Nourse Line
Encyclopedia
The Nourse Line was a shipping company formed by Captain
James Nourse in 1861. After taking delivery of his first ship, the Ganges, in 1861, Nourse went on to build up one of the last great fleet
s of sailing ship
s.
in 1828 and after serving the required time at sea obtained his Master’s Certificate in London
in 1851 and was hired as captain on a ship owned by W.N. Lindsay of London. A year later, he joined Foley, Aikman & Company of Glasgow
as Master aboard Aberfoyle
. Nourse served in the ship for three years before it caught fire. He then became the captain of the Tasmania until 1861.
to trade between Calcutta and Australia
where James Nourse made acquaintance with the owners of Sandbach, Tinne & Company who were importers and exporters, mainly concerned with sugar, coffee, rum, molasses and also trafficking in Melanesian labour. Nourse saw a future in these trades and relinquished his command of Ganges to concentrate on management. He went set up an office in London in 1864 and acquired full ownership of Ganges. James Nourse secured a contract with the Crown Agents for the Colonies, to provide service between India and Mauritius
, the West Indies and Fiji
. Once the contracts were secured James Nourse bought another ship and chartered a third.
an port with a cargo of salt
or railway iron for Calcutta. From there a cargo of rice
and indenture
d labourers were picked up for the West Indies, followed by a passage to the east coast of North America
where grain or oil
was loaded for Europe. Some ships sailed back direct to Calcutta from the West Indies with labourers who had completed their contract of employment. Other voyages were made from Calcutta to Mauritius or to the Fiji Islands with labour for the sugar
plantations. Voyages to Fiji usually returned to Calcutta via Australia with cargoes of coal
.
Between 1866 to 1869 the company built four more ships with the transportation of indentured labourers in mind, which dictated that each one and a half registered tons equalled the carriage of one passenger, and later and later the space was measured in covered deck space. The medical requirements of those travelling was monitored by a Surgeon Superintendent, and food and water allowances by the ships Purser
and both Officers were paid a per capita grant for those successfully completing the voyage. Two further ships were acquired in 1872 and 1873 and in 1874 Nourse ordered a further five new ships. In the eighteen eighties, Nourse Line increased the size of its fleet by another fifteen vessels. The company continued to build sailing ships until well into the eighteen nineties when most other ship owners had made the transition to steam ships. His reasons were that he understood sailing ships and that they were economical for the trades in which they served. Nourse Line continued to purchase both new and second hand vessels.
and the Hain Steamship Company were all purchased by P&O
in 1917.
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
James Nourse in 1861. After taking delivery of his first ship, the Ganges, in 1861, Nourse went on to build up one of the last great fleet
Fleet
-Vehicles:A fleet is a collection of ships or vehicles, with many specific connotations:*Fleet vehicles, two or more vehicles*Fishing fleet*Naval fleet, substantial group of warships*A group of small ships or flotilla...
s of sailing ship
Sailing ship
The term sailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind-powered vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large...
s.
Early life of James Nourse
James Nourse was born in County DublinCounty Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
in 1828 and after serving the required time at sea obtained his Master’s Certificate in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1851 and was hired as captain on a ship owned by W.N. Lindsay of London. A year later, he joined Foley, Aikman & Company of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
as Master aboard Aberfoyle
Aberfoyle
Aberfoyle is a village in the region of Stirling, Scotland, northwest of Glasgow.The town is situated on the River Forth at the base of Craigmore...
. Nourse served in the ship for three years before it caught fire. He then became the captain of the Tasmania until 1861.
Establishing the fleet
Nourse bought his first ship, the 839 ton iron hulled sailing vessel, Ganges in 1861, by buying 75% share in the ship bought from the ship builders Pile, Hay & Company of Sunderland. The Ganges sailed to IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to trade between Calcutta and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
where James Nourse made acquaintance with the owners of Sandbach, Tinne & Company who were importers and exporters, mainly concerned with sugar, coffee, rum, molasses and also trafficking in Melanesian labour. Nourse saw a future in these trades and relinquished his command of Ganges to concentrate on management. He went set up an office in London in 1864 and acquired full ownership of Ganges. James Nourse secured a contract with the Crown Agents for the Colonies, to provide service between India and Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, the West Indies and Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
. Once the contracts were secured James Nourse bought another ship and chartered a third.
Transporting Indian indentured labour
He then began transporting Indian indentured labourers to the West Indies. The general route for the fleet was to leave a EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an port with a cargo of salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
or railway iron for Calcutta. From there a cargo of rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and indenture
Indenture
An indenture is a legal contract reflecting a debt or purchase obligation, specifically referring to two types of practices: in historical usage, an indentured servant status, and in modern usage, an instrument used for commercial debt or real estate transaction.-Historical usage:An indenture is a...
d labourers were picked up for the West Indies, followed by a passage to the east coast of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
where grain or oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
was loaded for Europe. Some ships sailed back direct to Calcutta from the West Indies with labourers who had completed their contract of employment. Other voyages were made from Calcutta to Mauritius or to the Fiji Islands with labour for the sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
plantations. Voyages to Fiji usually returned to Calcutta via Australia with cargoes of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
.
Between 1866 to 1869 the company built four more ships with the transportation of indentured labourers in mind, which dictated that each one and a half registered tons equalled the carriage of one passenger, and later and later the space was measured in covered deck space. The medical requirements of those travelling was monitored by a Surgeon Superintendent, and food and water allowances by the ships Purser
Purser
The purser joined the warrant officer ranks of the Royal Navy in the early fourteenth century and existed as a Naval rank until 1852. The development of the warrant officer system began in 1040 when five English ports began furnishing warships to King Edward the Confessor in exchange for certain...
and both Officers were paid a per capita grant for those successfully completing the voyage. Two further ships were acquired in 1872 and 1873 and in 1874 Nourse ordered a further five new ships. In the eighteen eighties, Nourse Line increased the size of its fleet by another fifteen vessels. The company continued to build sailing ships until well into the eighteen nineties when most other ship owners had made the transition to steam ships. His reasons were that he understood sailing ships and that they were economical for the trades in which they served. Nourse Line continued to purchase both new and second hand vessels.
After the death of James Nourse
James Nourse died in April 1897, and his executors C.A. Hampton (his main creditor) and E. Bromehead assumed control of both his affairs and the fleet. The ships continued to trade, as before, but on 19 February 1903 they became part of a limited liability company called James Nourse Ltd with C.A. Hampton as its first chairman.Steam Ships
Nourse Line finally recognised the emergence of steam in May 1904 when it took delivery of its first steamship, . Nourse Line gradually began to phase out her outdated sailing ships and by 1908 all had either been sold or scrapped. By the outbreak of the First World War Nourse had purchased a further five ships and operated them from Calcutta to the West Indies on a regular monthly service. The ships were heavily mortgaged and to operate them to capacity the company often acted not only as shipowners but also as freight agents purchasing and selling commodities in their own right.First World War
The end of the Indentured Labour System coincided with the start of the first world war and thus any effect of the loss of labour transportation contract was delayed until the end of the war. Nourse Line lost two of its ships during the war, Indus and Dewa, and both were replaced almost immediately by Megna, purchased in 1916 and Betwa, initially designed as an indentured labour carrier but later altered to that of a cargo ship and delivered in 1917. In an attempt to minimise its war risks and maintain its ships numbers Nourse Line along with the Union Steamship Company of New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and the Hain Steamship Company were all purchased by P&O
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...
in 1917.