Huddart Parker Ltd was an Australian

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...

company trading in various forms between 1876 and 1961. It was one of the seven major coastal shippers in Australia at a time when shipping was the principal means of interstate and trans-Tasman transport. The company started in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, but in 1890 shifted its offices 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 ...

. By 1910 Huddart Parker had grown to rank 24th of the top 100 companies in Australia by asset value. Several of the company's ships served in

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 ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Huddart Parker ceased to be an independent company in 1961, when it was taken over by Bitumen and Oil Refineries Australia Limited.

History

The company was founded on 1 August 1876 in

as Huddart, Parker & Co. Pty. Ltd, by

James Huddart 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 ...

, Thomas J. Parker, John. Traill, and Captain T. Webb. Earlier, in the 1850s, James Huddart's uncle, Captain Peter Huddart had made his fortune importing coal for use in the Victorian goldfields. He was the first major operator handling coal from the port of

. Parker was a merchant who arrived in Geelong from London in 1853. The trading activities each built up through the gold-rush era and beyond led to a linking of the businesses of their descendants and successors, to become Huddart Parker & Company. After 1876 Huddart Parker expanded rapidly. By 1886 it had inaugurated the Melbourne–Adelaide shipping service and in 1882 entered the Sydney–Melbourne trade. During the early 1890s its 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, and in 1893 it was also trading with ports in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

From 1889 there was a three-way competition between the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, Huddart Parker and the

Tasmanian Steam Navigation Company Tasmanian Steam Navigation Company Limited was an Australian steaming company, formed in Hobart in 1853 and defunct in 1922 after a series of acquisitions. It operated a shipping service from Tasmania to the Australian Mainland, later expanded ...

(TSNCo) on the Tasmanian routes (Melbourne–Launceston, Hobart–Melbourne and Hobart–Sydney). The TSNCo did not have other routes to absorb their Tasmanian losses, and was bought out by the USSCo in 1891. The rivalry between the USSCo and Huddart Parker lasted to 1895 despite an earlier agreement in 1893. There was undercutting by cheap fares and steamers shadowing each other from port to port. The USSCo ''Rotomahana'' and ''Mararoa'' would sail alongside the ''Miowra'' and ''Warrimoo'', with other ships such as ''Te Anau'' and ''Manapouri'' sailing before and after thus bracketing the Huddart Parker ships. The 1895 agreement between the two lines pooled the Auckland – Sydney profits and losses; the Melbourne – Launceston profits were divided to the USSCo and to Huddart Parker; and the Sydney–Hobart passenger trade was excluded but the cargo and stock trade was divided to USSCo and to Huddart Parker.McLean, Gavin (1990) ''The Southern Octopus'' pp 49–66, New Zealand Ship and Marine Society and Wellington Maritime Museum SSZealandia

One of the original directors, John Traill, had survived the other directors by 1886, and remained chairman until his death in 1916 aged 92. By 1890 Traill had moved the company from offices on the wharves at Geelong to 466 Collins Street, in the heart of Melbourne. The company registered in

in 1889 as a proprietary company and converted to a public company in 1911. In 1921 Huddart Parker came to an agreement with the Union Company to establish a joint venture on the Bass Strait where each company owned a 50% stake in the company

Tasmanian Steamers Tasmanian Steamers Proprietary Limited was a company that operated passenger ferries across the Bass Strait from 1921 to 1959. It was jointly owned by the Union Steam Ship Company and Huddart Parker. History The company was formed on 22 De ...

. In

five of the company's vessels were requisitioned. was sunk on 26 June 1918 following collision with a German mine north of Cape Maria van Diemen, New Zealand, killing 26 passengers. In

, three of the company's passenger ships, , and were pressed into war service. Huddart Parker was taken over by Bitumen and Oil Refineries Australia Limited in October 1961.

Notable ships owned by Huddart Parker

* , bought in 1888 for the

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...

trade. * , bought in 1890, sunk on her first voyage, at the mouth of the

Tamar River The Tamar River, officially kanamaluka / River Tamar, is a estuary located in northern Tasmania, Australia. Despite being called a river, the waterway is a brackish and tidal estuary over its entire length. Location and features Formed by the ...

. * , trans-Tasman passenger steamer, sunk north of New Zealand in 1902, with a large amount of gold aboard. * , 1910–42, notable cargo and passenger vessel that was a

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

in both

and

, sunk in the

bombing of Darwin The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the town, ships in ...

. * , Trans-Tasman liner, in service 1929–60; requisitioned for war service in 1939. * TSMV ''Wanganella'', Trans-Tasman liner, in service 1933–62.

References

Links

{{Commons category-inline, Ships of Huddart Parker 1876 establishments in Australia Shipping companies of Australia

History

Notable ships owned by Huddart Parker

References

Further reading

Links