Last modified: 2002-11-09 by sam lockton
Keywords: new zealand | houseflag | shaw savill and albion | stars: 4 | star: 5 points (white) |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
The first National Flag of New Zealand was adopted as a house flag by
Shaw, Savill and Albion, later part of Furness
Withy who ran shipping
services between U.K., Australia and N.Z. It was still in use in the
mid-seventies, but I don’t know about now.
[anon.], 28 March 97
In fact, there are several differences between the first National flag of
New Zealand and the Shaw, Savill and Albion flag — fimbriation, number of
points on stars. But it does seem likely that the first National flag of NZ
was the inspiration for the Shaw Savill flag, though there are apparently
(company histories) no records about who adopted or adapted the flag for
Shaw Savill, or why.
Stuart Park, 1 April 1997
The reason for the adoption of a very similar flag by Shaw Savill is not
clear — presumably they meant to identify with
the 1834 flag. Perhaps they
just wanted to simplify it (no fimbriation and the 6 pointed stars of the
Admiralty version).
Stuart Park, 9 November 1996
The 1959 edition of Flags, Funnels and Hull Colours by Colin Stewart
[ste59] shows the Shaw, Savill and Albion house
flag as having six-pointed stars.
Al Fisher, 12 December 1998
Shaw Savill & Albion Co. Ltd. was a British company, not New Zealand, being
based in London and being formed c. 1882/3 by the amalgamation of Shaw Savill
& Co. and the Albion Line of Patrick Henderson & Co. In 1985 it was
fully absorbed into Furness Withy (Shipping) Ltd. According to "The New
Zealand Ensign" (published by the N.Z. Department of Internal Affairs 1965),
the Shaw Savill version of the 1st New Zealand National flag was probably adopted
in 1858 (on the formation of Shaw Savill & Co.) but they do not give any
reasons and the date of adoption is given by another source as 1862. The New
Zealand National Flag had since become the British Union Flag (6.2.1840) so
the design did not conflict with any official British flag though, as stated
by Stuart Park, it was not, in any case, an exact replica. In actual fact a
very similar flag to that of Shaw Savill with stars similar to the FOTW image
but with 3 of them angled and only that in the 4th quarter appearing as in the
image, was flown by Colonel William Wakefield on the "Tory" in 1839
with a photo of the actual hand made flag appearing in this publication (apparently
it was made on the basis of an incomplete description published in the New South
Wales Gazette of 19.8.1835) which also depicts the company provided image as
showing a wider main cross and the stars being squatter with the upper and lower
side point sides being on the horizontal line, compared with the FOTW image.
A swallow tailed version was flown by the fleet commodore.
Neale Rosanoski, 3 October 2002
by Alvin Fisher and Antonio 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. 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
|