Port Line
| Industry | Shipping |
|---|---|
| Fate | Elements merged into Cunard Line operations |
| Founded | 1914 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
|
Area served
|
Australasia |
| Services | Refrigerated and general cargo & passengers; later containers |
Port Line was a passenger and cargo shipping company, initially formed as the Commonwealth and Dominion Line in 1914, and in operation in one form or another until 1982.
The Commonwealth and Dominion Line was formed as an amalgamation of four shipping companies on 23 January 1914, J. P. Corry & Company, Wm. Milburn & Company, Thos. B. Royden & Company and Tyser & Company. All four companies had operated routes to Australia and New Zealand, and together formed a new shipping line of 23 ships. Milburn & Co brought nine ships, Tyser & Co. eight, Corry & Co. five and Royden & Co. three. The company's head office was at Tyser & Company's former officers at 9-11 Fenchurch Street in London. The board of directors was drawn from the directors of the constituent companies and was under the overall chairmanship of Walter Tyser. Representing Thos. B. Royden & Co. was Thomas Royden, later chairman of Cunard.
Reflecting the make up of its constituting companies, the ships of the new line adopted a varied arrangement of existing styles. The ships flew Tyser's house flag but had Corry's funnel colours of buff with black tops. The overall scheme followed Tyser's patterns of grey with white superstructure and masts, while Milburn & Co's practice of naming ships with the prefix 'Port' was extended to new ships then under construction for the company, and then expanded further in 1916 by renaming all existing ships under this style. This practice led to the name 'Port Line' coming into unofficial use.
Commonwealth and Dominion was taken over by the Cunard Line in June 1916, at the initiative of Thomas Royden, who was already a director of Cunard. Several Cunard directors joined the board of Commonwealth and Dominion, now renamed Cunard Line Australasian Service, Commonwealth & Dominion Line Ltd, and in exchange several Commonwealth and Dominion directors joined Cunard's board. After the war the line took Cunard's funnel colours, but otherwise remained largely autonomous within the Cunard structure. There were a number of losses to enemy action and accidents during the remainder of the First World War, with ships also being requisitioned for government service during and immediately after the war. Several new ships were ordered to replace wartime losses and to modernise the fleet. The line was particularly active in transporting frozen meat and vegetables between Australia, New Zealand and Britain.
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