Capt. James Ronald Patrick (1880 – 8 May 1945) was an Australian shipowner, born in

Bothwell Bothwell is a conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, east-south-east of Glasgow city centre. Description and history An ancie ...

, Scotland; founder and governing director of James Patrick & Co. Pty. Ltd. and the Patrick Line of cargo ships.

Early life

He began his successful career by working his way to America at the age of 13. He worked for two years in a sailing ship, deserted in Hong Kong and joined an American sailer in Japan. In 1913 he was master of the Currie Line steamer ''Gracchus''. At the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and in 1917 he was promoted to

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

. he took over command of the sloop , the last sailing vessel in the

. According to his

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

promotional advertisement (which also had him running away to sea at the age of 12) he was promoted to commander in 1920.

Patrick Shipping

In 1919 he founded Patrick Steamship Co. Ltd. with the purchase of the ship ''Timaru'', the SS ''Skylark'' and the three-masted

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''Abemama''; these vessels were ideally suited for shipping timber. A major financial backer was a "(Tasmanian) north-west coast produce firm". Patrick Steamships Ltd. worked the coastal trade between the major east coast cities at rates below those of the Interstate Ship Owners Federation, who retaliated by matching his charges and restricting his access to coal fuel. The company went into liquidation in 1924. James Patrick and Company was founded 1924 with the ''Mawatta''. He gave his other ships Scots names, including the ''Carlisle'', ''Cardross'' and ''Carsdale''. The company worked outside the Commonwealth Steamship Owners Association which had agreed freight rates, and charged the same rates as the old Patrick Steamships. The association again retaliated by reducing its rates on those routes covered by Jas. Patrick and Co.

Other Interests

He was a member of the Commonwealth Shipping Control Board and the Maritime Industrial Commission. He was chairman of directors of Anderson and Co. of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Nixon Smith Shipping and Wool Dumping Co., and the Circular Quay Stevedoring Co. of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. He was also a director of the Mercantile Mutual Insurance Co. He was for many years President of the NSW Highland Society, a member of

Legacy In law, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament. Personal effects, family property, marriage property or collective property gained by will of real property. Legacy or legacies may refer ...

and the Graziers Association. He ran a cattle property at

Moss Vale Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire. It is located on the Illawarra Highway, which connects to Wollongong and the Illawarra coast via Macquarie Pass. Moss Vale has several he ...

. He ran (unsuccessfully) for a New South Wales Senate seat in 1940. He was an avid and successful

big game hunter Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/taxidermy, or simply just for recreation ("spo ...

and photographer.

Family

He married Margaret Reed ( – 16 January 1946) and had a home "Craigend" at

Darling Point Darling Point is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of Woollahra Council. Darling Point is bounded by Sydney Harbour to t ...

. They had two sons: (James Alexander) Ronald Patrick (21 March 1905 – ) of

Killara Killara is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia north-west of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. East Killara is a separate suburb and ...

and Kenneth Joseph Patrick (4 October 1907 – ) of

Mosman Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick, James Australian ship owners 1880 births 1945 deaths British emigrants to Australia