43-671: Three shipping companies have borne variations of this name. The Southampton Steam Shipping Company was founded in England in 1853, became the Union Steamship Company and then the Union Line, and in 1900 merged with Castle Shipping Line to become Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company . The Union Steam Ship Company was founded in New Zealand in 1875 and later traded as
86-403: A liberal , preferring to see himself simply as a pragmatist. However, as an early proponent of multi-racial democracy , he was very influential on the later Cape Liberal tradition. He was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1882. (He had previously refused knighthoods three times earlier in his career.) In person, Molteno was described as straight-talking and good-natured, with an easy laugh and
129-553: A mine and sank whilst in a convoy 20 nautical miles (37 km) SE of the River Humber, without any loss of life, on 12 Dec 1941 Laid down as Doune Castle and upon purchase named Dunbar Castle 1895 Sold to Fairfield Ship Building and Engineering Co. and renamed Olympia 10 December 1910 – ran aground on Bligh Reef off Alaska's Prince William Sound and sank without loss of life Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co, Goven, Scotland Dec 1899 requisitioned as
172-593: A Union-Castle Royal Mail Ship would leave Southampton bound for Cape Town. At the same time, a Union-Castle Royal Mail Ship would leave Cape Town bound for Southampton. In 1922 the line introduced its Round Africa service, a nine-week voyage calling at twenty ports en route. Alternate sailings travelled out via the Suez Canal and out via West Africa. The combined line was sold to the Royal Mail Line in 1911, but continued to operate as Union-Castle. Many of
215-601: A confederation onto the region. This "new and impatient imperialism" was resisted by the states of southern Africa, including the Cape colony government, and relations between the Molteno government and the British Colonial Office deteriorated. Molteno himself argued that "the proposals for confederation should emanate from the communities to be affected, and not be pressed upon them from outside." – and that
258-537: A government again, however (by now in his late sixties) he declined and chose to retire from public life to spend time with his family. He directed the appointment of Thomas Charles Scanlen instead, and his last office was a brief stint advising the Scanlen Ministry as Colonial Secretary before he retired completely. His legacy was in the system of responsible government and parliamentary accountability that he established. Molteno did not refer to himself as
301-401: A long political battle to make the Cape's Executive democratically accountable (or "responsible" as it was known), and thus to give the country a degree of independence from Britain. Over the years his Responsible Government movement grew, and eventually dominated parliament and Cape politics. In the 1860s the autocratic British Governor Philip Wodehouse made repeated attempts to dismantle
344-457: A mischievous smile; politically outspoken and vigilant. His strongest political opponents on the other hand, accused him of being fierce, stubborn, and too much influenced by Saul Solomon (a liberal MP whom Molteno held in high regard). In Lord De Villiers 's biography he is summed up as "a fighter, who did not mind hard knocks, as long as he could return them." Molteno was unusually tall and powerfully built. In Southern Africa he acquired
387-588: A service carrying up to 750 Tourist Class passengers to Beira and back via the West Coast route every three months. In December 1999 the Union-Castle name was revived for a millennium cruise ; the P&;O ship Victoria was chartered for a 60-day cruise around Africa, and had its funnel repainted for the occasion. The last few surviving Union-Castle Line ships were scrapped in the early 21st century,
430-589: A telegraph system and an ambitious railway building programme. He also oversaw a revival in the agricultural sector, and began the construction of a vast irrigation system across the country. The economy recovered, as new ports and shipping services helped the surge in exports, resulting in reasonable budget surpluses by the end of his tenure. He led the (now prosperous) Cape colony in the Ninth Frontier War when it broke out in 1877, and he strongly resisted regional factionalism – going to great lengths to heal
473-893: A troop transport for the Second Boer War 1913 sold to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company as Caribbean Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering, Govan 1939 requisitioned by the Admiralty as an accommodation ship Struck a mine off Cromarty on 20 Jan 1940 and sank 1984 transferred to Hong Kong renamed Caspian Universal 1936 sold to J. Billmeir, renamed Stanhill Hospital ship Built by Harland & Wolff, Ltd., Belfast 1 Mar 1917 – Mined and damaged by UC-65 26 Feb 1918 – Torpedoed and sunk by UC-56 10 nautical miles (19 km) W of Lundy Built by Fairfield SB. & Eng. Co., Ltd., Glasgow 31 Mar 1917 – Damaged by UB-32 near
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#1732772639807516-720: The Castle Packet Co. which traded to Calcutta round the Cape of Good Hope . This trade was substantially curtailed by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, and the Castle Line started to run to South Africa instead, later becoming the Castle Mail Packet Company . In 1872 the Cape Colony gained responsible government and its first Prime Minister, John Molteno , ordered a re-negotiation of
559-1964: The Isle of Wight . 15 Jul 1942 – Sunk by German raider Michel off South West Africa . Captain H.H. Rose and 92 passengers and crew were killed. Two lifeboats containing 61 people were picked up by the raider and taken to Japan as prisoners 1946 purchased from MoWT , renamed Good Hope Castle 1959 scrapped 1937 sold to J. Billmeir, renamed Stanray 1903 purchased by Houston Line, renamed Helius 1904 purchased by Union-Castle 1906 sold to Turkey, renamed Tirimujghian 1928 sold to Portugal 1914–1918 HMS Iolaire anti-submarine patrol ship 1939 became HMS Persephone 1948 scrapped 1946 purchased from MoWT , renamed Kenilworth Castle 1968 scrapped ex- South African Scientist , renamed Kinnaird Castle 1962 reverted to Clan Line 1969 transferred to King Line 1975 sold to Panama, renamed Nazeer 1961 transferred from Safmarine renamed Kinpurnie Castle 1967 sold to Panama, renamed Hellenic Med 1976 transferred from Houston Line, renamed Kinpurnie Castle 1979 renamed Kinpurnie Universal 1982 sold to Greece, renamed Syros Reefer Built by Cammell, Laird & Co., Ltd., Birkenhead 20 Apr 1917 – Torpedoed and damaged by U-35 90 nautical miles (170 km) WxN of Gibraltar 27 May 1918 – Torpedoed and sunk by UB-51 104 nautical miles (193 km) W of Alexandria Built by Workman, Clark & Co Ltd, Belfast She took part in Operation Ironclad Torpedoed and sunk by U-177 on 30 Nov 1942 off South Africa Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow 27 Jun 1918 – Torpedoed and sunk by SM U-86 116 nautical miles (215 km) W of Fastnet Rock , Ireland 1905 sold to J.G. Stewart, Glasgow, renamed Loch Gair John Molteno Sir John Charles Molteno KCMG (5 June 1814 – 1 September 1886)
602-462: The West Indies , and opened branches around the Cape. In 1841, he undertook Southern Africa's first experimental export of fruit, loading a ship with a range of fruits (necessarily dried, as no refrigeration existed yet) and sending it to Australia to test foreign markets. The experiment ended in disaster when his ship was wrecked in a storm – pushing Molteno close to bankruptcy. Disposing of
645-1347: The Aegean Sea in 1916 1949 purchased from MoWT , renamed Braemar Castle 1950 transferred to King Line, renamed King James 1958 sold to Hong Kong, renamed Tyne Breeze Built by Northumberland SB. Co., Ltd., Newcastle upon Tyne ex- Holtye 1915 purchased from F.S. Holland & Co., London, renamed Carlisle Castle Torpedoed by UB-57 near Royal Sovereign Light Vessel on 14 Feb 1918 1915 purchased from Nitrate Producers Ltd., renamed Chepstow Castle 1933 scrapped Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow Torpedoed and damaged by UC-71 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) S of St.Catherine's Point on 14 Mar 1918 1924 transferred to Bullard King, renamed Umvoti 1917 purchased from F.S. Holland, London, renamed Crawford Castle 1930 sold to W. Kunstmann, Stettin , renamed Victoria W. Kunstmann Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow Torpedoed and sunk by UC-67 50 nautical miles (93 km) N of Bona, Algeria on 26 May 1917 1976 renamed Dover Castle 1979 renamed Dover Universal 1981 sold to Greece, renamed Golden Sea 1946 purchased from MoWT , renamed Drakensberg Castle 1959 scrapped Built by Harland & Wolff at Greenock Launched as War Poplar , completed as Dromore Castle She hit
688-626: The Cape's Black citizens; if there was to be any form of union, the Cape's non-racialism would need to be imposed on the Boer republics, and could not be compromised. However, the Colonial Office went ahead and dismissed governor Henry Barkly and appointed Henry Bartle Frere who on 3 February 1878 dissolved the Cape government. Frere was a formidable administrator of the British Empire but had scant experience of southern Africa and
731-583: The Second World War. Three – Dunnottar Castle , Carnarvon Castle , Dunvegan Castle became armed merchant cruisers . Pretoria Castle (1939) was also first requisitioned as an armed merchant cruiser, but later served as an escort carrier . After the war the line made good use of its three ships converted to troop transports to facilitate carrying the vast number of emigrants seeking new lives in East and South Africa. When they ran out of berths
774-524: The Union Line. It became a P&O subsidiary in 1917 and founded Union Airways of New Zealand in 1934. It developed various non-transport interests, became known as the Union Company , and ceased shipping operations in 2000. Union Steamship Company of British Columbia was founded in 1889 and taken over by Northland Navigation in 1962. Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
817-595: The confederation scheme soon fell apart, leaving a trail of wars across the region as predicted, including long-running conflicts with the Xhosa , Pedi and Basotho nations. After the disastrous British invasion of Zululand and rising discontent in the Transvaal (that later exploded as the First Boer War ), Frere was recalled to London to face charges of misconduct in 1880. Molteno was repeatedly asked to form
860-668: The country's mail services. In 1876, keen to avoid either of the two main companies gaining a monopoly on the country's shipping, he awarded the South African mail contract jointly to both the Castle Mail Packet Company and the Union Line. The contract included a condition that the two companies would not amalgamate, as well as other clauses to promote competition, such as alternating services and speed premiums. This competition led to their shipping services running at unprecedented speed and efficiency. The contract
903-408: The country. Later known as the " Molteno Regulations ", they were an immense success and were later adopted by neighbouring countries. The Molteno Ministry was characterised by its stout opposition to imperial interference in Cape affairs, for example, quashing a bid to forcefully incorporate Griqualand West and opposing Frere's later deployment of imperial troops against the Xhosa . Importantly,
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#1732772639807946-404: The decisive bill through parliament and brought the Cape Colony's government under local control for the first time. After first offering the post to Saul Solomon and William Porter , Molteno agreed to become the Cape Colony's first prime minister. He was appointed prime minister in 1872, and in turn appointed the young John X. Merriman as his commissioner of public works (Merriman himself
989-496: The few elected bodies the Cape had, and assume direct control over the colony. Molteno led the fight against these measures, using his electoral control to cut off the Governor's budget and effectively starve his administration into compliance. After nearly a decade of struggle, the defeated Governor was recalled in 1870, amid great local celebration. Finally in 1872, with the consent of the new Governor Sir Henry Barkly , Molteno saw
1032-952: The former Kenya Castle in 2001, the former Transvaal Castle in 2003, the former Dunnottar Castle in 2004, and finally Windsor Castle in 2005. The initial Union fleet consisted of the colliers Union , Briton , Saxon , Norman and Dane . In 1860 this was augmented by the much larger Cambrian . At the time of the merger in 1900, the Union fleet included: and the Castle Line fleet included: Built by William Beardmore and Company , Glasgow Torpedoed by U-81 on 21 March 1917 Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd. , Glasgow Torpedoed by U-90 on 21 Nov 1917 1976 renamed Balmoral Castle 1979 renamed Balmoral Universal 1982 sold to Greece, renamed Psara Reefer . 1920 purchased from Glen Line, renamed Banbury Castle 1931 sold to Greece, renamed Rokos Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd. , Glasgow Mined and damaged by U-73 in
1075-547: The hands of a British Governor , appointed by London, meaning that the country was run primarily according to Britain's interests, rather than southern Africa's. Molteno's experiences fighting in the frontier wars had given him a contempt for what he saw as the incompetence and injustice of British imperial rule in Southern Africa, as well as a lifelong belief in the need for efficient and locally-accountable democracy. From his first entry into parliament, he therefore began
1118-1064: The line set up its own internal travel agency to book passages on other lines and even air services. The mail service to South Africa, curtailed during hostilities, recommenced with the sailing of Roxburgh Castle from Southampton on 2 January 1947. The company took over the King Line in 1949, and merged with Bullard King and Clan Line in 1956 to form British & Commonwealth Shipping . It merged with South African Marine Corporation in 1973 to create International Liner Services, but competition with air travel adversely affected its shipping activities, and cargo shipping rapidly became containerised . The final South African mail service arrived in Southampton on 24 October 1977, and International Liner Services withdrew from shipping in 1982. British & Commonwealth continued in other fields, and acquired Atlantic Computers in 1989, but accounting problems soon became apparent and British & Commonwealth
1161-497: The line's vessels were requisitioned for service as troop ships or hospital ships in the First World War, and eight were sunk by mines or German U-boats . The Royal Mail Line ran into financial difficulties in the 1930s, culminating in the prosecution of its director Lord Kylsant , and Union-Castle Line became an independent company again with Vernon Thomson as Managing Director. Many vessels were again requisitioned in
1204-452: The nickname the "Lion of Beaufort", though his British opponents reputedly referred to him in private as the "Beaufort Boer". The nicknames were both reportedly due to his deep booming voice, his height, and the large beard he grew in later life. The Dictionary of National Biography adds "Sir John Molteno was a man of commanding presence and great physical strength. In private life, he was of most simple and unostentatious habits." Molteno
1247-576: The remains of his mercantile businesses, he immediately bought some land in the arid Beaufort area and successfully introduced Saxon Merino sheep, building up the vast Nelspoort Estate . Among his many other business ventures, he founded the region's first bank, Alport & Co. – in Beaufort West . He also returned briefly to Cape Town to marry a young woman named Maria, whom he had originally met soon after arriving in South Africa. She
1290-522: The rifts between the eastern and western halves of the Cape and blocking attempts by his political opponents to racially segregate the armed forces. His government also founded the University of the Cape of Good Hope , now one of the world's mega-universities with over 200,000 students, and Victoria College (later to become Stellenbosch University ). In 1874 he established a system of government grants to build libraries in towns and villages across
1333-404: The suffix "Castle" in their names; the names of several inherited from the Union Line were changed to this scheme (for example, Galician became Glenart Castle ) but others (such as Galeka ) retained their original name. They were well known for the lavender-hulled liners with red funnels topped in black, running on a rigid timetable between Southampton and Cape Town . Every Thursday at 4pm
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1376-533: The system of responsible government as instituted under Molteno retained the traditional Cape system of non-racial franchise – whereby all races could vote, quite unlike the situation in the rest of Southern Africa. A change of government in London led to a pro-imperialist lobby headed by Secretary of State, Lord Carnarvon , determined to bring all of southern Africa into the British Empire by enforcing
1419-523: The title Union Steamship Company . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Steamship_Company&oldid=1037027038 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Union-Castle Line#Predecessor lines The Union-Castle Line
1462-420: The whole scheme was particularly badly timed. The different states of southern Africa were still simmering after the last bout of British imperial expansion, and he stressed that the forced imposition of a lop-sided confederation would cause immense instability. Molteno's government also transmitted to London its concern that any federation with the illiberal Boer republics would endanger the rights and franchise of
1505-618: Was a British shipping line that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977. It was formed from the merger of the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line . It merged with Bullard King and Clan Line in 1956 to form British & Commonwealth Shipping , and then with South African Marine Corporation (commonly referred to as Safmarine ) in 1973 to create International Liner Services , but maintained its separate identity throughout. Its shipping operations ceased in 1977. The Union Line
1548-551: Was a politician and businessman who served as the first Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1872 to 1878. Born in London into a large Anglo-Italian family, Molteno emigrated to the Cape in 1831 at the age of 17, where he found work as an assistant to the public librarian in Cape Town . At the age of 23 he founded his first company, Molteno & Co. , a trading company that exported wine, wool and aloes to Mauritius and
1591-561: Was eventually to expire however, and the period of intense competition was later to give way to co-operation, including transporting troops and military equipment during the Boer War . Finally, on 8 March 1900, the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line merged, creating the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company, Ltd , with Castle Shipping Line taking over the fleet. Union-Castle named most of their ships with
1634-667: Was founded in 1853 as the Southampton Steam Shipping Company to transport coal from South Wales to Southampton . It was renamed the Union Steam Collier Company and then the Union Steamship Company. In 1857, renamed the Union Line, it won a contract to carry mail to South Africa, mainly the Cape Colony . The inaugural sailing of Dane left Southampton on 15 September. Meanwhile, Donald Currie had built up
1677-427: Was in a recession in the early 1860s when Molteno moved back to Cape Town, remarried and bought Claremont house (At the time an estate of orchards and vineyards, not the busy suburb that it is today). Molteno had been elected to the Cape Colony's first parliament in 1854, representing Beaufort , the first municipality in southern Africa. However, in spite of the elected parliament, executive power remained firmly in
1720-446: Was later to become the 8th prime minister of the Cape and in that capacity continued many of Molteno's policies). Molteno began his ministry by re-organising the state finances. One of his government's first acts was to abolish the controversial house tax (Act 11 of 1872). He used the new revenues from the diamond and ostrich feather industries to pay off the Cape's accumulated debts and to invest heavily in infrastructure, including
1763-500: Was liquidated in 1990. In the 1950s and 60s the line operated a fleet of fifteen ships, eight on the principal weekly mail run from Southampton to Cape Town. Each ship could carry an average of two hundred First Class passengers and four hundred and fifty in Tourist Class. Six of the remaining ships operated the monthly Round Africa service, sailing both clockwise and anti-clockwise round the continent. The remaining ship operated
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1806-400: Was married three times and had a total of nineteen children, founding a large and influential South African family. His immediate descendants included politicians and members of parliament, shipping magnates and exporters, military leaders, suffragists and anti-Apartheid activists. Although born and raised a Catholic, Molteno was tight-lipped on the subject of his religious beliefs, unusual for
1849-411: Was the coloured daughter of a merchant colleague, and he brought her back to his estate, with a view to starting a family. Tragedy struck a few years later when his wife died in childbirth (along with their only child). Soon afterwards the bereaved Molteno left his estate and joined a Boer Commando that was heading for the frontier mountains to fight in the 1846 Amatola War . The Cape economy
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