In 1887 J. H. Flint, a quarter
owner and manager of the Colonial Line of Australian Packets,
died and Tyser's took over the management of that company,
acquiring at the same time Flint's shares in the Australian
Conference berthings. The other three partners were Gellately,
Hankey Sewell & Co., Alexander Howden & Co. and J.
B. Westray & Co. Tyser's relationship with John Flint
started in the days when G. D. Tyser & Co. acted as agent
for Watts, Milburn steamships who loaded cargoes for Flint
to Australia via the Cape. This relationship also led to a
friendship developing with William Milburn. To overcome his
non-membership of the Conference George Tyser chartered his
ships to the Colonial Line of Australian Packets who was a
member but who was also managed by G. D. Tyser & Co.
G. D. Tyser & Co. were eventually allowed to join the
Australian Conference in 1889 but when Tyser refused to increase
his rates in line with other members, because he had contracts
with his charterers, he left in the following year but still
retained a link through his Flint connection.
Tyser's experienced further
business traumas in 1890 when Edwin Sandys Dawes of Dawes
& Co. became the chairman of the New Zealand Shipping
Co. His son was a partner in J. B. Westray & Co. and as
a result the London broking services were transferred from
Tyser's to Westray's. This in effect cut Tyser;s off from
the Australian market, which amounted to five voyages a year,
and the outward bound voyages for the New Zealand Shipping
Co. To enable continuance of the Nelson Bros. meat contract
the ships of J. P. Corry and Wm. Ross were chartered for the
homeward leg only which solved a problem for the shipowner.
At that time New Zealand had a far greater demand for goods
produced in the United Kingdom so with a considerably lesser
volume of exports ships could find themselves without cargoes
for the homeward voyage. This problem had been solved in the
past by undertaking triangular voyages; goods from England
to New Zealand followed by a voyage in ballast to China or
India and Ceylon where a cargo of tea would be loaded for
the homeward voyage.
In 1891 Tyser's established
a new chartering relationship with T. B. Royden's Indra Line
when the Indra was chartered for voyages to New Zealand. In
the same year Tyser's purchased their first steamship, the
Hawkes Bay, which was used to ensure that a ship was available
to fulfill the 'Flint' Australian Conference share which was
on a 'use it or loose it' basis. If a member could not undertake
a voyage through lack of a vessel other members were free
to fill the gap. Following delivery of the Hawkes Bay, which
was Tyser's only steamship for eight year, the Colonial Union
Line was wound up and the goodwill taken over by G. D. Tyser
& Co.
The New Zealand conference finally admitted Tyser's in 1893
limiting operation to a monthly sailing from London, a maximum
of 1200 tons of cargo but with no sailings to Port Chalmers
or Lyttleton. However, with increased refrigerated capacity
in his ships, Tyser was able to negotiate a contract with
the Central Queensland Meat Export Co. to carry frozen meat
to Europe with sailings out of Rockhampton.
Also in 1893 Tyser's attempted
to export frozen meat and wool from the Falkland Islands for
Spearing & Waldron using Star Navigation Co.s refrigerated
sailing ship Hengist. However the meat was not prime and the
wool inferior so when, after six voyages, the ship was lost
she was not replaced and the venture ceased.
In 1894 Tyser's disposed of
their last sailing ship, the Plassey and the owned fleet consisted
of a single vessel, the Hawkes Bay. Tyser's started a service
from New York to Australia in 1898 when they entered into
an association with the New York broking firm, Funch Edye.
This put them into competition with both American and British
shipowners and a freight war broke out which continued for
over ten years.
The company's second steamship, the Tomoana, joined the fleet
in 1899 and was the first of seven advanced sister ships with
which Tyser's intended to dominate the frozen products trade
out of Australia and New Zealand. By the time the Niwaru entered
service in 1902 the vessels were twin screwed.
The New York freight war resolved
in 1910 and in that year the Tyser United Lines was incorporated
in conjunction with the Hansa Line and Deutsch-Australische
D.G. to operate a ship to the Antipodes every three weeks,
a service which lasted until the outbreak of the First World
War in 1914. In 1912 the Tyser's won the Victoria Government's
contract to carry emigrants to Melbourne and two superb ships,
the Makarini and the Hawkes Bay (2) were built by Workman
& Clark & Co. at Belfast and operated in conjunction
with Royden's Indra Line. However, when war was declared in
Europe the emigrant service was discontinued.
In 1914 G. D. Tyser &
Co was instrumental in bringing about the formation of the
Commonwealth & Dominion Line, later to become Port Line,
and contributed eight ships and their houseflag which has
never changed. Although not a huge fleet, Tyser's ships were
considered to be the finest on the Australia run and set the
standard for the first thirteen ships built by the new Commonwealth
& Dominion Line.
The Fleet
The history of G. D.
Tyser & Co. and its' ships has been extracted from
Merchant Fleets 21: Port Line by Duncan Haws
to whom we extend our grateful thanks.
Available from TCL PUBLICATIONS
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