Union-Castle liners, with their distinctive lavender hulls, gleaming white superstructure and blacktopped red funnels, were once a familiar sight in the harbours of Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Durban.
Donald Currie, who started what would become the UnionCastle Mail Steamship Company, was born in Greenock, Scotland, in 1825. His parents moved to Belfast in 1826, and he went to school at the Belfast Academy and at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, where he excelled.
As a boy, Currie was fascinated by the sea, and at the age of 18, he joined the Cunard Steamship Company, Liverpool, which ran the only regular line of steamers sailing between Europe and the US. In due course, he was promoted to head of the company’s cargo department.
Impressed by his diligence, the owners sent him to establish offices in Paris and Le Havre, Normandy. In a short while, Cunard had a steamer running between Le Havre, Liverpool and then on to New York. Currie also established branch offices at Bremen and Antwerp.
THE BEAUTIFUL CUP WAS HANDED OVER TO THE GRIQUALAND WEST TEAM
His experience with Cunard made him determined to establish his own shipping line. In 1862, he did exactly that, launching the Castle Shipping Company, which started off by plying the route between Liverpool and Calcutta via the Cape.
Three years later, he changed the port of departure for his vessels from Liverpool to London and took up residence there. The line rapidly grew due to its efficiency and value for money.
SOUTH AFRICA
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