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New Zealand - House flags of shipping companies

Last modified: 2006-02-25 by jonathan dixon
Keywords: new zealand | houseflag | h (white) | union jack | holm shipping company | union steam ship company | u.s.s.co. |
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Circular Saw Line/Henderson Macfarlane Ltd

From the chapter on shipping company flags in the 1966 Encyclopedia of New Zealand (situated here):

A version of the flag of the "Circular Saw" Line, with the saw teeth pointing in the reverse direction, is now used by Henderson and Macfarlane Ltd., of Auckland.
Jan Mertens, 17 November 2005


Holm Shipping Company

[House flag of Holm Shipping Company] image by Jonathan Dixon, 20 April 2005

At St Paul's Cathedral, Wellington, there is the unusual appearance of a house flag in a stained-glass window:
(From http://www.faithcentral.net.nz/inclass/music/stpauls/windows.htm)

In 1970, the Holm Window, over the three doors leading to the cathedral's refectory, was installed. Designed by Beverley Shore Bennett, a leading New Zealand stained-glass artist, and made by Roy Miller of Dunedin. St Paul, the patron saint of the cathedral, is shown in the centre at the top of the window; the stars of the Southern Cross and the Holm Shipping Company flag are at the top, left. The three ships represent stages in the development of the Company.

You get to see the window if you click on on the page mentioned above, a pop-up will appear.

This is an interesting page concerning this firm, mainly active in coastal shipping:
http://www.nzcoastalshipping.com/holm%20shipping%20co.html
Jan Mertens, 11 December 2004

[The flag has red in the first and fourth quarters, green in the second and third, separated by a white cross and with a white letter H in the canton.]


Lyttleton Port Co., Ltd

[Lyttleton Port Co., Ltd houseflag] image by Jarig Bakker, 27 Jan 2006

Lyttleton Port Co., Ltd., Lyttleton - white flag, black device surrounding three blue waves.
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of Shipping Companies of the World [lgr95]
Jarig Bakker, 27 January 2006

I can make an educated guess at that "black device". To get by road or rail to Lyttelton, one has to travel through one of the country's best known tunnels. The device looks like a road travelling through a chain formed into a stylised tunnel.
James Dignan, 28 January 2006


New Zealand Container Services Ltd

[New Zealand Container Services Ltd houseflag] image by Jarig Bakker, 27 Jan 2006

New Zealand Container Services Ltd., Lyttleton - bright blue - yellow - brightblue horizontal triband; in center brightblue outlined arrow pointing towards the fly.
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of Shipping Companies of the World [lgr95]
Jarig Bakker, 27 January 2006


For Shaw, Savill and Albion (a British company), see here.

South Pacific Trading Co.

From the chapter on shipping company flags in the 1966 Encyclopedia of New Zealand (situated here):

The flag of the South Pacific Trading Co., formed in the 1870s under the aegis of Sir Julius Vogel, placed the initial letters of the company's name upon the red panels of Queen Makea's (of Rarotonga) personal standard.
Jan Mertens, 17 November 2005


Union Steamship Company of New Zealand

[Union Steamship houseflag] image by Alvin Fisher and António Martins, 21 March 2000

This flag was originally adopted in the year 1875. As for the Union Steam Ship Company itself, it was a highly successful shipping institution dealing with both passenger and freight transportation in New Zealand and between New Zealand and other Pacific countries. At its height, in 1914, it operated the largest fleet of its type in the southern hemisphere. In 1917, it was acquired by the Peninsula and Orient (P&O) company, under whose control it performed only moderately. In 1972, it came under the control of a Australasian company before being bought by Brierley Investments, a well-known New Zealand group, in the 1980s. By this time, the company was only a fraction of its former size. When the shipping industry in New Zealand was opened up to foreign craft, which operated much more cheaply than the Union Steam Ship Company could afford to do, the operation became unprofitable. Brierley Investments wound up its shipping concerns near the beginning of the 1990s.The company, and its flag, are now defunct.
Thomas Robinson, 3 January 2001

Union Steam Ship Co. of New Zealand Ltd. was formed in 1875 and at one stage was the largest shipping company in the Southern Hemisphere. The flag (I hold an actual) depicted is slightly incorrect in that the panel of the Union Flag was not edged i.e. the red of the Union merges with the field and the "o" of "Co" is slightly smaller and is enhanced with several sources incorrectly show a dot under it.
Neale Rosanoski, 3 October 2002

Union Shipping New Zealand

[Union Shipping NZ houseflag] image by Jarig Bakker, 27 Jan 2006, based on [lgr95]

In 1987 the company changed its name to Union Shipping New Zealand Ltd. with a change of the flag in that the letters became "U" (hoist), "S" (fly) and "N.Z." (base). These details are taken from an actual flag. The company finally ceased operating in 2001.
Neale Rosanoski, 3 October 2002

Is the Union Jack actually squeezed, or more like the Union Steamship Company image above? I imagine that the first examples of this flag were made by adding extra bunting around a regular Union Jack - is this plausible?
António Martins, 28 January 2006