Tuesday, June 28, 2016

NORTH QUEENSLAND GHOST SHIP

High , dry   and  eerily empty  is  this rare arts  and  crafts  design   distinctive  building , once   the  busy office  of  the   Adelaide  Steamship  Company in  Cairns , North Queensland, one of  Australia's  enterprising  colonial ventures  that   grew into a huge , diversified  conglomerate  which  eventually went  down  like  the  Titanic .


The  ghosts of  a  colourful  , bygone shipping  era  haunt  this interior  view taken through  a  window  and  another  angle , below , details  the interesting  timber fittings, a  large walk in safe on the right , the  area  recently occupied by a  real  estate  company .


Near the main entrance  view , below , of  the  building  , above which can be seen a  ship outline  and the company name , is a heritage sign containing information about  the Adelaide  Steamship  Company and some of its vessels, including the  MV Manunda , converted to an Australian hospital ship, bombed by the  Japanese   in Darwin   on February  19, 1942 , resulting in  12 deaths  and  58 wounded .

 
Australia's Pearl Harbour, by  Douglas Lockwood , Cassell Australia ,1966, contains graphic details  of  what happened  aboard  Manunda  and tells how the badly damaged  ship with  456  sick and wounded aboard limped out of Darwin the next  day  headed for Fremantle , there being 11 burials at sea along the way .
 
 
Formed in  1875 by prominent pastoralists and businessmen such as Andrew Tennant , Robert Barr Smith and Thomas Elder , Adelaide  Steamship  Company  became the   biggest shipping operation in  Australia ; in  1935 it  formed  Adelaide Airways (see Wikipedia photo above )  , bought out West Australian Airways , formed  Australian National Airways , which was sold to Reg Ansett  in 1957 ; for more than 100 years the company  dominated  Australian passenger  and cargo  shipping , employing  800 at sea  and about 90 in offices  ; shipbuilding  was another  activity  and  towage .
 
In the  1970-80s , under CEO John Spalvin , Adsteam became a corporate raider , borrowing  large  amounts of money  to buy controlling interests  or holdings in   Woolworths, David Jones, Penfolds  Wines  , Tooths Brewery , Farmers Union, , Metro Meat ,  Petersville  Sleigh  with  interests in food, timber and woodchips,  AWA electronics , and  other  companies involved in construction and land development .
 
It held 15 per cent of shares in Westpac  and 20 per cent  of Bells Resources, the  Holmes a Court company, amassed  156  tugs  and had  other  interests . During the  l980s it was Australia's fourth highest capitalised company .   Caught in the  l990s recession , 200 banks  demanded  their money and the company was    forced  to sell  assets  in  a  giant fire sale , wiping  out  the  great enterprise, once the  pride  of  South Australia . Recriminations  and lawsuits followed .
 
The  South Australian Maritime Museum has   a large  collection of  Adelaide Steamship Company  items  including  a  fancy  head  office epergne , ship fittings , badged cutlery, brochures , uniforms  and  an  upright piano .  
 
Oddity/Spooky  Note :The former Adelaide Steamship office  in  Cairns  is situated in a  flood - prone part  of  the   city  and   like  the company  could go  under. In the  photograph below  of  the office interior  taken late in the afternoon  an old  Adsteam  ghost  seems to be guarding the  premises against bankers  and  bailiffs , ready  to  man  the  pumps .