SOME PERSONAL HISTORY

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 114, 18 May 1925, Page 9

SOME PERSONAL HISTORY

Sir James Mills, the principal founder and original, managing director of the Union Company' was born in Wellington on 30th July, 1847, being the third son of Mr.' Williams Mills, afterwards Collector of Customs at Dune din, Auckland, and Christchurch. He was educated in Dunedin, .where he entered the service of Mr. John Jones, the enterprising Otago pioneer, who was then in business in Dunedin as a merchant and shipowner. He soon took the active management of Mr. Jones's Harbour Steam Company;^ and on the latter's death in 1869, becoming a large proprietor, was entrusted by, his co-partners" with, the .sole direction, and control- of the enterprise. In 1874, he made a trip to Great Britain, and was successful in making the arrangements which resulted in the formation of the Union Company.,

Mr. Mills (as he was then), was" appointed managing director, of the company, an office which he held until 1913. He has also been chairman of directors since 1906.' He;-is the only'; remaining member of;• the original board. >r .y In service, to the community, ..in .other ways than through the Union Company, Mr.': Mills -'.was . member for'.^iyaiiiouaiti in the Provincial Council of Otago- from 1873 .to 1875, and represented Port. Chalmers in the General Assembly from 1887 to 1893.' In 1907 he was appointed by the Government of New Zealand to represent it at the Colonial Merchant Shipping . Conference. In tb c. same year his services in assisting to develop the trade and resources of New Zealand were recognised by the honour" of knighthood, in his case conferred for the first time upon one .born in New Zealand; and in 1909 the additional dignity of K.C,M:G. was conferred upon him.; Sir James is also a Knight'of Grace of the Order of St.-John of Jerusalem in England.. FIFTY YEARS AFTER -■-.-. - . / . • ..-..' Although since his retirement from the active management of the Union Company in 1913, Sir James Mills has spent most of his time in London, with only occasional visits to New Zealand, he is still a well-known figure here, and his present visit fits in well'with, tfios anniversary of the company which he founded fifty years ago. Besides Messrs. Mills and Jones, the original board of the Union- Company consisted of Messrs.' George M'Lean, Hugh M'Neil (1875-1885), Henry Tewsley (1875-79), and E. B. Cargiil (1875----77 and 1883-1903). These were all' men prominent in the commercial life of the community of Dunedin.

Mx. M'Lean (afterwards ; the Hon. Sir George M'Lean, M.L.G.), was chairman of directors from 1875 till his retirement' in 1906, and was Mr. James Mills's most active colleague, taking a large share in the direction i and administration of the company's afiairs. A retired banker and merchant, he was for some time Provincial Treasurer of Otago, represented Waikbuaiti for ten years in the House of Eepresentatives, during part of which period he held tile portfolios of Commissioner of Customs and Postmaster-Gen-eral, and in 1881 was appointed for life to the Legislative Council. After his retirement from the company's directorate, he received" the honour of knighthood in 0.909 and died in 1917.. Subsequent members of the board have been Messrs. John Cargill (1877-1883), A. W; Morris (1879-1910), J. M. Ritchie (1885-1912J, A. Lee Smith (1903-1917), and Captain A. Cameron, who had been Marine Superintendent since 1876 (1905-1909).

The present directors are:—Sir James Mills, K.C.M.G., Sir John Roberts, C.M.G. Charles Holdsworth, George R. Ritchie, '0. W. Rattray., D. A. Aiken, and 0. G. Whit©.

Daring the absence of Sir James Mills, Sir John Roberts is acting chairman. Founder in 1868 of the firm of Murray, Roberts, and Co., he has for many years been a prominent figure in New Zealand commercial circles. He is a director of many, companies, including the Mosgiel Woollen Company, of whose board he has been a member for over 50 years. He was president of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition at Dunedin in ■1889-90, and was rewarded i with the C.M-G. In 1920 ha received the honour of knighthood: He joined the directorate of the Union Company in 1903. A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT Mr. Charles Holdsworth, the present managing director, is like Sir James Mills, a Wellington boy, being the son of Mr.. J. G. Holdswbrth, Commissioner of Crown Lands." Bora in 1863, he was educated at Wellington College, . and joined Mr. W. E. Williams's Black Diamond Line of steamers in 1880, becoming Westport manager in 1883. ' He joined the Union Company in the same capacity in 1883 on their taking over the line. In 1891, on the purchase of the Tasma'niah' Steam Navigation Company's I business, he was appointed the Union' Company's manager for Tasmania. In 1898 he-returned to New Zealand as chief manager and inspector, an office which was changed into that of general manager in 190 L On Sir James Mills's resigning the active control into his hands early in 1914, he was appointed managing director. He has directed the company s operations during the anxious and difficult tinies of the war, and the subsequent reconstruction, and it is to bis enterprise that the company owes its splendid new raotor-ship, the Aorangi. Mr. G. B. Ritchi*, general manager of the National Mortgage and Agency Co. of New Zealand, joined the board of the Union Company in 1910. Mr. C. W. Rattray, the managing, director of the Dnnedin mercantile firm of J. Rattray and Son, Ltd., became a director in 1913. Mr. D. A. Aiken joined the company's service at Wellington' in' 1883. After holding various positions in the company, he became assistant-general manager in 1908, and general manager in 1914. He was appointed to .a seat on the board in 1915. Mr. C. G. White, barrister and solicitor, of the firm of Young, White, and Courtney, Wellington, joinedtheboard ih'l9l7. ' " ".'.';

The. company's registered office is at Duncdin, but at the end of ]921 tho management /was removed to Wellington, in . order to gain. the advantage of * its more central tvtuation.

In London the company has been represented sines 1880 by* a local board, which attends to the conduct of business in the United Kingdom, including transactions jri shares on tho London register, and which gives valuable assistance an/ advice on shipping matters generally. The company has also local boards in Hobart arid Sydney. •

In their management of the company's "business, the directors have had throughout the able assistance of an enthusiastic and .capable office staff, both in the various departments of the head office and in the numerous branches. This has naturally grown with the extension of the business, and now comprises some 650 members. In 1905 a superannuation scheme for the staff was initiated. • the accumulated funds o£ which, with larfc subsidies from the company and the

members contributions and interest, now, amount to over £200,000. The company has offices in most New.Zealand and Tasmanian ports, in Sydney, 'Newcastle, and Melbourne, in Fiji, Samoa, and Rarotonga (Cook-Islands), and in London. It has also its own representatives m San Francisco, Vancouver, and Now York, and has agents in many parts of the world.■• ■'■ -'-■ ' .", ........ --.-.v;......::,-. THE SEA STAFF Not a little of the company's success has been due to the efficiency of the sea staff, which it has been svfalo -to build up., During the long course of ™? -existence it is. but;natural that it should have lost a number of vessel^ but it is pleasing to know that for the past sixteen years there' has been -no wreck accompanied byloss of/life, except through enemy action during the fete war. The commandera of the company's ships are all men of tri*l skill and ci! penence, while the directors take every safeguard L against accident' that the most thoughtful foresight can sup. ply, and have laid down rules for thW guidance of. the commanders in positions of-danger and doubt, it is on thj£ W that the heavy responsibility for sa f a navigation rests, and to whom the credit or the late immunity from serions casualty is due. In theperformance their important duties they havTtte •«.

.In addition tn ß company provides * ployment for many thoußands of sW hands in tha workin,; o f cargo,. shfc re! pairs, and other*'activities.- P