SHIPS AND THE SEA.

Evening Post, Volume LXX, Issue 61, 9 September 1905, Page 12

SHIPS AND THE SEA.

At a recent gathering given by the directors of the Huddart-Parker Co., an outline of the history of the- company was sketched. Although the firm was formed only in 1876, the senior partners in the concern became associated as far back as 1854, so that the building up of the business now carried on has covered a period of over half a century. It was in the year 1853 that the late Mr. T. J. Parker arrived in Geelong, representing the firm of J. and D. Parker and Co., warehousemen, of London. He commenced business as an importer. Towards the close of the following year he became more directly connected with the shipping interest as agent for the steamer Express, which had recently arrived from England, of \Uiick Captain William. Howard Smith, who was in command, was joint owner with Mr. S. B. Skinner, the engineer. The late Captain Webb, for a long time associated with Mr. T. J. Parker and Mi*. John Traill, joined the Express as chief officer when she entered the Geelong and Melbourne trade. Mr. Traill, who is now chairman of directors of Huddart, Parker and Co., joined Mr. Parker early in 1855 as manager of the Express steamer agency. Some years afterwards the late Captain W. H. Smith, preparatory to entering the inter-State trade with the You Yangs, sold his share In the Express to Mr. Parker, who took up his residence in Melbourne, assuming" the agency there, Mr. Traill remaining in sole charge at Geelong. Captain Webb then took charge of the Express, Mr. Skinner, now joint owner with Mr. Parker, being the engineer. Mr. Skinner died in 1867, and Mr. Traill and Captain Webb became joint owners by the purchase of his interest. In 1869 the Express was superseded by the Despatch, the latter steamer having been built in Scotland, under the supervision of Mr. Parker. The Alert and Excelsior were in succession built for the same trade, the former in 1877, and the latter in 1882, and with the Excelsior's arrival commenced the bi-daily service in the Geelong and Melbourno trade, now carried on by the Courier and Excelsior. Captain Peter Huddart, who came to the colony about 1854-55, was in the early 60's joined by his nephew, Mr. James Huddart, who established a business at Ballarat, and afterwards took up the importation of coal and export of produce at Geelong. In the year 1876 Mr. Huddart joined Messrs. Parker, Traill ' and Webb, forming the now well-known firm of Huddart, Parker and Company, who were then coal importers and merchants at Geelong, each partner having an equal interest, Mr. Huddart being appointed manager. The ships owned by the firm at this stage were the barques Olivia Davies, Medea, and Queen Emma. In the following year the firm purchased the coal importing business" of Mr. Morley, in Melbourne, and with the business took over the barques Frederica and Sparrow Hawk. Mr. Huddart was appointed manager in Melbourne, and Mr. Traill, in addition to the management of the steamboat business in Geelong, took charge of the coal importing trade at that port. The coal business at both ports having largely increased ( it was resolved in 1880 to employ steam instead of sailing vessels in the trade", and the steamers Nemesis, Lindus, and Wendouree were procurred in rapid succession. A further development, took place in 1882, when tho firm considered it advisable to enter into the Kjdney trade. It was soon found thac the steamers Nemesis, Lindus and Wendoureei were inadequate to the extended trade, and Mr. Huddart w«e commissioned to huild in England two stcamt-rs of a superior type, the vessels being named the Burrunibeet and Corangamite, and these steamers were amongst the first into which triple expansion engines were introduced. In 1886 Mr. Parker transforred hall his interest in the steamers Despatch, Alert, and Excelsior to Mr. James nuddart, who then attained an equal inteiest with the other partners, and was appointed general manager o) the firm, which in all its branches was carried on under the name adopted in 1376^ — Huddart, Parker, and Company. Two yeais later, namely, in 1888, tho present limited i company was formed, with n capital of £300,000, each of the old partners taking j up a fourth of tho shares, Mr. Ernest J. Parker joining the board ; n year or two afterwards Mr. W. T. Applet on and^VEr. John L. Webb being also maile directors. Since 1895 rapid developments have taken place in the New Zealand and Tasmanian trade, and the company have added to their fleet the steamers Wimmera, "Above 10,000 tons" is the phrase still employed by Lloyd's Register iv its tables dealing with the dimensions of the world's greatest steamships. Probably the description ia sufficiently precise, for the number of these vessels is less than a hundred. All the &une, the list continues to receive additions. Here, for example, are the numbers and nationalities of these big steamers as they are returned for tho yeais named : — STEAMSHIPS ABOVE 10,000 TONS. 1899. 1904. 1905. Great Britain ... 6 45 48 Germany 10 25 26 United States ... 4 12 12 Holland 1 4 ' 4 France 0 2 3 v Denmark 0 2 2 Belgium 0 11 21 91 96 The figures suggest that that which was more or less experimental^ at the end of last century has since developed into an approved practice. What is more, having once lagged behind Germany in this matter of large steamers, Great Britain seems determined to maintain tho lead which fihe afterwards secured. The biggest merchant steamer in the world is still, apparently, the White Star liner Baltic, of 23,876 tons, for the Amerika, tho new boat of tho Hamburg-American. Company, is returned at the round figure of 23,000 tons. Tho Codric (21,035 tons) and the Celtic (20,904 tons) are also combine ships, like Iho Baltic, and some people might suggest that their British register in open to qualification. But even the Ifamburg-American and Norddeutscher Lloyd Companies are not free from association with the International Mercantile Marino Company. The Carmania, the new Cunard boat, which' at least is genuinely British, is put at 20,000 tons, with her sister^ ship, Hie Coronia, n littlo below that figure. There arc, in truth, only seven ships of 20,000 tons and upwards, and of the.se Great Britain boasts the four already named : the United States two, in tho shape of the Dakota (20,714) and the Minnesota (20.718) ; and the Germans tho Amerika. Their next biggest ship is the Kaiser Wilhelm 11. (19,360). France has no 20,000-ton ship, her largest steamer as yet being La Provence, of 15,000 tons, which is of considerably greater dimensions than the two other liners of the Transatlantic Company which exceed 10,000 tons. Belgium is still content with one vessel above this last-mentioned limit— the Vaderland, of just over 12,000 tons. Denmark's two big ships are just over 10,000 tons apiece, but three of Holland's four nro considerably larger. Looking at the fact that there ore now seven vessels of or exceeding 20,000 tons, it seems difficult to realise that seven years ago the Kaiser Wilhelm, of 14,349 tons, was the biggest merchant steamer in existence. Things have advanced a good deal 6ince then, and no one can say with certainty that such steamers as the Baltic nnd the Amerika at all represent finality.— Lloyd's Shipping i Gazette.