Guide to the Records of the Australasian United Steam Navigation Company (as filmed by the AJCP), 1887-1961

Summary

Collection number:

M1846-M1853

Creator:

Australasian United Steam Navigation Company

Extent:

27 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the London Metropolitan Archives and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the London Metropolitan Archives and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: Western Australasian Trade Section Minute Book. 22 April 1895- 12 October 1904, London Metropolitan Archives. MS 16512 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-798920226).

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

1. Correspondence 1949-53.

2. Directors' meetings, minute-books and agenda books 1887-1939.

3. Voyage and foreign journals 1887-1932.

4. Ledgers 1937-48 and annual reports and accounts 1887-1959.

5. Papers 1960-61 of B.R.T. Greer, a director of the company, concerning the merger between AUSN Co and Macdonald Hamilton Co.

6. Papers 1917-61 of Company Secretary.

7. Records 1903-16 of Eastern and Australian Steamship Co.

Correspondents include Lord Inchcape, Sir William Currie, Lord Huntingfield, B.R.T. Greer, Lord Simon, R. Loubser, I. Brodie, R. Macdonald and N. Campbell.

Biographical / Historical:

The Australasian United Steam Navigation Company was formed in 1887 as a result of a merger between the Queensland Steamship Company (a subsidiary of the British India Steam Navigation Company) and the Australasian Steam Navigation Company. Five of the original eight shareholders were British India men, including its Chairman, Sir William Mackinnon. The great majority of subsequent shareholders were British investors, only 259 £50 shares being taken up in Australia. The Company, with 46 vessels, was one of the largest of the coastal shipping companies in Australia.

From 1887 to 1925 the A.U.S.N. prospered, its earnings and profits growing steadily. Its tonnage reached a peak in 1914. Its ships, which carried both passengers and freight, covered most of the Australian coast-line and there were also monthly services to New Caledonia and Fiji. After World War 1 the passenger trade declined and by 1937 only three A.U.S.N. ships carried passengers. The loss of Queensland mail contracts in the 1920s was a blow to the Company. Increasingly the Company depended on investments rather than shipping: by 1940 the value of its investments other than in shipping exceeded the value of its vessels. However, the bulk of the capital was still held by British India men, particularly Lord Inchape and his family, who were not prepared to give up the Australian coastal service.

Increased competition, especially from the Australian National Line and from road and rail transport, industrial unrest and other problems led to a sharp decline in earnings in 1957-59. In 1960 the Inchape Group (formed in 1958), which held 41% of the shares, bought out the other shareholders. In 1961, on the advice of its Australian agents, Macdonald, Hamilton Co., A.U.S.N. sold its remaining four ships. However, the Company continued its workshops and engineering activities in Australia and retained shipping trade investments.

Reference: N.L. McKellar. From Derby round to Burketown: the A.U.S.N. story (Brisbane, University of Queensland Press, 1977).

Related

Existence and Location of Copies:

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2269190] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Existence and Location of Originals:

Guildhall Library, London, England.

Currently held at the London Metropolitan Archives, London. For more information see: London Metropolitan Archives (https://search.lma.gov.uk).

Conditions Governing Access:

Available for Access.

Conditions Governing Use:

Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the London Metropolitan Archives. For more information contact London Metropolitan Archives Enquiry service [https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/london-metropolitan-archives/visitor-information/Pages/enquiry-service.aspx].

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the London Metropolitan Archives and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the London Metropolitan Archives and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: Western Australasian Trade Section Minute Book. 22 April 1895- 12 October 1904, London Metropolitan Archives. MS 16512 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-798920226).

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

Contact us