CASTLE MAIL PACKET CO.
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ICELAND was built in 1871 by J & G Thompson at Glasgow with a tonnage of 1474grt, a length of 251ft 7in, a beam of 32ft 10in and a service speed of 9 knots. Sister of the Gothland she was built for the Leith, Hull & Hamburg Steam Packet Co. but chartered to the Cape & Natal Steam Navigation Co. in 1872 for their mail service. She sailed from Dartmouth on 25th January 1872 but before the voyage was completed the Cape & Natal went into liquidation. Persuaded to leave the two sisters on the mail run Donald Currie was given the opportunity to inaugurate his own mail service. However, by the next year she proved to be too small for the service and returned to North Sea trading after being replaced by the Walmer Castle trio. On 18th December 1876 she ran aground on Texel Island during a voyage from Liverpool to Hamburg and was a total loss.

LAPLAND was built in 1872 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 1269grt, a length of 250ft 4in, a beam of 30ft and a service speed of 9 knots. Built for the Leith, Hull & Hamburg Steam Packet Co. she was actually used to carry Currie's mail to South Africa before transferring to the South African coastal service. In 1882 she returned to the North Sea trade where she remained until 1902 when she was sold to Glen & Co. and renamed Shuna. She was sold to J. Philicas of Piraeus in 1906 and renamed Sofia M. Two years later she was purchased by M. Vernicos & Co. of Piraeus who retained her name. In 1911 she was sold to J. Cappolo of Constantinople (Istanbul) who renamed her Scutari and in the following year she returned to Vernicos who named her Varvara. On 9th May 1913 she ran aground on the Isle of Mull but was safely refloated and repaired. Purchased from the underwriters by D. Pavlatos & Co. of Piraeus she remained with them until 19th July 1917 when she was torpedoed by a U-boat in the Mediterranean.

COURLAND was built in 1872 by Robert Napier & Sons at Glasgow with a tonnage of 1241grt, a length of 250ft 5in, a beam of 32ft 2in and a service speed of 9 knots. Like her sisters she was built for the Leith, Hull & Hamburg Steam Packet Co. but chartered to Donald Currie for use mainly around the South African coast. By 1875 she was owned by Donald Currie who kept her until 1895 when she was sold to Dada Abdoola & Co. of Durban, retaining her name and operating the same service. In 1901 she was sold to the Bombay Steam Navigation Co. for coastal services out of Bombay where she remained until 1925 when she was broken up locally, still with her original name.

DUNROBIN CASTLE was was built in 1875 by Robert Napier & Sons at Glasgow with a tonnage of 2811grt, a length of 342ft 4in, a beam of 38ft 4in and a service speed of 10 knots. She was the first genuine mail steamer for Donald Currie's South African service and, on her maiden voyage, broke the Cape record by 12 hours. In 1876 she was transferred to the Castle Mail Steam Packets Co. Ltd. On 27th January 1879 she brought the first news to Britain about the Zulu victory at Isandhlwana, 110 miles northwest of Durban on the Buffalo River, when 18000 Zulus surprised four companies of the 24th Foot Regiment and virtually annihilated them when they killed some 800 men. Led by Cetawayo the Zulus lost 2000 warriors. In 1883 she was transferred to the Intermediate service and on 6th June 1892 was the first ocean-going ship to cross the newly dredged Durban bar and enter the inner port. She was sold to Armement Letocart & Cie of Marseilles in 1893 for the pilgrim run to Palestine and renamed Notre Dame de Salut . In the same year she was used as a hospital ship first in Madagasgar and then, in 1900, at the Boxer uprising in China. In 1902 she was sold to L. Bertreaux of Marseilles for their Palestine service with the name Etoile and was eventually broken up at Genoa in 1914. (Photo: A. Duncan)

BALMORAL CASTLE (1) was was built in 1876 by Robert Napier & Sons at Glasgow with a tonnage of 2948grt, a length of 344ft 10in, a beam of 39ft 5in and a service speed of 10 knots. Sister of the Dunrobin Castle she was the first ship to be built for the Castle Mail Steam Packets Co. Ltd and commenced service on the mail run in November 1876. By 1882 trade had slumped and she was sold to Cia. Trasatlantica, renamed San Augustin and deployed on the Barcelona - Cadiz - Tenerife - Havana service. On 16th June 1888, following a period on the Clyde for fire damage repairs, she rammed, cut in two and sank the Southampton, Isle of Wight & South of England R.M.S.P. Co's paddle steamer Princess of Wales with the loss of three lives. The paddle steamer was undergoing trials on the Skelmorlie mile at the time. In 1892 she was sold to the Quebec Steam Ship Co. of London but flew the Canadian flag as the Madiana. On 10th February 1903, during a voyage from New York to Kingston in Jamaica with passengers and cargo, she was wrecked off Bermuda without loss of life.

DUBLIN CASTLE was was built in 1877 by Robert Napier & Sons at Glasgow with a tonnage of 2805grt, a length of 342ft 4in, a beam of 38ft 4in and a service speed of 10 knots. Sister of the Dunrobin Castle she was completed for the mail service in May 1877. In 1882 she was sold to Cia. Trasatlantica for their Havana to New York service and renamed Santo Domingo. During July 1898 she was wrecked off the Isla des Pinos near Cienfuegos in Cuba.

FLORENCE was built in 1865 by Robert Napier & Sons at Glasgow with a tonnage of 616grt, a length of 219ft 5in, a beam of 25ft 6in and a service speed of 9 knots. Built for Leith, Hull & Hamburg S.P. Co's Leith to Hamburg run she was acquired by Donald Currie in 1873 who lengthened and re-engined her before deploying her on the South African coastal service. She was sold to Idarei Massousieh in 1889 and renamed Kriti (Crete). In the following year the name was changed to Crete. In 1912 the Massousieh organisation was re-styled as the Navigation a Vapeur Ottomane and the ship renamed Guirrit and used in the Black Sea service until broken up in 1919.
(Photo: National Maritime Museum)

MELROSE was built in 1877 by Robert Steel & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 839grt, a length of 229ft 7in, a beam of 29ft 1in and a service speed of 9 knots. She was laid down as the Maritzburg but completed as the Melrose specifically for the coastal passenger 'Royal Colonial Mail' service. She was used by local businessmen for social voyages up and down the South Africa east coast ports. On 29th July 1883 she was the scene of a sensational crime. In May 1882 Lord Cavendish and Thomas Burke were stabbed and killed in Pheonix Park, Dublin. One of the six Fenians, members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood which had been established in 1858, turned Queen's evidence and, as a result, the other five were publicly executed. Thomas Carey was a member of the 'Invincibles' and fellow members vowed to kill him. For his protection Carey and his family were secretly taken to South Africa aboard the Kinfauns Castle where, on arrival at Cape Town, they were transferred to the Melrose. Unbeknown to anybody, a member of the 'Invincibles', Patrick O'Donnell, had also shipped on the Kinfauns Castle and made friends with Carey who obviously didn't know him. O'Connell shared a cabin with Carey on the Melrose and on 29th July 1883 shot him with fatal consequences. O'Connell was returned to London and, after being tried at the Old Bailey and found guilty ,was hanged on 17th December 1883. In 1887 Sir Donald Currie went to South Africa in the Melrose to inspect his coastal port installations. During 1890 she was the first Castle ship to experiment with burning South African coal but as it produced too much ash and clinker and was not used again until 1907. She was sold to S. Hough & Co. of Liverpool in 1894 and renamed Annie Hough for use on their Liverpool - Falmouth - London service. In 1901 she was sold to Bermond & Co. of Bordeaux and renamed Emyre. She was sold to Moinard & Rouxel of Diego Suarez in Madagasgar in 1905 and was eventually wrecked during May 1911.

TAYMOUTH CASTLE was built in 1877 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 1827grt, a length of 300ft 1in, a beam of 33ft 10in and a service speed of 11 knots. Delivered for the mail service she was quarantined in Saldana Bay for six weeks at the end of her maiden voyage after smallpox broke out onboard. By 1879 she proved to be too small and was relegated to the role of 'extra' steamer until 1891 when she was sold to Sir Christopher Furness and then on to Pickford & Black of Halifax, Nova Scotia for the Government subsidised Canada - West Indies - Georgetown service. She retained her name until 1902 when it was changed to Ocama by the same owners and with London as the port of registry. In 1915 she flew the Canadian flag under the ownership of the Newport Steam Ship Co. with Continental Trading Co. of Halifax as managers and in 1918 was sold to William & Smith of Halifax where she remained until 1922 when she was scrapped.

DUART CASTLE was built in 1878 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 1825grt, a length of 301ft 6in, a beam of 33ft 2in and a service speed of 11 knots. Virtually a sister of the Taymouth Castle she was delivered as the Adjutant for Seatter, White & Co. of Leith. She was acquired by the Castle Mail Packet Co. for use as an 'extra' steamer in 1879. In 1891 she was sold to Sir Christopher Furness who then sold her on to Pickford & Black without a change of name. Her name was changed in 1902 to Oruro with London as her port of registry. In 1915 she was owned by Bedford Steam Ship Co. with Continental Steam Ship Co. of Halifax as managers where she remained until 1920 when she was sold to Anglo-Indian Colonial Steam Ship Co. of London without changing her name. She was sold to Dandamia Khandwani & Co. of Bombay and by 1925 was owned by Maneckchand Jivraj & Co. who scrapped her locally.

WARWICK CASTLE (2) was built in 1877 by Robert Napier & Sons at Glasgow with a tonnage of 2957grt, a length of 348ft 11in, a beam of 39ft 4in and a service speed of 12 knots. She was delivered for the mail service in May 1877 and on 23rd January 1889 inaugurated the Holland Direct Service. Aimed at tapping into the Dutch Afrikaans market she operated between London - Flushing - Cape Town continuing to do so until 1891 when she was transferred to the Intermediate service. In 1897 she was sold to the Booth Line where she was renamed Jerome and re-equipped with a triple expansion engine and new boilers. She was sold to the Turkish Government's Administration de Nav a Vapeur Ottomane and renamed Kirasounde for their Black Sea resorts. In 1924 she was given the modern spelling of her name, Kiresson, and was broken up in 1926.

CONWAY CASTLE was built in 1877 by Robert Napier & Sons at Glasgow with a tonnage of 2966grt, a length of 349ft, a beam of 39ft 4in and a service speed of 12 knots. Similar to the Warwick Castle but with a different profile she was delivered for the mail service in September 1877. She became an Intermediate steamer in 1883 and on 10th May 1893 ran aground at Vatoumandry, 50 miles south of Tamatave in Madagasgar. On the following day she was abandoned and became a total loss.

STETTIN was built in 1854 by Barclay, Curle & Co. at Glasgow with a tonnage of 759grt, a length of 222ft, a beam of 29ft 1in and a service speed of 9 knots. She was built for the Leith, Hull & Hamburg S.P. Co's North Sea trade. In 1876 she was equipped with 50 emigrant berths and placed on the Cape route to replace the Windsor Castle which had been lost but reverted to her former route in 1879 when she herself was replaced by the Dunkeld, the emigrant berths being removed. She was re-engined with a triple expansion engine and had her yards removed in 1879 and continued in service until 1933 when she was broken up at Bo'ness, Firth of Forth..

DUNKELD was built in 1878 by Robert Napier & Sons at Glasgow with a tonnage of 1158grt, a length of 240ft 10in, a beam of 32ft 4in and a service speed of 10 knots. With the Venice and the Melrose she was designed for the Cape Town - Durban service. In 1891 she was sold to Compania Valenciana de Nav. of Valencia and renamed Alcirca. On 7th September 1915 she was sunk after being in a collision off Cabo Gata near Almeira in Spain.

VENICE was built in 1878 by Robert Steele & Sons at Glasgow with a tonnage of 511grt, a length of 173ft 8in, a beam of 24ft 7in and a service speed of 9 knots. She was delivered in April 1878 for Donald Currie's Cape Town to Durban service. In 1888 she was sold to Donaldson & Sievewright of London without a change of name. She was sold in 1902 to A. Borges of Lourenço Marques (Maputu) and renamed Lusitano for the Lourenço Marques - Suez Canal - Lisbon service but was hulked locally in the same year.

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