Burns Philp (properly Burns, Philp & Co, Limited) was once a major Australian shipping line and merchant that operated in the South Pacific. When the well-populated islands around New Guinea were targeted for

blackbirding Blackbirding involves the coercion of people through deception or kidnapping to work as slaves or poorly paid labourers in countries distant from their native land. The term has been most commonly applied to the large-scale taking of people in ...

in the 1880s, a new rush for labour from these islands began. James Burns and Robert Philp purchased several well-known blackbirding ships to quickly exploit the human resource in this region, and Burns Philp entered the slave trade. The company ended its involvement in blackbirding in 1886. In later years the company was a major player in the food manufacturing business. Since its delisting from the Australian Securities Exchange in December 2006 and the subsequent sale of its assets, the company has mainly become a cashed up shell company. It is wholly owned by

Graeme Hart Graeme Richard Hart (born 1955) is a New Zealand billionaire businessman and the country's wealthiest person.British company of the same name).

History

StateLibQld 2 198783 Burns Philp and Company building at Townsville in 1901

In April 1883 James Burns and

Robert Philp Sir Robert Philp, (28 December 1851 – 17 June 1922) was a Queensland businessman and politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908. Early life Philp was born in ...

began a trading partnership, originally named the "Burns, Philp & Company Limited". They were the first company to offer tourism to New Guinea, in 1884, advertising the 'New Guinea Excursion Trip'. This consisted of a five-week trip from

Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately north of Cape ...

and has been described as the "official beginning of tourist cruises in the South Pacific". The company later published a book titled ''Picturesque Travel,'' with the first issue appearing in 1911 and the last in 1925. Sir Robert Philp twice became

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

, while Sir James Burns, became a member of the

Legislative Council of New South Wales The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

and founder/benefactor of Burnside Presbyterian Homes for Children. Up to 1903, Burns Philp operated as merchants and shipping agents in the Pacific Islands, as well as providing a mail service and carrying tourists to

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...

and the Solomon Islands. In 1904, Burns Philp began to acquire plantations and land to develop into plantations in the British Solomon Islands. In 1914 the Burns Philp Tourist Department was established, advertising tours on

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...

and Norfolk Island. Acquisition of the

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

Hotel occurred in the same year, with the Papua Hotel purchased some years later. Burns Philp "maintained a near monopoly on passenger services to Melanesia until the outbreak of the war in the Pacific". During this period the company had a dominant role in trade in the region distributing general merchandise and collecting

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from co ...

. By 1916, Burns Philp was operating 7 plantations in the British Solomon Islands through subsidiaries - the Solomon Islands Development Company, the Shortland Islands Plantation Ltd and Choiseul Plantations Ltd. MAKAMBO of Burns Philp & Co at anchor

The Burns Philp fleet

The ships owned and operated by Burns Philp included: * SS ''Titus'' was a 789 gross tons steam ship, built in 1878 by Alexander Stephen & Sons, and purchased by Burns Philp in 1896. She sailed to destinations in the South Pacific including the Solomon Islands, Papua,

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Laid up 1908. * SS ''Makambo'' was a 1,159 gross tons passenger-cargo ship built for Burns Philp in 1907 by the Clyde Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., Greenock Scotland. Transferred to Burns Philp (South Seas) Ltd in 1933 and registered in Suva, Fiji. Sold in 1935. * SS ''Mataram'' was a 3,331 gross tons passenger-cargo ship built for Burns Philp in 1909 by the Clyde Shipbuilding. Engaged in the Sydney, Java and Singapore service; then the New Guinea service, and finally the Solomon Islands service. Sold in 1935. * SS ''Matunga'' was a 1,618 gross tons passenger-cargo ship, built by

Napier and Miller Napier & Miller Ltd. (also Messrs Napier & Miller) were Scottish shipbuilders based at Old Kilpatrick, Glasgow, Scotland. Company history The company was founded in 1898 at a yard at Yoker. In 1906 it moved to a new site a few miles downriver at ...

, Glasgow and originally named ''Zweena''. Purchased by Burns Philp in 1910 for the Solomon Islands service. On 6 August 1917, while en route from Sydney to Rabaul, she was captured by the German raiding ship ''Wolf'', then sunk. * SS ''Montoro'' was a 4,507 gross tons passenger-cargo ship, built in 1911 by Clyde Shipbuilding. Operated the Australia, Java and Singapore service until the mid-1920s; then the Australia to Papua, New Guinea and Darwin service. Requisitioned for war service 1939 to 1945. She remained under charter to the Australian Government from 1945 to 1948. Sold for breaking up in 1948. * SS ''Morinda'' was a 1,971 gross tons passenger-cargo ship built in 1913 by the

Grangemouth Dockyard Company The Grangemouth Dockyard Company was a British shipbuilding and ship repair firm located at Grangemouth, on the Firth of Forth, Scotland. History The company was established in Grangemouth by William Miller and Samuel Popham Jackson in 1885. w ...

. Operated between Australia, Papua, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the New Hebrides (now

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

), Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. Requisitioned for war service in December 1941. After 1945 she returned to the Australia, Papua, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands service until she was sold for breaking up in 1952. * SS ''Marella'' was a 7,475 gross tons passenger-cargo vessel, built in 1914, she was a German steamer handed over as to the British Government as

World War I reparations Following the ratification of article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles at the conclusion of World War I, the Central Powers were made to give war reparations to the Allied Powers. Each of the defeated powers was required to make payments in eit ...

. She was purchased by Burns Philp and renamed ''Marella'' in 1921. Operated on the Australia to Singapore service. Requisitioned for war service 1939 to 1945, then she returned to the Australia to Singapore service until 1949, when she was sold and was broken up in 1954. * SS ''Mangola'' was a 3,350 gross tons passenger-cargo ship, built in 1920 by the Commonwealth Naval Dockyard, Sydney, and originally named ''Eudunda''. She was purchased by Burns Philp and renamed ''Mangola'' in 1926. Operated on South East Asia and South Pacific routes, including Singapore, the Straits Settlements (now Malaysia), Burma (now

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

), Nauru, Papua, New Guinea and Darwin. Requisitioned for war service 1941 to 1945. She was returned to the Australia to Singapore service. In 1949 she was transferred to the Australia to Papua and New Guinea service. She was sold in 1957 and broken up in 1964. * MV ''Merkur'' was a 5,952 gross tons passenger-cargo vessel, built in 1924. Sister ship to MV ''Neptuna''. Purchased by Burns Philp in 1935. Operated on the Australia to Singapore service. Requisitioned for war service 1941 to 1945. From 1946 she remained under charter to the Australian Government. She was returned to Burns Philp in 1949, and was sold for breaking up in 1953. * MV ''Neptuna'' was a 5,952 gross tons passenger-cargo vessel, built in 1925. Sister ship to MV ''Merkur''. Purchased by Burns Philp in 1935. Operated on the Australia, Papua, New Guinea, Philippines, Hong Kong and Saigon service. Requisitioned for war service in 1941. She was sunk in Darwin Harbour on 12 February 1942 during a Japanese air raid. * MV ''Malebar'' was a 4,512 gross tons passenger-cargo vessel, built in 1925 by Barclay Curle & Co. Operated the Melbourne, Sydney, Java and Singapore service. Wrecked on 2 April 1931 in fog at Miranda Point near Sydney. StateLibQld 1 90148 Macdhui (ship)

* MV ''Macdhui'' was a 4,561 gross tons passenger-cargo vessel, built in 1930 by Barclay Curle & Co. Operated on the Australia to Papua and New Guinea service. Sunk on 17 June 1942 during a Japanese air raid on Port Moresby. * MV ''Malaita'' was a 3,310 gross tons passenger-cargo vessel, build in 1933 by Barclay Curle & Co. Operated on the Australia to the Solomon Islands service and was involved in the evacuation of women and children following the outbreak of war with the Japanese. Requisitioned for war service in 1941, ''Malaita'' survived a torpedo fired by the Japanese submarine , near the Port Moresby Harbour entrance on 23 August 1942. Sold in 1965. * MV ''Bulolo'' was a 6,267 gross tons passenger-cargo vessel, built in 1938 by Barclay Curle & Co. In addition to carrying cargo, she operated the mail service between Australia, Papua, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Hebrides, Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands. Requisitioned for war service (1939-46). After a refit, she resumed her cargo and mail service in 1948. Scuttled on 29 March 1951, to extinguish a fire in her cargo of copra. Refloated and repaired in December that year and resumed service. She was sold for breaking up in 1968. * MV ''Lakatoi'' was a 341 gross tons cargo vessel, built in Hong Kong in 1938 by the Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Company. Operated on the Australia to Papua, New Guinea and Solomon Islands service and was involved in the evacuation of women and children following the outbreak of war with the Japanese. Requisitioned for war service in 1941. She operated as a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

ship during the South Pacific Campaign, she capsized and sank in a storm in the vicinity of New Caledonia during 1943. * MV ''Matafele'' was a 341 gross tons cargo vessel, built in Hong Kong in 1938 by the Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Company. Operated on the Australia to Papua, New Guinea and Solomon Islands service. Requisitioned for war service in 1941, she is believed to have been sunk by a Japanese submarine in the Coral Sea in July 1944. * MV ''Mamutu'' was a 300 gross tons cargo vessel, built in Hong Kong in 1938 by the Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Company. Operated on the Australia to Papua, New Guinea and Solomon Islands service and was involved in the evacuation of women and children following the outbreak of war with the Japanese. Requisitioned for war service in 1941, she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in the

Gulf of Papua The Gulf of Papua is located in the southern coast region of New Guinea. It has a total surface area of . Geography Some of New Guinea's largest rivers, such as the Fly River, Turama River, Kikori River, Purari River, and Wawoi River flow ...

on 7 August 1942. MV Tulagi 17 March 1940

* MV ''Tulagi'' was a 2,281 gross tons cargo vessel, built in Hong Kong in 1939 by the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Co. Operated on the Australia to the Pacific Islands and the west coast ports of North America, then the Australia to Papua, New Guinea and Darwin service. Requisitioned for war service, she was torpedoed on 27 March 1944 in the Indian Ocean by the

German submarine U-532 German submarine ''U-532'' was a German Type IX submarine#Type IXC, Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. She was Keel laying, laid down at the Deutsche Werft (yard) in Hamburg as yard number 347 on 7 January 19 ...

. * MV ''Muliama'' was a 689 gross tons cargo vessel, which could carry refrigerated cargo, built in Hong Kong in 1938 by the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Co. Operated on the Australia to Papua, New Guinea and Rabaul service. After the bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942, she participated in the cargo shuttle service from Cairns and

to Darwin. Returned to Burns Philp in 1945, she sailed to destinations in the South Pacific including Solomon Islands, Papua, New Guinea and the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands. She was sold in 1957. * SS ''Burnside'' was a 5,659 gross tons passenger-cargo ship that was under construction by Barclay, Curle & Co at the outbreak of World War II. Requisitioned for war service by the British Ministry of War Transport in 1940. In 1946, Burns Philp gained control of the ship and she operated on the Australia to Singapore and Malaysia service. Sold in 1964. * SS ''Braeside'' was a 5,659 gross tons passenger-cargo ship, built in 1949 by Barclay, Curle & Co. she operated on the Australia to Singapore service. Sold in 1970.

Expansion of business

In the second half of the 20th century, Burns Philp became involved in the production and distribution of food ingredients and consumer branded food, beverage and related products. The Group operated internationally, with leading products and brands enjoying significant market shares in each of its principal markets. Its product ranges included packaged bread and other baked goods, snack foods, breakfast cereals, edible oils, and meal components. In the 1970s the management expanded the business through acquisitions and by the early 1980s, Burns Philp was a conglomerate that controlled over 200 companies involved in about 100 separate industries. The diversification put financial strain on the company, as nearly all of the companies in the group were not profitable. Beginning in 1984, the management began to restructure the group to focus on retail hardware stores and food ingredients, and acquired yeast and fermentation related businesses, such as vinegar production, in Europe and the United States. It became the largest supplier of yeast and vinegar in the world. In the 1990s, Burns Philp expanded into the spices and seasonings sector and became the second largest supplier of spices and seasonings in the North American market. However, the competition with

McCormick & Company McCormick & Company, Incorporated is an American food company that manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavoring products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. Thei ...

developed into an intense price war, which damaged the profitability of the company. On 24 September 1997, Burns Philp announced a writedown of its herbs and spice assets from AUD$850m to AUD$150m, and started to sell the herbs and spices business in order to focus on its core yeast operation. Burns Philp sold the corporate headquarters in Bridge Street, Sydney. One of the most significant subsidiaries of the business in terms of profit was

Goodman Fielder Goodman Fielder is a joint Hong Kong/Singapore-owned manufacturer, marketer and distributor of bread, small goods, dairy products, margarine, oil, dressings and various food ingredients. Its main operations are in New Zealand, Australia, F ...

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

’s largest baker, which was floated in an IPO (

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...

). In 2007 Burns, Philp sold its remaining 20% stake in Goodman Fielder for

NZ$ The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New ...

676 million.

Change of control

Since 1997 New Zealand businessman

Graeme Hart Graeme Richard Hart (born 1955) is a New Zealand billionaire businessman and the country's wealthiest person.delisted In corporate finance, a listing refers to the company's shares being on the list (or board) of stock that are officially traded on a stock exchange. Some stock exchanges allow shares of a foreign company to be listed and may allow dual listing, su ...

on 20 December 2006. After the sale of its yeast and spices business to UK firm Associated British Foods,

Uncle Tobys Uncle Tobys is an Australian food manufacturing company which specialises in breakfast oat products. Since its foundation in 1861, the company has expanded its product range across the cereal and ready-to-eat snack market. Uncle Tobys is currentl ...

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since ...

for NZ$1.1bn, Bluebird Foods to PepsiCo for NZ$245 million, and its NZ$676 million 20% stake in Goodman Fielder the company became largely a cashed up shell. Burns Philp is wholly owned by Hart's private investment company Rank Group Limited.

Heritage listings

A number of building associated with Burns Philp are now heritage-listed: * Burns Philp Building in

Bridge Street, Sydney Bridge Street is a street in the central business district of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Bridge Street runs for in a west–east direction with traffic flowing in both directions. It is situated in the northern portion of the central ...

, listed on the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

* Burns Philp Building in

Normanton, Queensland Normanton is an outback town and coastal locality in the Shire of Carpentaria, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Normanton had a population of 1,257 people, of whom 750 (60%) identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander p ...

, listed on the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. A ...

* Burns Philp Building, in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

, Queensland, listed on the Queensland Heritage Register *Burns Philp Building in Bowen, Queensland, listed on the

Whitsunday Region The Whitsunday Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by two previous local government areas with a history extending back to the establishment of regional local governmen ...

Heritage Register.

Awards

Burns Philp was inducted into the

Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame In 2009 State Library of Queensland, the Queensland Library Foundation and the QUT Business School The QUT Business School is one of six faculties at the Queensland University of Technology. It is home to the QUT Graduate School of Business, a ...

in 2009, for significant contributions made to the development of Queensland and its economy.

References

Links

* *
Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame
{{Graeme Hart Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Food and drink companies of Australia History of Kiribati Shipping companies of Australia Tourism in Papua New Guinea Australian people in whaling Australian ship owners