For 75 years from 1885, the Burns Philp ships provided a lifeline for the South Pacific’s island nations. Burns Philp also became a de facto arm of Australian influence and diplomacy in the regional struggle between the imperial powers of Britain, the US, Germany, France, The Netherlands and Japan.
In a time before air travel and instant mobile communications, this age of sea transport was inhabited by tough and colourful characters who crewed and loaded Burns Philp ships around the South Pacific’s ports.
Meanwhile, their colleagues back in Sydney were more often than not to be found negotiating the price of cargoes in the public houses around Sydney’s Circular Quay.
From its modest beginnings in a general store in Townsville, the company’s history is a fascinating journey of expansion into shipping, plantation ownership and large-scale trading across Australia, Asia and throughout the South Pacific.
Find out more about the fascinating history of Burns Philp by reading this extract from the Shipping Australia Autumn/Winter edition!
You can also read the full copy of the 2020 Autumn/Winter edition of Shipping Australia here!
