(UN2) UNION STEAM SHIP CO.
OF NEW ZEALAND
Trans Pacific Services:
1910-1936: Sydney-New Zealand Ports-San
Francisco
1910-1953: Wellington-Rarotonga-Papeete-Vancouver
1. Canadian-Australian Royal Mail Steam Packet
Co.
(taken over by the Union
S.S.Company)1910-1934
2. Canadian-Australasian Line Ltd. established by
the
Union S.S. Co. of New
Zealand and Canadian
Pacific,
1934-1953
NB. 1. For photos of all the ships listed below
see
Ian Farquhar's "Union Fleets" listed below)
2. For other
sources of pictures of Marama,
Makura, Niagara, Tahiti and Maunganui below
see the author's other website at
http://www.findboatpics.com
Postcard in the author's collection
Marama - twscs 6437gt 1907
Greenock
1908 joined the Sydney-Suva-
Honolulu-Vancouver
service
1914 (Sep) last sailing from
Vancouver
1915 became a hospital ship
1920 reconditioned and converted
to burn oil fuel
1922 onwards mainly on trans-Tasman
service
1937 sold for scrap
Postcard in
the author's collection
Makura - twscs 8075gt 1908 Glasgow
1908 (Nov) joined service
Sydney-
Auckland-Suva-Honolulu-Vancouver.
On this route for 16 years.
1913 Niagara joined Makura and
Marama on the route.
The first two remained in this
service through the 1914-18 War
1925 (Feb) Aorangi (II) was delivered
and Makura was withdrawn. Overhauled
and converted to oil burning, and
transferred to the Sydney-Wellington-
Rarotonga-Papeete-San Francisco
service
1931-32 the Matson Line introduced
the Mariposa and Monterey in the
tran-Pacific service
1936 the service to San Francico closed
1937 Makura was sold for scrap
Dickson
Gregory's "Australian Steamships"
Zealandia
- twscs 6683gt 1910 See
(WW2G)
Clydebank
Built for Huddart Parker & Co.
for the trans-Tasman service
1910--1913 chartered for the
Vancouver service
Card in the author' collection
Niagara-
trpscs 13415gt
1913
Clydebank
1913 (May) joined the Sydney-
Auckland-Honolulu-Vancouver
service
1914-1918 cotinued service to
Vancouver
1931 transferred on wet-boat
charter with Aorangi (II) under
an agreement with Canadian
Pacific to a new Canadian-
Australasian Line Limited
1935 in a collision in Canadian
waters
1940 (Jun) mined and
sunk
in New Zealand waters
From the "Old
Ship Picture Galleries"
Tahiti - (ex-Port Kingston)
twscs 7,585gt 1904
Glasgow
(Built for Elder Dempster West
Indies mail service, Avonmouth-
Bermuda-Kingston)
1904 entered service
1910 the mail contract ran
out and the ship was laid up
1911 acquired by Union S.S.
Co.for the trans-Pacific
service to Vancouver
(Dec) first sailing from
Sydney. Replaced Moana
1914 chartered by the N.Z.
Government "for the duration".
Converted to a troopship -
carried troops to Gallipoli
and Marseille, and made
several voyages to the U.K.
1916 missed by a torpedo in
the Mediterranean
1917 chased by a U-boat but
drove it off with return gunfire
1918 carried troops from the
United States to Europe. After
the end of the war, carried
New Zealand troops home.
1920 returned to service
1921 on San Francisco route
1930 a propeller shaft snapped
between Wellington and
Rarotonga tearing a hole in
the hull. The ship remained
afloat for two days. Passengers
and crew were taken off and
the Tahiti finally sank.
Photo in the
author's collection
Aorangi (II) - qdscm 17491gt slsa 8 photos(1924)
1924
Glasgow
No. PRG 1324/1509 uw
(The first motor
passenger
(aerial view)
liner in the
Pacific)
No. PRG 1324/1511 uw
1925 first sailing from Sydney
No. PRG 1324/1512 aq
1931 transferred with Niagara
No. PRG 1324/1513 uw
to the Canadian-Australasian
No. PRG 1324/1514 uw
Line and registered
in
No. PRG 1324/1515 uw
Canada but still
under
No. PRG 1324/1520
Union S.S.
management.
(in harbour)
Operated at a loss
against No.
PRG 1324/ 1523
the Matson
Line
(with tug)
1935
Government
slv photo of watercolour
subsidies
increased
by Dickson Gregory
to meet the
losses
Image No. b28447
1939 continued
regular
Arnold Kludas' "Great
service but carried airforce
Passenger Ships of the
trainees to Canada
and
World, Vol. 3
1924-
New Zealand troops to
Fiji 1935",
p.18
1940 (Feb) taken over as
a troopship
1942 (Feb) in the evacuation
from Singapore
1944 accommodation mother
ship for the tugs which
towed caissons to Normandy.
1945 accommodation ship at
Manus Island, New Guinea
1946 returned to owners
1948 first post-war voyage
Sydney-Auckland-Fiji-Honolulu-
Victoria-Vancouver. Service
subsidised by Canada, Australia
and New Zealand
1951 Laid up "off season" while
Governments argued about
subsidies
1953 final voyage back to Sdney.
Scrapped
From
Dickson Gregory's "Australian Steamships"
Maunganui-
twscs 7527gt
1911
Glasgow
1912 in trans Tasman
service
1914-1919 troopship
Carried the first contingent
of New Zealand troops to
Egypt.
1922 returned to service on
the Sydney-Wellington-
Rarotonga-Tahiti-San
Francisco route
1936 final sailing on San
Francisco route which was
terminated. Put on Melborne-
Wellington service
1941 converted to hospital
ship, used mainly between
Suez and New Zealand
1945 with British Pacific
Fleet. Stationed in Leyte
Philippines
1946 carried the New
Zealand contingent to and
from the Victory parade in
London. Then, laid-up.
1947 sold to a Greek
Company
r/n Cyrenia with Panama
registry. Carried
emigrant
Genoa-Malta-Piraeus-Melbourne
1950 purchased by Hellenic
Mediterranean Lines with Greek
registry but same service.
1957 scrapped
After
1946.
Photo in author's collection
Monowai (ex Razmak) - twscs slv photo uw
10852gt 1925
Belfast
Image No. b39424
(Built for
P&O)
sln photo Digital Order
1925 on
Aden-Bombay
No. d708584 (1960,
service
leaving Darling
1927 became
redundant
Harbour, Sydney on
when new passenger
ships
last sailing)
were able to fit in calls at
Arnold Kludas'
"Great
Aden while
maintaining
Passenger Ships ofthe
their Bombay-Australia
World, Vol. 3 1924-1935"
schedules
1935" pp.14-15
1930 transferred to
Union
S.S. following the loss of
Tahiti r/n Monowai for
the trans-Pacific service.
When this service ceased
transferred to trans-Tasman
service (Wellington-Sydney).
1939 converted to a troopship
1940 converted to an armed
merchant cruiser, HMZS Monowai
Used in Pacific patrols
1942 (Jan) Attacked by a
Japanese submarine While
escorting troopship Taroona
off Suva. Drove submarine
off by gunfire.
1943 sent to the UK. Converted
to Landing Ship (Infantry)
1944 in landings at Taranto
(Feb) and Normandy (Jun).
Made 14 shuttles with troops
between Southampton and
Normandy.
1945 on shuttle with troops
between Southampton and
Le Havre. Transferred to
Indian Ocean.
1946 returned to owners.
Modernised and rebuilt at
Sydney.
1949 r4eturned to trans-
Tasman service
1960 last sailing Sydney-
Auckland. Scrapped
From the "Old
Ship Picture Galleries"
Awatea
-twscs 13482gt 1936 awm 2
photo
Barrow
ID No.
004339
1936 entered
trans-Tasman (1940, leaving
Sydney
service
(Wellington-Sydney- with airforce
trainees
Auckland-Sydney-Wellington) for
Canada)
1939 taken over by the
New ID No. 302921
Zealand Government
but
(1941, Sydney as
maintaining commercial
troop transport)
service when not
required sln
album 6 photos
(Dec) brought New
Zealand Digital Order
troops to Sydney to
join
No. a636359
a Middle East convoy
(3 uw, 3 Sydney
assembling
there
harbour passing
1940 (Jul) carried evacuees
or near
bridge)
from Hongkong and
Manila nmm 3 photos
to Sydney. Replaced
Niagara No. P18374 uw
on the Vancouver
run
(copy of builder's
carrying airforce trainees
to photo)
Canada
No. P18375 uw
(Dec) Convoy Sydney-
(Nov. 1936)
Colombo with New
Zealand No. P18379 uw
troops for Middle
East (1937
Best negative)
1941 carried
Canadian
Arnold Kludas' "Great
troops to Hongkong
from
Passenger Ships of the
Vancouver, then from
UK World, Vol. 4 1936-
took troops to Port
Said,
1950",pp. 20-21
then to Bombay to carry
evacuees from the
Netherlands East Indies to
the UK
1942 (Mar) in convoy out of
Halifax ran down the destroyer
USS Buck which cossed
her bow too closely chasing
a submarine contact with
heavy loss of life
(Oct) converted in the UK into
a Landing Ship Infantry,
participated in North African
landings
(Nov 11) and was sunk as result
of air attacks off Bougie, the
crew taken off by a destroyer -
no deaths but many wounded.
Sources:
1. John M Mabor's "North Star to Southern
Cross"
(T. Stephenson & Sons
Ltd, Prescot, Lancashire
1967)
2. Duncan Haws' "Mercahant Fleets 32:
Union
Steamship Company of New Zealand"
(TCL Publications, Pembroke 1997)
3. Ian Farquhar's "Union Fleet" (New Zealand
Ship & Marine Society (Inc),
Wellington,
edition
2001)
4. Peter Plowman's "Wanganella and the Australian
Trans-Tasman Liners" (Rosenberg,
Dural, N.S.W.
2009)
5. Dickson Gregory's "Australian Steamships Past
and
Present"(The Richards Press,
London 1928)
6. Arnold Kludas' "Great Passenger Ships of the
World,
Vol. 3 1924-1935 & Vol.
4 1936-1950"
(Patrick Stephens, Cambridge 1977-English editions)
7. Website: "Old Ship Picture Galleries"
(http: www.photoship.co.uk)
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