Marin, W. H., 77 Mariposa, 11, 13, 63, 115 Martin, Capt. W., 78 Massey, W. F., 107 Matson Line, 60, 91, 112-115 Matson Navigation Company, 92 Maunganui, 13, 86, 113, 120 Menura, 3 Menzies, Robert Gordon, 116 Mikado, 9 Mills, Sir James, 49-52, 75 Mills, William, 49 Mineola, 31, 32 Miowera, 14, 15, 18-20, 22-25, 27-34, 41-44, 51, 59, 65, 67, 88, 102, 103, 120-122 Moana, 13, 51-55, 57, 72, 102, 121 Moeraki, 57 Mongol, 9 Monowai I, 13, 52, 121 Monowai II, 73, 87 Monterey, 115 Morgan, Capt. G. B., 90 Morley, Arnold, 45 Moses Taylor, 9 Motor-ships, 82, 83 Nebraska, 9 Nevada, 9 New York, London and China Steamship Company, 9 New Zealand and Australian Steam Navigation Company, 14, 15 New Zealand Direct Line, 28 New Zealand Shipping Company, Limited, 20, 38-43, 50, 68, 105, 118 Niagara, 12, 57, 59-61, 69, 73-81, 83-86, 92, 93, 115, 121, 122 Northern Pacific Steamship Company, 30 Oceanic Steamship Company, 11, 13, 28, 43, 50, 51, 63, 104, 106 Oil fuel, 75, 76 Oppenheimer, David, 24, 25 Oratava, 24 Oregon, 7 Orient Line, 23, 24, 125 Orion, 78 Pacific Mail Steamship Company, 6, 7, 10, 11, 69,74 Pacific Steam Navigation Company, 2, 3 Paloona, 69 Panama, 7 Panama, Isthmus of, 1-6, 8, 25, 26, 39 Panama, New Zealand and Australian Royal Mail Company, 8 Parker, T. J., 47 Pearce, Sir William, 10 Pemberton, J. D., 5 Peninsular and Oriental Line, 2, 23, 73, 87, 96, 121 Penybryn, 73 Peru, 2 Phillips, Capt. J. D. S„ 34, 35, 68, 69 Polk, J. K., 6 Port Kingston, 71, 122 Pride, 89 Prince Alfred, 26 Prince Robert, 89 Prince Rupert, 54 Princess Louise, 34 Princess Patricia, 55 Princess Victoria, 52, 53 Index 129 Queen, 55 Queen Alexandra, 55 Queen Mary, 88 Rates, transportation, 14, 15, 53 Razmak, 73, 87, 121 Roach, John, 10 Rosebery, Lord, 45 Rotomahana, 12, 33, 55 Routes, trans-Pacific, 101-110, 117 Royal Dutch Lloyd, 69 Royal Mail Lines Limited, 2, 82, 83 Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, 2, 3, 8 Salvage, 31, 32, 78-80 Savage, 112 Seddon, R. J., 104 Shaughnessy, Sir Thomas, 52 Shaw, Savill Company, 28, 119 Smith, Sir Keith, 72 Smith, Sir Ross, 72 Sonoma, 71 Spalding, W. R., 26 Spreckels, J. D., 13 Stephen, Alexander & Sons Ltd., 60, 69, 119, 122 Stevens, H. H., 94, 113 Stitt, William, 52 Stott, Capt., 22, 28, 31 Strath Line, 30 Stiathcona, Lord, 44 Strathnevis, 30-32 Subsidies, shipping, 15-21, 26, 37, 41, 45, 46, 53, 63, 65, 90-94, 98, 101-117 Swan, C. S., & Hunter Co., 32, 39, 42, 118, 121 Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Limited, 42 Tahiti, 62, 69, 71-73, 87, 121, 122 Tartar, 9 Thompson, Sir John, 45 Thurston, Sir John, 102 Tolmie, William Fraser, 7 Toyo Kisen Kaisha, 74 Tucker, 100 Turbine ships, 55, 56, 119 Union Bay, Vancouver Island, 8 Union Royal Mail Line, 113 Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, 1, 2, 4, 11-14, 33, 43, 44, 49-60, 63-67, 69- 77, 81, 82, 84, 86, 87, 91-97, 102-104, 107, 108, 112-115, 118-124. Union Steamships Ltd., 4 United Salvage Proprietary, 78 Vancouver Chamber of Shipping, 124 Vancouver Merchants Exchange, 124 Vasca da Gama, 10 Ventura, 11,13 Vickers Armstrong, 87, 119 Victorian, 55 Virginian, 55 Waihemo, 66 Waimarino, 66 Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Company Limited, 42 Ward, F. W., 23, 24 Ward, J. G., 37, 103, 106, 107, 109 Warrimoo, 14, 15, 18-20, 27, 32-38, 41, 42, 51, 52, 65, 67, 101, 102, 105, 121, 122 Way, 29 Webb, William H., 9 Whitefield, Capt. W., 58 Williams, Capt. J. P., 78 Willochra, 69-71 Yarrow, Sir Alfred, 75 Zealandia I, 10, 13, 69 Zealandia II, 69, 70, 122 Zeelandia, 69 Printed by Don McDiarmid, Printer to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in right of the Province of British Columbia. 1959 250-1159-9617
Includes an index. Other copies: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/10365654 Wallace B. Chung and Madeline H. Chung Collection
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HE945.C2 H2
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Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. HE945.C2 H2
Mail steamers--Pacific Ocean
Steam-navigation--Pacific Ocean
The 'All-Red Route', 1893-1953 : a history of the trans-Pacific mail service between British Columbia, Australia, and New Zealand
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