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Maritime Houseflags A (Australia)

Australia

Adelaide S.S. Co. Ltd.
Archo. Currie and Co.
Asia-Australia Express Service
Australasian Steam Navigation Company
Australasian United Steam Navigation Company
Australian Coastal Shipping Commission/Australian National Line

See also:

Adelaide S.S. Co. Ltd.

image by Jarig Bakker, 17 Jan 2005

Adelaide S.S. Co. Ltd., Adelaide: white flag, blue cross; in the center a red 8-pointed star.
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies [wed26].
Jarig Bakker, 17 Jan 2005

Archo. Currie and Co.

I am trying to identify a shipping company from it's house flag. The flag is white having a red cross in saltire with a solid diagonal blue square superimposed upon it. The illustration I have I estimate as being mid 19th century.
Tony Burton, 29 Jun 2004

I have found this Australian Company: Archo. Currie & Co of Melbourne.
Dominique Cureau, 30 Jun 2004

Asia-Australia Express Service

image by Jarig Bakker, 13 Oct 2003

From Koninklijke Java - China - Paketvaart Lijnen (K.J.C.P.): The Asia-Australia Express Service (K.J.C.P.L. + China Navigation Co., Ltd., end 1973-1975) had a houseflag: Blue with capitals AAE.
Jarig Bakker, 13 Oct 2003

Australasion Steam Navigation Company

image by Jonathan Dixon, 5 Aug 2005

Australasian United Steam Navigation Company

image by Jonathan Dixon, 25 Apr 2005

The flag of the Australasian United Steam Navigation Company is a white saltire throughout, top and bottom 'quarters' red, hoist and fly blue. The Hunter's River Steam Navigation Company, started in the early 1840s, was taken over in 1851 by A.U.S.N., based in Sydney.
Source: http://merchant-navy-ships.com/index.php?id=8,0,0,1,0,0
Jonathan Dixon, 25 Apr 2005

According to information obtained from the Nautical Association of Australia Inc. publication The Log, the originating company of the Hunter [or Hunter's] River Steam Navigation Co. liquidated and reformed in 1851 as the Australasian Steam Navigation Co. with a flag diagonally quartered red and blue as confirmed by Liverpool Chamber of Commerce Sheet of 1885, Reed 1891 and Griffin 1895. In 1886 the company was acquired by British India Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. and the following year it was amalgamated with the Queensland Steam Shipping Co. to form the Australasian United Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. The Queensland Steam Shipping Co. had been formed in 1887 by BISN with its flag being red with a white saltire which was the BI colours and basic design in reverse. The new flag thus combined the two. From what I can make out from various comments the origin of the original companies was aimed against overseas companies such as BISN being involved in Australian trades. So, they came in through the back door. AUSN, although continuing to be involved and regarded as an "Australian" company and although shown as based in Sydney by Reed 1901, was actually set up in London and was a British company [Australian Coastal Shipping by Barry Pemberton 1979] and subsequent sources show this as the head office where as a BI subsidiary it ended up part of P&O and came to an end with the sale of its last ships in 1961.
Neale Rosanoski, 30 July 2005

Australian Coastal Shipping Commission/Australian National Line

image by Jarig Bakker, 3 Aug 2004

From the link provided by Barbara Tomlinson of The National Maritime Museum http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/:

The house flag of the Australian Coastal Shipping Commission, Melbourne. A flag with a white field bearing a blue cross. The letters 'ACSC' in red appear in the four quarters. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. A rope is attached. This design was in use from 1956 to 1968 when the initials 'ACSC' were replaced by 'ANL' in the first quarter.

The Commission was established by Act of Parliament on 1 October 1956 to take over and manage vessels previously under the control of the Australian Shipping Board. This body had been made responsible for the management of merchant vessels in government ownership as a result of wartime conditions. The registered name of the fleet was the Australian National Line. It extended its operations to Japan and Europe in 1969 and to other countries in the 1970s. In 1974 it became the Australian Shipping Commission and was replaced by the wholly government owned Australian National Line in 1989.

Jarig Bakker, 3 Aug 2004

In mid 1969 the flag was changed with the letters becoming "ANL" in red placed in the canton:
image by Jonathan Dixon, 5 Aug 2005

Then in 1984, after green and gold had officially been declared the Australian colours, the flag became white with a green cross and the gold letters "ANL" in the canton:
image by Jonathan Dixon, 5 Aug 2005

However these colours did not stand out and soon came under reconsideration. There was a report of a version with a light grey field but this was probably a weathered white and the real change was to a green field with a gold cross and lettering:
image by Jonathan Dixon, 5 Aug 2005

ANL Ltd., as it became in 1989, was dismantled by the Australian Government in 1998 with the name rights and overseas vessels being acquired by what is now CMA CGM Holdings. The name is still in use by this group as the subsidiaries ANL Container Line Pty. Ltd. and ANL Singapore Pte. Ltd. using chartered tonnage which still bear the ANL funnel colours but I have no knowledge of whether the flag still flies.
Neale Rosanoski, 30 July 2005