Illawarra Steam Navigation Company - History

History

Prior to the formation of the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company in 1858, a number of companies and individuals ran steamships along the south coast of New South Wales. The first of these was the Sophia Jane, which had traveled to Australia under her own power from the United Kingdom (and was the first steamship to do so), arriving in Sydney in 1831. But while the Sophia Jane ran a service to Wollongong, a more regular service was provided from 1839 with the establishment of the Illawarra Steam Packet Company. The Illawarra Steam Packet Company was not known by that name for long, as just three months after being established, the company merged with the Brisbane Water Steam Passenger Co. to become the General Steam Navigation Company. The newly formed company initially employed two steam vessels, the Maitland and the William IV, both of which were built in New South Wales on the Williams River, and the company serviced the Hunter River along with the south coast.

The General Steam Navigation Company continued to expand, services to Jervis Bay and Kiama were trialled (and later abandoned), and the company launched the Illawarra to handle the run to Wollongong. Nevertheless, competition soon emerged. This included the screw-driven steamship Keera, which began operations in 1852 between Sydney and Wollongong, although she failed to achieve commercial success and was sold to "Victorian interests". Other competition emerged as a direct result of the lack of service provided to ports further south of Wollongong. Residents at two of those towns – Kiama and Shoalhaven – were led to form two new steamship companies in 1854. These new companies, the Kiama Steam Navigation Company and the Shoalhaven Steam Navigation Company respectively ran the steamships Kiama and Nora Creina.

At this point three steamship companies were handling the south coast, and this proved to be too much competition for their respective interests. Thus in 1855 an agreement was reached, leaving the south coast to just the Illawarra, Kiama and Nora Creina. However, an enquiry had been undertaken into the transport facilities in the Bega district in 1851, in October 1858 the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company through an act of the New South Wales Parliament became an amalgam of the three companies. The new amalgamated company possessed a fleet of at least three vessels: the Illawarra, Kiama and Nora Creina that had been servicing the region. To this list the Nowra was added, while a sixth – the Mimosa – was soon included on the register.

The number of ships continued to grow, and by 1866 the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company was running weekly services from south coast ports to Sydney, carrying wool, cedar, coal and a variety of raw materials. As the company expanded it became known as the "Pig & Whistle" run, due to the main cargo and the "whistle" that was made by the ships prior to departing from the port. The company was to play a leading role in the development of coastal New South Wales, and her ships were to stop at every port between Sydney and the Victorian border. As such, by 1905, the company was able to link Eden by regular steam communication with Sydney, Launceston, Tasmania, Hobart and New Zealand. The company enjoyed a near–monopoly on the south coast trade for many years, negotiating with or taking over many potential competitors, although competition from rail and road transport were to play a significant role in the eventual demise of the company.

Along with cargo the company also took passengers, and an article by Henry Lawson, published in The Bulletin in 1910 and titled 'Bermagui - In a Strange Sunset', describes a steamer journey from Bermagui to Sydney – in all likelihood Lawson was traveling with the company. Unfortunately, in 1928 one of the company's vessels, the Merimbula, ran ashore on Beecroft Head while heading south. After this wreck, passenger shipping to the south coast finished, and the company focused entirely upon cargo.

In 1904 the company was incorporated as the Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Company (ISCSNC), and the company continued to operate successfully until the Second World War. However, significant problems had emerged for the company, even though it remained in good financial standing. In particular, road transport was able to offer a door-to-door service, (although the company did attempt to provide something similar at Narooma), and the railways provided increased competition, entering into exclusive contracts with some hotels and taking some goods contracts away from the shipping line. When combined with waterfront disputes, rising costs, and the post-war costs of ship replacement, the company was in trouble, and in 1948, for the first time, no dividend was paid to investors. In 1950 the company entered into voluntary liquidation, and this led to delisting from the Australian Stock Exchange in 1955.