The Rangitiki
'The
Rangitiki' painting in oils by Denis Booth, 1987. Available for reproduction
with permission.
Denis Booth taught at Hull University and researched the Hull shipbuilding firm of Martin Samuelson before he embarked on his Rangitiki art commission.
'The Rangitiki', a full rigged clipper, was built by Martin Samuelson of Hull, North Humberside, as 'Scimitar' for Finlay Campbell & Co, London and delivered in July 1963. Iron hull 212 ft by 35 ft by 23 ft. Registered tonnage 1186, gross 1227.
The vessel was purchased by J K Welch, London in 1872. The New Zealand Shipping Company was formed in 1873 and became part of the P&O Group in 1916. The NZSCo purchased 'Scimitar' in 1873 for £25,000, the largest sailing ship to be owned by the company. It was renamed 'The Rangitiki' in 1874 after one voyage and converted to barque rig in 1889. The Rangitiki was one of the largest ships owned by the company and a record pace maker, completing over 60 years in service and playing an important part in carrying immigrants to New Zealand. In October 1898 she was sold to A J Grefstad, Xiansand, Norway for £2,650. The ship was renamed 'Dalston' and eventually sold for £1,500 and went to Noumea, New Caledonia as a hulk.
The Hull firm of Martin Samuelson was a typical 19th century example of
enterprise, success and demise. Samuelson himself was born in Hamburg in
1825, the son of a merchant with trading connections with Hull. martin
became a ships engineer, in 1849 taking over the Scott Street Foundry in
Hull and by 1853 was reported by the Bank of England agent to be doing
considerable business. By 1854 he had gone into shipbuilding and in 1857
leased land along the Humber bank and in the following year he built a
graving dock at the mouth of the confluence with the river Hull, on the site
of the old Hull Garrison (part of the old city's river defences~). By 1859
Martin Samuelson was well into shipbuilding and between 1854 and 1859 he
built 40 ships. A Hull newspaper of February 11th 1863 describes the
ceremonial launching and naming of four ships by the Lord High Steward, with
a champagne breakfast laid out in great style - 'Countess of Ripon',
'Lightning', 'Earl de Grey & Ripon' & 'Belferine' ... but no mention of
'Scimitar'? His largest all sail ship by then was 'Knight Errant', 1218
tons, built for a Liverpool owner, his largest ship of all was the 2900 ton,
'Columbia', for the Atlantic Royal Mail Steam Navigation Company. By 1859
favourable reports on the progress of Samuelson's business were still being
reported by the Bank of England agent and in 1864 Martin Samuelson & Company
became The Humber Iron Works & Shipbuilding Company with an authorised
capital of £1M.
In spite of the new capitalisation financial problems began to develop and
to worsen rapidly. Bankruptcy followed in 1865 and the firm was wound up in
1866. The company had built 95 ships in ten years. Samuelson himself, never
short of enterprise, and not a man to remain inactive, moved into river
management and became the Surveyance Officer for the entire river Humber.
Samuelson died in 1908 at the age of 78 still in service to the Humber Conservancy Commissioners.
In
1924 some sensational runs of The
Rangitiki' were described in by Henry Brett in 1924 in his book
'White Wings'.
The Rangitiki featured in Alan Bott's book 'The Sailing Ships of The New Zealand Shipping Company, 1873-1900' written in 1972.
April 2nd 1975 was a memorable day for all sailors and philatelists. A set of six beautiful postage stamps depicting 'Historic New Zealand Sailing Ships' was issued in New Zealand. One of the ships was 'The Rangitiki'. The stamps were designed by Mr R M Conly of Christchurch and printed by Harrisons & Sons Ltd in England. Maurice Conly called on the Wellington Harbour Board Maritime Museum for much of the research and information he needed.
Perhaps the finest photo of the Rangitiki under sail is of the painting by Stanley Pellet which resided in the London Office of The New Zealand Shipping Company ... wow!
john
howarth was a passenger on 'The Rangitiki' which left Gravesend with
emigrants for New Zealand on September 8th 1876 under the command of Captain
Scotland, arriving at Lyttelton Bay on December 11th 1876.
John Howarth kept a meticulous dairy of his journey on the 'Rangitiki' which he published himself for the use of his family. 'A Voyage Round the World', a facsimile of this inspiring document is available for everyone at the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand. The narrative is seriously fascinating for all students of history & all folk interested in seafaring under sail or the ancient immigrant flow to New Zealand.
John Cossar has a great website
devoted to fine clipper ships. John's great Great grandfather was Captain T
C Tilly who skippered many ships including the Invercragill and two of the
Southern Cross sailing ships.
Books -
'White Wings' by Henry Brett, 1924.
'Clipper Ship to Motor Liner, the Story of the New Zealand Shipping Company, 1873-1939' by Sydney D Waters, 1939.
'The Ships That Serve New Zealand' by I G Stewart, 1964.
'The Sailing Ships of The New Zealand Shipping Company, 1873-1900' by Alan Bott, 1972.
'In the Wake of Endeavour, the History of the New Zealand Shipping Company' by Gordon Holman, 1973.
'Merchant Fleets, New Zealand Shipping & Federal SNCo' by Duncan Haws, 1985.
Any corrections and additional information gratefully received contact john p birchall
back to john howarth