DIRECT SHIPPING SERVICE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19551, 6 August 1925, Page 10

DIRECT SHIPPING SERVICE.

LONDON TO DUNEDIN. NEW ERA INAUGURATED. ; BOON TO IMPORTERS. About 70 representatives of the shipping, importing, and business interests of Dunedin assembled in the W entworth tea rooms yesterday afternoon to celebrate the reinstitution of a direct steamer service between ”London and South Island ports—a service which has been more or less neglected for several years. Several speeches were made expressive of the appreciation that is felt locally at the renewal of a direct service, and the hope was expressed that something *wbnld be done by the Union Company in the direction of improving the intercolonial And coastal services. The guests of honour • were Captain Hutchinson (master of the Port Dunedin), Mr G. F. Sharp (chief engineer), Captain West (marine superintendent of the C. and D. Line), and Mr do Gruchy (general manager in New Zealand for the C. and D. Line). Mr R. Needham (chief officer of the Port Dunedin) would have been similarly honoured, but he was unable to bo present. The chair was occupied by the Mayor (Mr H. L. Tapley). After reading a number of apologies for absence, Mr Tapley stated that as Maoyr of the city he could only say that when he received a general invitation from the Harbour Boa-rd, the Importers’ Association, the Manufacturers’ Association, and the Chamber of Commerce to preside at that very happy function he consented to do so with a great deal of pleasure. Ho felt that the event which they were celebrating was an important epoch in the history of the city and the province. Some 12 years ago, and prior to that, they had a “ spasmodic direct service from London to Dunedin. Thai, however, was only an irregular service, and it had been dropped since the war. They were very pleased to [ be able to feel that the arrival of the very i fine motor ship Port Dunedin heralded the advent of a regular three-weekly direct service from London to Dunedin.—(Applause.) It seemed particularly appropriate that the arrival of the Port Dunedin to institute the new service should happen at a time when they were celebrating the diamond ? jubilee of the city. They all realised the great strides made by the city and province • in connection with imports and exports during the last 60 years. It was fitting that Otago, should continue to advance, and with Otago, of course, the city. Without the assistance of the shipping companies advancement would be afcsolutley impossible, and they were, therefore, in the hands of the shipping companies in connection with the advancement to which he had referred. . It was very gratifying to find that the shipping companies were alive to the interjestf of the dominion, and that by the new s direct service to Dunedin they were mindvfal of the needs of this end of the dominion. _ They had been greatly handicapped in the past because the overseas steamers coming from the Old Country first k called at Auckland, and worked their way down the coast, with the result that importers in Dunedin received their goods three weeks or a month after the Audkland merchants got theirs. That was unsatisfactory. and could not be continued. It was gratifying to know that the overseas companies, supported by the Commonwealth end Dominion Line, had recognised the great difficulty, and were giving a direct Service to South Island ports. It was pleasing to know that the first steamer to inaugurate the service was a new vessel, -which the owners had been good enough ; to name after this city. He hoped that the citizens would see the vessel before sh© left the port. In the past they had been .twitted _w_ith drifting back. They were ' 'not drifting back. They were holding their own, and were establishing themselves gradually and solidly. They were gradually increasing their trade and population, and that was the most solid way to carry on. In the later days before c.the war they had, under the Union Company, a direct service from Australia.

Every week a steamer left Dunedin for Melbourne, after coming from Sydney, via Wellington, and in addition they had a weekly service from Dunedin to Lyttelton, Wellington, Napier, Gisborne, Auckland, and Sydney. Supplementary to that there was a weekly service to Auckland. These were all passenger steamers carrying cargo. The difficulties which ensued owing to the war. caused the Union Company to discontinue these services, but the discontinuance had meant a very great handicap to Dunedin, Otago, and Southland, because tourists who came to New Zealand would land at Auckland or Wellington, and in the majority of cases never came beyond the North Island. The result was that the tourist traffic was lost so far as the Smith Island was concerned. He maintained that the day was coming when they would sea those services restored, and they should eee that they were restored. Ho hoped the example set by the overseas companies would bo followed by the Union Company. If the Union Company said they could not be restored on account

of being unpayable ho thought they would be entitled to get the Government to subsidise the Union Company to an extent that would justify a restoration. They could not expect a public company to run services that were not paying. He hoped the services would be restored because they would mean a great deal for the prosperity of Otago, by bringing tourists here, and they would also benefit Southland. TTie interchange of trade between Dunedin and

Australia would, he was sure, be a very great boon to the shipping community. The cargo boats were so irregular that trade could not bo built up as in the old days. In 1914 the intercolonial and coastal imports amounted to 177,297 tons, and the exports to 102,037 tons. In 1924 the imports amounted to 207.00 C tons, but the exports had decreased to 89.'AS tons. He was satisfied that the irregular service had a good deal to do with the drop in the exports. He did not say that the Union Company was not doing its duty, but he hoped it _ would do something to improve the service. He hoped that the service which they used to enjoy would he restored, cither through a subsidy or hv some other means. In conclusion, Mr Tapley said they wished to thank the owners of the Port Dunedin for the inauguration of the new service. He was sure tbev were gratified to have with them Mr de Gruchy, the manager in New Zealand for the Commonwealth and Dominion Line, who had come down from Wellington for the occasion. The health of the proprietors of the C. and D. Line was proposed by Mr D. Phillips, who represented the Chamber of Commerce. The speaker said it afforded them very great pleasure to welcome the officers of the Port Dunedin and 'Mr de Gruchy. The Commonwealth and Dominion Line, which used to be known as the Tyser Line, had been trading here for many years, and the fact that it had the first steamer in the new service was a source of great satisfaction to the people of Dunedin and to the company. The Mayor had touched on the question of the Melbourne service, and had stated that they could not expect shipping companies to jnagurate services that did not pay. They all felt that there was a volume of trade in Otago which could be catered for and which nad not been catered for as well in the past as they would have liked. The Chamber of Commerce, the Importers and Shippers’ Association, and the Manufacturers’ Association had urged for a long time that they should have direct shipments to the South Island. They now had in port' a very fine vessel—one of the most up-to-date it was possible to see—and it behoved them to patronise that service. They should see that the vessels were kept full* and that in the years to come the promoters of the service would not have i;p. turn round and say they were sorry they could not maintain the service because it did not pay. They must see that their cargo came by these boats, because in future the boats calling at Auckland and Wellington would carry cargo only for these ports. By patronising this service they would receive their goods probably three weeks earlier than they had received them in the past, and there '.vere many other advantages. For the sake of the port and the city it was well that these boats should come’here, and he hoped they would -indued shippers at the other end to keep the boats full. If they did that they would probably bo able to ask for other privileges in the future. The toast was coupled with the names of Mr de Gruchy and Captain West (marine superintendent for the C. and D. Line) Mr de . Gruchy said ho wished to thank them moat sincerely for the honour they had done him and his colleagues in asking them to be present at the function, which celebrated the re-initiation of a direct service from London to the South Island. Before going any further, he would like to

aay that though it had been the good fortune of his company to initiate that service with the new motor vessel, Port Dunedin, that service had only been made possible by the co-operation of their competitors in the London trade. It was his sincere hope that this very cordial meeting would mark an era of better understanding between ship-owners and the shippers upon whom they depended. Since his arrival in New Zealand he had frequently noted with regret the impression, more particularly amongst primary producers and importers, that ship-owners were a monopolistic body who carried on their business irrespective of the wishes of the owners of the cargo. He wanted them to understand that the officials of the companies were a hardheaded body of men who realised to the full that their bread and butter depended entirely on the service they gave, and so far from being hide-bound in their ideas they welcomed at all times any suggestion that would lead to improving the service given. The companies had a committee in Wellington, as most of them already know, and they will be most happy if those interested writ© to them there, come and so© them at the committee room, or they would be only too pleased to come down and see the people if any good object could thereby be served. He could not close his lemarks without making reference to their good friends, Messrs Denny and Tapley and their able lieutenants (Messrs Sharp and Duncaq). It was said that an army marched upon its stomach, and that the campaign stood or fell upon the efficiency of its commissariat. The parallel he was drawing was to show that the success or failure of a steam ship line depended upon its branch managers, or, in the case of the line he represented, its agents. To Messrs Denny and Tapley, and indeed the agents at every port in the dominion, they owed to a groat degree that small measure of success that had been achieved.

Mr Forsyth Johnston (ex-president of the Manufacturers’ Association) proposed the health of the captain and officers of the Port Dunedin. He said he might point out that the people did not expect all the steamers running in the new service to make Dunedin their first port of call. They would be satisfied if some of them made it their second poA. Mr de Gruchy had mentioned that they had been able to carry out the new scheme with the co-operation of their competitors, but one good effect was that some of their competitors were hurrying down the coast as fast as they could A steamer which was arriving here had taken only nine or 10 days to come down the coast, wherea© in some cases they had previously taken 30 days, and in one instance, h© 'believed, 42 days. The principal and lasting benefit would be that they would get their goods promptly. One of the difficulties in the past had been that their competitors in the north, particularly in Auckland, had been able to send goods down her© by coastal steamers and get them here before our merchants could get their goods from the Home steamers. They felt sure that the new sot-vice would remedy such a state of affairs and that the merchants and manufacturers would see that their goods were brought by the direct boats.

In responding to the toast Captain Hutchinson said he would sooner bo in a gale of wind than in the position he occupied at the moment. He deeply, appreciated the sentiments expressed. Those in charge' of the ship had done their very best to send her along. They came from London, via the Panama Canal, in 34 days 1 hour 51 minutes, which was almost a record time. He did not think they could reasonably expect much better than that. Their only hope was that they would be able to continue that and bring their cargo to the market as qsiokiy as possible. Captain West, who resnondod on- behalf of Mr R. Needham (chief officer of the Port Dunedin), said that the latter felt it to be his duty to stand by the ship and assist in the discharge of the cargo. After mentioning that the cargo was being turned out in good condition Captain West said he wished to thank them for the honour done to Mr Needham.

Mr Sharp (chief engineer) returned thanks on behalf o£ the engineers and officers of whom he was very proud. Mr H. C. Campbell (chairman of the Importers’ Association) said the conditions had changed somewhat during the last 10 years. Up till about 1015 they were favoured by the Shaw, Savill and Alhion Company and the New Zealand Shipping Company with a monthly direct service, with ships of about 4000 or 5000 tons, which had no difficulties in navigating the channel and discharging at the Dunedin wharves. In those times the bulk of .the cargo came from London, but since then the trade from the West Coast of England had increased very considerably--possibly on an average two ships per month. Owing to so many ships being withdrawn for war service the owners found it necessary to curtail their programme. They had to review matters, but they gave the best service they could, very often calling at one or two North Island ports. During the last four or five years his association had been in close touch with the owners, who had listened very attentively to the arguments put forward and pointed out their difficulties. That day they saw the reinstitution of a direct service. They had a programme for 12 months, providing for a boat every three weeks. The service was made up by the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company, the New Zealand Shipping Company, of both of which they were very proud, and the C. and D. Line, which owned- the Pon Dunedin. He wanted to say a word about their very worthy harbour master (Captain Maclean), who hud stated that if it wore humanly possible the Port Dunedin would coma to the Dunedin wharf. His wishes were carried into effect, but they could understand that the last word lay with the captain of the vessel, who had upwards of £3,250,000 worth of property in his charge. He wanted to Impress on importers the necessity for seeing that goods were shipped by this service. They had nine first ports of call in the next 12 months. The advantages to be gained by this service were very great. Fi.rst of all there jyas a saving in interest, which must; run into a very large sum of money. The hatches would not be opened from the time they were battened down in London until the vessel arrived her, and therefore he hoped that the claims against this ship and succeding ships in the service would be nil. Some of the claims that had been made against ships that had worked cargo in the north would make one cry. On behalf of the Importers’ Association, the Harbour Board, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Manufacturers’ Association Mr Campbell presented Captain Hutchinson with a silver cigarette cabinet, suitably inscribed, and also with a rug Messrs Needham and Sharp were also presented with rugs, that for the former being handed over to Captain West on behalf of the officer named. The recipients briefly acknowledged the presentations. * The proceedings were brought to a close with the singing of the National Anthem.

COAL AND TIMBER FREIGHTS,

PROTEST AGAINST .INCREASE. (Pke United Pkess Association.) GREYMOUTH, August 6. A public meeting, at which the Mayor presided, passed resolutions _ against the proposed increase in the railway freight charges on coal and timber. The speakers pointed out that the Grey Valley collieries were dependent largely on the markets of the east coast of the South Island, and the increases were calculated to rob them of those markets by placing Newcastle coal on a favourable footing. It was also pointed out that large imports of American timber were already capturing the market from dominion products, and higher freights undoubtedly would operate to reduce further the Coast mills’ output, and it was decided to forward a resolution to the Prime Minister and Coast M.P.’s, and to sencl a deputation, representing the local bodies and interested industries, to make representations to the Government. It was resolved to seek the co-operation of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce.