James Huddart (22 February 1847 – 27 February 1901)G. R. Henning,

, '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 4, MUP, 1972, pp 437-438. Retrieved 9 August 2009 was a shipowner and founder of Huddart Parker Limited.

Life

Huddart was born at

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...

, Cumberland, the son of William Huddart, a shipbuilder, and his wife Frances, ''née'' Lindow. Huddart was educated at St. Bees School 1856–1860, came to Australia in 1860, and joined the coal and shipowning business of his uncle, Captain Peter Huddart, at Geelong,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. In the mid-1860s Captain Huddart retired to England and James took over the business. The business had expanded and in 1874 James Huddart was the owner of the ''Medea'', a wooden barque of 423 tons, and next year the ''Queen Emma'' of 314 tons was also registered in his name. On 1 August 1876 Huddart joined forces with T.J. Parker (a former rival), J. Traill, and Captain T. Webb, and the firm of Huddart Parker and Company was founded, each partner had an equal interest. In 1878 the head office was moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, in 1880 several steamships were added to the fleet, and the business expanded rapidly. Huddart became general manager in 1886, and showed himself to be an enterprising and farsighted administrator. In 1888 the business was turned into a limited company with a capital of £300,000 each of the original partners taking up one-fourth of the shares. At the beginning of the 1890s their steamers were running to the principal ports of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

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and

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, and in 1893 they were also trading with ports in

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. Huddart had long been interested in a proposal first made by the

Canadian Pacific Railway Company Canadian Pacific Limited was created in 1971 to own properties formerly owned by Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), a transportation and mining giant in Canada. In October 2001, CPR completed the corporate spin-offs of each of the remaining busines ...

in 1885, that an imperial "All-Red" route should be established between Australia and

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via

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The suggestion touched Huddart's imagination, and in 1893 he formed the Canadian-Australian Royal Mail Line, with a contract to carry mails between Sydney and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. Huddart then tried to arrange for a similar line from England to Canada. The Canadian government supported the plan and agreed to pay £150,000, and endeavours were made to persuade the British government to supply a yearly sum of £75,000. The British post-master-general supported the plan but critics in the British government insisted that tenders must be called, and after the tenders came in the question continued to be delayed. Worn out by worry and anxiety Huddart contracted influenza, and died at Eastbourne after a few days illness on 27 February 1901. Huddart's American line had always been carried on separately from the business of Huddart Parker and Company, and he lost much of his private fortune in conducting it. His interest in Huddart Parker and Company was disposed of in 1897. He married Lois Ingham of Ballarat, who survived him with two sons and a daughter. A third son was killed in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

. Huddart had a strong personality, soaring ambition, and great driving power. He may, as ''The Times'' notice suggests, "have played for higher stakes than his means allowed" but he was no mere speculator; he was imbued with aspirations for the consolidation of the British Empire, and though he may have been in advance of his time he was nevertheless a great pioneer in colonial progress.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Huddart James 1847 births 1901 deaths People educated at St Bees School Australian people of English descent