MANSFIELD AND COMPANY LIMITED
China Navigation Straits Steamship Sarawak Steamship
The name of Mansfield had for more than a century been synonymous with the shipping and commercial life of Singapore. What began in 1861 as a ship chandlery business became one of Asia's greatest shipping agencies in the world's fourth busiest port.
Captain George Mansfield, son of a seafaring family, had ranged the Eastern seas and Australasian waters before he went into business in Singapore. He himself was not to find success but his brother Walter and his son, George John, saw the great future for Singapore as clearly as the best of their contemporaries.
Walter Mansfield returned from England in 1868 in a Holt ship, Diomed, with the contract for the Blue Funnel agency in his pocket.
Alfred Holt, the great Liverpool engineer, designed and built ships with a boldness of faith and conviction. They matched and, indeed, surpassed the performance of the finest vessels operated by keen competitors. He also had the ability to choose his agents well, requiring of them, and getting, the same high standards as he set for himself.
Over a period of 100 years the Blue Funnel Line fleet grew to 62 vessels of a total gross tonnage of 497,897 tons (excluding Glen Line for whom Bousteads were agents). Mansfield’s business and staff grew proportionately and offices were opened in Penang and Kuala Lumpur.
Mansfield’s became general managers of Straits Steamship Company in 1922 , which, in exchange for Holts providing their first 3 ships, made the latter the largest shareholder in Straits.
Later on The Sarawak Steamship Company also came under this management arrangement.
In 1890 Mansfield’s became agents for Swire's China Navigation Company, a connection that prospered until Mansfield’s demise in the 1980's. Mansfield’s were responsible after the Second World War for resurrecting Malayan Airways whose first flight took place with an Airspeed Consul in April 1947. Agencies for other Airlines immediately after the War included BOAC, Pan American and Qantas.
The Mansfield board after the War consisted of R.S. MacTier (Chairman), K.N. Black,R.F.W. Leonard. A. Mc Lellan and H.J.C.K. Toms.
Sir Stewart MacTier, as he was to become, returned to London at the end of 1946 and Archie McLellan became Chairman. Harry Toms, who had been a Volunteer gunnery officer and a prisoner of war, became Chairman of Straits Steamship Company and was charged with the rehabilitation of "The Little White Fleet". At the annual meeting of Straits Steamship Company in 1947, Harry Toms was able to report that there were 53 vessels in the fleet (38,386 tons) compared with the pre-war fleet of 51 ships (38,103 tons). A truly remarkable recovery.
As we all know, the advent of containerisation wrought great changes in the entire shipping industry. It does not serve the purpose of these brief historical notes about Mansfield’s to go into details of the transmogrification of this once great Company to that of the Singapore Government owned Keppel Company in the 1980's.
A very sad time for reflection on the part of all past employees of the Company!
OPERATION AND DUTIES
Mansfield’s duty as Blue Funnel Agents was to act on behalf of the Owners in the Far Eastern Trades. They were owned 100% by Alfred Holt & Co. in other words they were not merely agents but acted as an extension of the Owners with much greater responsibilities than Agents in other ports.
Apart from being responsible for handling all ship requirements e.g. bunkering, victualling, engineering needs, crew movements etc., their main duties were to arrange for the orderly delivery to consignees of cargoes from Europe, (and the handling of claims for any damaged or missing items), and, most importantly, the securing of homeward cargoes to fill all vessels leaving the Far East for Europe and Australia. Ben Line were Blue Funnel’s main competitors for cargoes to the West Coast of UK and Holts did not look kindly on their intrusion into this trade after the War. Cargo canvassing was of high importance and there were a number of staff whose responsibility was to visit shippers every day to ensure that Ben Line received minimal support from the afore mentioned.
As far as the Gorgon, Charon and later, Centaur, were concerned on the Straits/West Australian Service and also Agamemnon, Asphalion, Orestes, Idomeneus, and later, Stentor and Rhexenor, on the Straits /Eastern Australian Service, Mansfield’s were the Managers of both Services. Annual dry-docking, crew changes and control of all vessels whilst on the Australian coast were prime responsibilities. Mansfield’s had a large separate department to handle this trade, together with the Agency for China Navigation Company vessels trading between Far Eastern ports and, of course, the annual Pilgrim Trade which, after 1952, was run by C.N.Co.
HARVEY LADE
(Mansfield staff member from 1947-1974 and Director 1968-1974).
All photos courtesy of Harvey Lade.
Ocean Building, Singapore 1955
Senior Mansfield Staff, 1953
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