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Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Scottish Shipbuilders & the Australian Market, 1901-1971 Michael James Macdonald Submitted for the degree of M.Litt University of Glasgow Department of Economic & Social History January 2007 © Michael J. Macdonald, (2007) ProQuest Number: 10390703 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10390703 Published by ProQuest LLO (2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLO. ProQuest LLO. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.Q. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ‘Scottish Shipbuilders and the Australian Market, 1901-1971’ Abstract The subject matter for this thesis derived from the observation that, between 1901 and 1914, Scottish shipbuilders held some 58.65 per cent of the Australian market in ships; after 1971, their market share was 0 per cent. These figures required further explanation. There was the question of whether the Scottish origins of many pioneering Australian shipowners (‘Scottish kinship’) inclined them to place orders in Scotland and played a part in establishing ‘relationships of trust’ (in Boyce’s terms)^ between Australian shipowners and Scottish shipbuilders. If Scottish kinship influenced purchaser choice before 1914, it was clearly no longer influential after 1971. The thesis examines the changes that took place in the Australian coastal shipping market over the seventy year period. It considers the changes brought about by the two World Wars, by Australian industrial development, by intervention in the market by Commonwealth^ governments and by the divergence of national interests between Britain and Australia that led to the establishment of merchant and naval shipbuilding in Australia. It considers the emergence of competition to coastal shipping from railways, road transport and air travel. The thesis considers what effect Scottish shipbuilder pricing policies had on Australian ordering of new ships, the effect of the offer of a new technology (the Danish diesel-engined ship) during the inter-war period and the ability of Scottish shipbuilders to adapt to changed market conditions after 1945. Boyce, Gordon, ‘Network Knowledge & Network Routines: Negotiating Activities between Shipowners & Shipbuilders’, Business History, Vol.45/2 (April 2003), pp.55ff. ^ The term ‘Commonwealth’ is used throughout this thesis as an abbreviation for ‘The Commonwealth of Australia’. The Commonwealth government’ means the national government of the Australian Federation. ‘Scottish Shipbuilders and the Australian Market, 1901-1971’ There are seven Chapters or time periods. Chapter 1 deals with the development of Australian coastal shipping from the late-19^"^ century until the First World War. The two World Wars (Chapters 2 and 5) are treated as interludes, during which there was no Australian market, the main units of the Australian coastal fleet were requisitioned for war service and coastal shipping services were disrupted. The inter-war period (Chapters 3 and 4) is divided into 1919-1929/1930 and 1931-1939 by the Wall Street Crash, to show the extent to which the Australian market collapsed after 1930. The period after the Second World War (Chapters 6 and 7) is divided into 1946-1960, when there were the last significant sales of British-built ships to Australia, and 1961- onwards, when British participation in the market fell to 0 per cent. The thesis has drawn on Scottish shipbuilder, Australian shipowner and Commonwealth government primary sources with the aim of giving a more complete picture of shipbuilder-shipowner relationships than is usually provided by separate shipbuilding or shipowning histories. ‘Scottish Shipbuilders and the Australian Market, 1901-1971’. Abstract (1) Table of Contents (3) Acknowledgements (11 ) Abbreviations (13) Map of Australia (15) Introduction. Historiography. (16) Chapter 1 (1901 -1914) Introduction. (30) Australian Coastal Shipping before the First World War. (34) The Scots-Australians. (44) Establishing ‘Trust’ between Shipowners & Shipbuilders. (49) Scottish Shipbuilders & the Australian Market, 1901-1914. (53) Background, 1901-1914. (63) Australia’s Defence Interests and Warship Building before 1914. (63) The Commonwealth Naval Dockyard, Cockatoo Island. (65) Conclusions, Chapter 1. (66) Chapter 2 (1914-1918) Introduction (68) The First World War. (68) Australian Resentment at Inchcape (P&O) and ‘Conference’ Domination of the Britain-Australia and Return Trades, (74) The Commonwealth Government Shipbuilding Programme. (76) ‘Scottish Shipbuilders and the Australian Market, 1901-1971’. Conclusions, Chapter 2. (79) Chapter 3 (1919-1930) Introduction. (80) Australian Coastal Shipping, 1919-1930. (83) The Commonwealth Government Line. (89) Shipping Company Reactions to post-war Conditions. (92) Scottish Shipbuilders & the Australian Market, 1919-1930. (98) Factors Contributing to British/Scottish Yards’ Loss of Market Share of the Australian Market in the 1920s. (102) Scottish Shipyard Prices in the 1920s. (105) Scottish Shipbuilder Failures, 1919-1930. (114) Background, 1919-1930. (118) The Australian Debt Crisis & the British Economic Mission. (120) The Effect of Australian Shipyard Output on the Australian Market in the Early-1920s. (122) Possible Effects of Railway Competition. (130) Conclusions, Chapter 3. (135) Chapter 4 (1931-1939) Introduction. (138) Australian Coastal Shipping, 1931-1939. (140) Different Responses to Conditions after the Wall Street Crash. (147) Scottish Shipbuilders & the Australian Market, 1931-1939. (150) Market Shares of the Australian Market in Ships, 1931-1939. (157) British Shipbuilders’ Reactions to Market Conditions in the 1930s. (163) ‘Scottish Shipbuilders and the Australian Market, 1901-1971’. Background, 1931-1939. (167) Australian Industrial Development in the 1930s and British Reaction. (167) Competition to Coastal Shipping from Other Modes. (170) Australian Inter-state Air Travel in the 1930s. (172) Conclusions, Chapter 4. (174) Chapter 5 (The Late-1930s and World War II) Introduction. (177) Shipping Competition in the Asia-Pacific Region. (178) Japan and Australian National Defence. (182) Resumption of Merchant Shipbuilding in Australia and the Wartime Shipbuilding Programme. (183) Conclusions, Chapter 5. (191) Chapter 6 (1946-1960) Introduction (193) Australian Coastal Shipping, 1946-1960. (196) Development of Commonwealth Government Policy in 1950s. (203) Private Owners’ Views on the Future of Coastal Shipping. (208) Scottish Shipbuilders & the Australian Market, 1946-1960. (215) Fixed Prices and Terms of Payment. (220) Inflation & Delays in Delivery. (223) British Reaction to the Resumption of Australian Shipbuilding. (226) ‘Scottish Shipbuilders and the Australian Market, 1901-1971’. Background, 1946-1960. (229) Growth of Australian Internal Air Travel after 1945. (231) The Post-War Economy. (231) Conclusions, Chapter 6. (237) Chapter 7 (1961-1971) Introduction (239) Australian Coastal Shipping, 1961-1971. (241) British Shipyard Prices in the 1960s. (249) Unsuccessful Scottish Tenders for Australasian Ships. (249) Background, 1961-1971. (254) Australian Shipbuilding Costs, 1960s. (256) Australian Economic Development and Trade Relations. (257) Conclusions, Chapter 7. (260) Chapter 8 Conclusions to Thesis. (263) Tables. Chapter 1 (1901-1914) Table 1.1. Summary of Market Shares of the Australian Market in Ships, 1901-1971; Scottish, ‘Other British’, Australian and ‘Foreign’ Shipbuilders. (33) Table 1.2. ‘Companies Engaged in the Inter-state Trades Reporting to the Commonwealth Government’, 1901 and 1908-1914. (36) Table 1.3. Australasian Steamship Owners’ Federation Fleets in 1914. Numbers of Ships, Gross tonnage & Estimates Values of Fleets. (38) Table 1.4. Sample Ship Contract Prices-per-Ton, Inter-state Ships, 1905-1912. (56) ‘Scottish Shipbuilders and the Australian Market, 1901-1971’. Table 1.5. Sample Ship Contract Prices-per-Ton, Intrastate Ships, 1906-1914. (57) Table 1.6. Market Shares of Australian Market in Ships, 1901-1914. (61) Table 1.7. Numbers of Types of Ship Sold to the Australian Market, 1901-1914. (62) Chapter 2 (1914-1918) Table 2.1. Changes in Size of British Merchant Fleet, 1913-1919. (71) Chapter 3 (1919-1930) Table 3.1. ‘Companies Engaged in the Inter-state Trades Reporting to the Commonwealth Government’, 1913 and 1920-1930. (87) Table 3.2. Comparison Fleet Sizes