The New Zealand Shipping Company, a Dominion concern, was established in 1873, and ten years later a direct line of steam communication was inaugurated by the company’s steamer British King, which began the Government mail contract on January 26th, 1883, when the steamer left London, travelling via Cape Horn. Five steamers were built for this direct service. Since the Panama Canal was opened, this company has used that route.
The Shaw, Savill and Albion Line about this time placed steamers in the New Zealand run, and the service has continued up to the present. Other lines, including the Tyser and White Star lines, have been engaged upon the New Zealand trade.
In the ’seventies, trade with the Islands attracted Auckland business men, and the Star of the South (Captain W. Farquhar) commenced a monthly service between New Zealand and Fiji.
The coastal services from Auckland developed rapidly in this period, and culminated in the formation of the Northern Steamship Company on May 11th, 1881. The company was formed to take over the steamers and trade of the Auckland Steam Packet Company, and other local steamers. It continued to absorb the other steamer services, including the Coromandel Steamship Company, and, in 1906, the Manukau Steamship Company. The Northern Steamship Company has now forty vessels in its fleet, trading to every part of the province.
A most serious shipping calamity took place on October 28th, 1894, when the Union Steamship Company’s steamer Wairarapa (1786 tons) was wrecked at Miner’s Head, Great Barrier, on her voyage from Sydney to Auckland. She left Port Jackson with 230 souls on board. Rounding Cape Maria van Diemen on Sunday morning, the ship ran into a fog. In the fog she mistook her course, and when she crashed on the reef she was twenty-five miles out of it. The death-roll was enormous, 127 passengers and crew, including Captain McIntosh, being drowned. The boats on the port side got away safely, but the starboard boats capsized, owing to the list, and the passengers were precipitated into the water, some of them being drowned. The survivors on the ship spent many miserable hours until dawn. As soon as daylight appeared efforts were made by the survivors to get off the ship. Mr. Leighton climbed to the mast-head and detached the signal halyard, with which the second engineer essayed to swim ashore, but failed. One of the stewards took up the heroic task. He succeeded, and along this thin line of life all passed in safety, save two. The first person, a lady, who reached safety by this means, did so by moving hand over hand, but afterwards an endless line was fixed, on which the remainder of those on board made their escape.
Plan of Auckland Waterfront to-day
The heavy black line represents the waterfront in 1841
Three years later the Huddart-Parker Company’s inter-colonial steamer Tasmania was wrecked, on July 29th, 1897, while on a voyage from Auckland to Napier. The weather at the time was dirty and thick, and after sheltering for some time off Gisborne, Captain McGee decided to make for Napier. In the dark the vessel struck a rock off Table Cape, and the captain ordered the passengers and crew to take to the boats. Fortunately, everybody on board got away, and all the boats but two reached land safely. One of these, the carpenter’s boat, capsized off Kawakawa, and a passenger and one of the crew were drowned. The other boat contained eight members of the crew, all of whom were drowned.
A disaster connected with the coastal shipping occurred on March 31st, 1893, when the steamer Ruby was wrecked on Managawai Bar, 50 miles from Auckland, two lives being lost.