Skip to main content

Story: Large companies

Union Steam Ship Company pocket guide

Image
Union Steam Ship Company pocket guide

By the 1880s anyone wanting to travel by sea around New Zealand, or across the Tasman to Australia, would have carried one of these – the Union Steam Ship Company’s monthly pocket guide, which listed its sailings and the timetables of government railways. The Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand was formed in 1875 and traded for more than 120 years. For much of that time it was the country’s largest private employer.

Using this item

Gavin McLean

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Gary Hawke, Large companies – Capital and large companies, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/ephemera/25950/union-steam-ship-company-pocket-guide (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Gary Hawke, published 2 March 2010.