Canadian Australasian Line - Northbound

Northbound – 1893

Originally, there were five ports of call: Sydney, Brisbane, Honolulu, Victoria, and Vancouver. In 1893, only four calls were made at Brisbane. Suva, Fiji was added as a stop on November 24, 1893.

Northbound – 1894

Northbound – 1895

Northbound – 1896

Northbound – 1897

* Warrimoo was briefly stranded on a rocky reef at Bonilla Point, Juan de Fuca Strait on August 9.
** There was a cholera epidemic at Honolulu in September 1895, Miowera did not enter the harbour and carried no Hawaiian mail.
† There was no September 1895 sailing from Sydney.
†† Miowera departed Sydney on January 25, 1896 but returned to port.

Wellington, New Zealand was added as a port of call on August 15, 1897.
New Zealand stops ceased after March 30, 1899.

Northbound – 1897

Northbound – 1898

Northbound – 1899

When Wellington, New Zealand was dropped as a port of call,
Brisbane was added. Stops at Suva were continued for five months.

Northbound – 1899

Visits to Suva, Fiji were not made between August 23, 1899 and March 4, 1902.

Northbound – 1899

Northbound – 1900

Northbound – 1901

Northbound – 1902

* For the December, January, February, and March stops at Honolulu, because of beubonic plague there, the ships did not enter the harbour. No passengers were picked up. Aorangi picked up no mail at Honolulu in December; in January Miowera picked up mail that had been fumigated.

Stops at Suva were reinstituted on March 4, 1902 and continued for the remaining period of service.

Northbound – 1902

Northbound – 1903

Northbound – 1904

Northbound – 1905

Northbound – 1905

Northbound – 1906

Northbound – 1907

Northbound – 1908

Northbound – 1909

Northbound – 1910

Northbound – 1911

Ships often departed from Brisbane near midnight, two days after leaving Sydney. Some dates listed are for the actual date of departure, even if just past midnight.
* On the Moana’s November 1903 trip, she damaged her rudder at William Head quarantine station on November 25, and after being taken to Victoria, went to drydock in Esquimalt. Out of dry dock January 29, 1904. The mail and passengers were brought to Vancouver on November 26 by the Charmer. Also, this was the first trip to call at Fanning Island.
* An asterisk in the Suva column indicates that I have seen a report of a call at Fanning Island after Suva. The first northbound visit to Fanning Island was by the Moana on November 12, 1904.
** Aorangi (I) unloaded passengers and mail at Esquimalt, not Victoria, on December 23 1904 because of heavy weather.
† In January 1908, the Miowera went from Suva to Navua on January 1; she departed from Navua January 2 to go directly to Honolulu.
†† In December 1908, the Aorangi (I) went from Suva to Navua on December 29, and departed from Navua on December 30.
# There was heavy fog at Vancouver on December 16, 1909. The Aorangi (I) arrived then but waited in English Bay before entering the harbour on December 18. The mail and passengers were carried ashore on December 17.

When Auckland, New Zealand was added as a stop on August 4, 1911, Brisbane was dropped. The route established in 1911 remained the same until service ceased in 1953, serving six ports: Sydney, Auckland, Suva, Honolulu, Victoria, and Vancouver.

Northbound – 1911

Northbound – 1912

Northbound – 1913

Northbound – 1914

+ There was a fire in the mail room of the Makura on April 7, 1913; 20 bags of New Zealand mail were damaged by fire and water.
# The July 1914 sailings of the Niagara (southbound) and Marama (northbound) were delayed at Honolulu by the start of World War I. War had been declared while the Marama was between Suva and Honolulu. Four voyages bypassed Suva and/or Honolulu. The September sailing of the Makura northbound bypassed Honolulu. The Marama’s northbound voyage in July 1915 was held five days in Honolulu to avoid meeting German cruisers. The Makura was escorted by Australian and Japanese warships most of the way on her October 29, 1914 trip from Sydney [Vancouver Sun, November 21, 1914).

Sailing and arrival dates were taken from The Fiji Times, The Age (Melbourne), Victoria Colonist, Victoria Times, Vancouver News Advertiser, Vancouver Province, and The Times (London). David Finch supplied many of the Sydney departure dates.

Abbreviations:
ar Arrived
dp Departed
S Scheduled
n/a Not available

Copyright © Gray Scrimgeour 2006. All rights reserved.

Copyright © PHSC 2006-2008. All rights reserved.