Devitt and Moore

Devitt & Moore, the London ship-brokers, became ship-owners in 1863, and entered the passenger and cargo trade to Australia. In that year it was announced that they were having a new ship built at Sunderland by William Pile expressly for the South Australian trade. This was the 791-ton City of Adelaide.

Devitt & Moore were identified consistently as the registered owners of the City of Adelaide, but technically they were the managing agents in London. It was Joseph Moore snr. who, as an individual, was the syndicate member holding a quarter share in the ship. The other three equal shares were owned by Port Adelaide shipping agents the Harrold Brothers, Adelaide businessman Henry Martin and the ship's first master Scotsman David Bruce.

Formation

Thomas Henry Devitt (1800-1860), as an 18 year old trying his luck in London, joined the office of Buckle, Baxter & Co, merchants and ship-owners of Mark Lane near Fenchurch Station, as a junior clerk. Over the next eighteen years he gained valuable experience and a thorough grounding in the business.

In 1836, fellow clerks Thomas Devitt and Joseph Moore of 9 Bissett Street London E C, were so dissatisfied with their pay (£120 per year) and their prospects of promotion, that they decided to set up in business on their own. They founded a ship-broking firm and established professional freight brokerage in the Australian trade.

Devitt & Moore enjoyed immediate success, being appointed as loading brokers for 11 sailing ships on the Australian run in their first year, and this had increased to 39 ships by 1840. London’s leading ship-owner Duncan Dunbar gave his work to the new firm, and this valuable association continued until his death in 1862.

Succession

When Devitt died in 1860, Moore included their sons Thomas Lane Devitt (1839-1923) and Joseph Moore jnr. as partners in the firm.

Each passenger sailing ship carried a ‘farmyard’ on board to keep the passengers supplied with fresh meat, milk and eggs through the voyage of three months. After Joseph Moore retired from active partnership in the firm, he went to live in Cornwall where he took up farming. For outbound passages from London, Plymouth or Falmouth, all the cows, bullocks, sheep, pigs, geese, chickens, ducks and turkeys, plus the hay, straw, swedes, parsnips, corn, grit, pollard and bran to feed them, came from Joseph Moore’s farm.

Thomas Lane Devitt was the outstanding personality in Devitt & Moore. He had joined the staff at the age of 16 and had learned so quickly that, although he succeeded his late father before he was 21 years old, he was accepted by Joseph Moore and the firm’s business associates.

Soon the ship-broking business of the firm showed a marked increase, and they entered the new era of being ship-owners. T. L. Devitt was a charismatic person who had the common touch, and was loved as much by the men at the docks as by his staff in the City. Like Moore, he would visit the ships in port for a chat every day, and this personal contact created much good-will between employers and employed.

South Australian Trade

South Australia’s agriculture had yet to become established, but the fortunes of the young Colony received a timely boost with the discovery of copper. It was exported to the Welsh smelters, often as ballast with other cargoes. This could be profitable, even with vessels that were not ideal for the purpose. On the other hand, the market for the other staple export, wool, lay in London, and competition on the long voyage required larger and more costly ships. This trade eventually fell mainly into the hands of three firms:

• A L Elder & Co
• Orient Line
• Devitt & Moore

Devitt and Moore Fleet

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In purchasing their first two full-rigged ships from Duncan Dunbar in 1863, Devitt & Moore started their long connection with Australia as shipowners. Over the next 55 years until the end of the First World War, when they finally conceded to the competition from the steamships, at various times the Devitt and Moore fleet comprised of 29 square-rigged sailing ships and two steamships carrying passengers, wool, copper and general cargo between Great Britain and Australia.

In 1868, when several shipping companies were changing from sail to steam, Devitt & Moore wanted to keep up to date. They drew up plans for six steamships, but the first-built was wrecked on the South African coast when she was returning from Melbourne on her maiden voyage in 1871. All passengers were saved, but five of the crew were drowned and the ship was a total loss. This upset the partners so much that they did not place orders for the other five steamers. Joseph Moore said "We’ll have no more of these steam kettles. We’ll stick to sailing ships." However they did operate one more steamer from 1875 until 1880.

The following list of ships owned by Devitt and Moore was adapted from a book by Capt. A.G. Course. In his book, Captain Course indicates that the City of Adelaide was the first ship built for Devitt and Moore. Assuming this statement is correct, all ships prior to the City of Adelaide must have been purchased second-hand or chartered.

Vessel Name	Original Rig	Material	Builders	Date Built	Period Owned	Gross Tonnage	Net Tonnage	Length Overall (feet)	Breadth (feet)	Depth(feet)
Vimiera	Ship	Wood	James Laing, Sunderland	1851	1863-1872	967	925	165.7	33	22.9
La Hogue	Ship	Wood	James Laing, Sunderland	1855	1863-1886	1331	-	226	35	22.9
City of Adelaide	Ship	Composite	William Pile, Sunderland	1864	1864-1887	791	696	176.8	33.2	18.8
Saint Dunstan	Barque 3-masted	Wood	-, Sunderland	1858	1864-1868	441	-	128.5	27.5	18
Grasmere	Barque 3-masted	Wood	G. Gardner, Sunderland	1865	1865-1883	465	-	142	28.5	17.5
Pekina	Ship	Wood	Smith, Aberdeen	1865	1865-1880	770	-	177	30.6	18.4
St Vincent	Ship	Composite	William Pile & Co., Sunderland	1865	1865-1887	892	-	190	35	18.9
Parramatta	Ship	Wood	James Laing, Sunderland	1866	1866-1887	1521	-	231	38.2	22.8
Dunbar Castle	Ship	Wood	James Laing, Sunderland	1864	1866-1881	925	-	182.7	33.9	21.5
South Australian	Ship	Composite	William Pile & Co., Sunderland	1868	1868-1887	1078	1049	201	36	20.1
Hawkesbury	Ship	Composite	William Pile & Co., Sunderland	1868	1868-1888	1179	1120	203	36.2	21.5
Chaa-Sze	Ship	Wood	A. Hall & Co., Aberdeen	1860	1868-1874	595	550	170	29.1	18.1
Outalpa	Ship	Iron	William Pile & Co., Sunderland	1869	1871-1881	717	676	187.7	30.6	18
Gateside	Barque 3-masted	Iron	McMillan, Dumbarton	1869	1871-1884	739	698	184.6	29.6	18
John Rennie	Ship	Iron	J. & G. Rennie, London	1863	1872-1890	848	-	177	32.6	20
Collingwood	Ship	Iron	W. Hood & Co., Aberdeen	1872	1872-1893	1064	1015	211.1	34.8	21
Sobraon	Ship	Composite	A. Hall & Co., Aberdeen	1866	1872-1889	2130	-	272	40	27
Rodney	Ship	Iron	W. Pile & Co., Sunderland	1874	1874-1896	1519	1447	235.6	38.4	22
Glenelg	Steamer	Iron	Samuda, Blackwall, London	1873	1875-1880	1316	-	249.7	32.8	22.3
Duke of Athole	Ship	Iron	Denny & Rankin, Dumbarton	1865	1880-1889	963	-	199.2	33.2	20.9
Illawarra	Ship	Iron	Dobie & Co., Glasgow	1881	1881-1907	1963	1887	269.1	40.6	24
Simla	Barque 4-masted	Iron	Tod & McGregor, Glasgow	1854	1882-1883	2288	2172	330.2	39.8	26.7
Derwent	Ship	Iron	McMillan, Dumbarton	1884	1884-1904	1970	1890	275	40.2	23.7
Macquarie	Ship	Iron	R. & H. Green Blackwall, London	1875	1887-1904	1965	1857	269.8	40.1	23.7
Tamar	Ship	Steel	Napier, Shanks & Bell, Dumbarton	1889	1889-1900	2115	2048	286.8	42.5	24
Harbinger	Ship	Iron	R. Steele & Co., Port Glasgow	1876	1890-1898	1585	1506	253.5	37.6	22.4
Hesperus	Ship	Iron	R. Steele & Co., Port Glasgow	1873	1890-1899	1859	1777	262.2	39.7	23.5
Irvine	Ship	Iron	W. Doxford & Son, Pallion Sunderland	1867	1899-1901	673	655	170.6	29.5	19.1
Port Jackson	Barque 4-masted	Iron	A. Hall & Co., Aberdeen	1882	1906-1916	2212	1994	286.2	41.1	25.2
Medway	Barque 4-masted	Steel	A. McMillan & Son, Dumbarton	1902	1910-1918	2516	2298	300	43.2	24.8
St George	Barquentine	Iron and teak sheathing	Ramage & Ferguson, Leith	1890	1919-1921	694	-	191	32.1	17.8
Sunbeam	Barquentine	Composite	Bowdler, Chaffer & Co., Seacombe	1874	1920-1922 did not sail	334	-	170	27.5	13.8

Cadet Training

Thomas Lane Devitt had been a prime mover in the concept of training cadets in ocean-going, square-rigged sailing ships. The Ocean Training Scheme was started in 1890 with two full-rigged ships that were bought from the Orient Line for the purpose, and were owned jointly by Lord Brassey (whose idea it was) and Devitt & Moore (who managed them). Parents were invited to pay for their son to be placed with the officers on board one of the ships as a midshipman (cadet), and be trained in basic seamanship and in navigation over four return voyages to Australia (four years), in preparation for becoming a junior naval officer.

In 1906 Devitt & Moore purchased and adapted the Port Jackson to accommodate 100 boys from the Marine Society’s stationary school ship Arethusa, and give them square-rigged sea training as seamen on cargo-bearing trips between London and Australia. Despite its obvious success – 94 of the boys went to sea again as ordinary seamen - a lack of financial backing prevented the plan being extended beyond two groups. The ship’s accommodation was converted to cater for thirty midshipmen instead.

A new company, “Devitt and Moore’s Ocean Training Ships Ltd”, was formed in 1909. Thomas Lane Devitt and his younger son Philip, the surviving partners in Devitt and Moore, became its managers. They were joined as shareholders by no less than eight well-known shipping companies, and another training ship was purchased a year later. Well over 100 of Devitt and Moore’s former cadets served as commissioned officers in the Royal Navy during World War One.

The Nautical College Pangbourne, near Reading in Berkshire, was founded by Sir Thomas L. and Philip Devitt in 1917. It was designed to provide the cadets who were training for the Merchant Navy, the Royal Naval Reserve, and direct entry to the Royal Naval College, with a better and more rounded education that would equip them for all circumstances. It would ensure that they received a balanced general education in case any lad decided a life at sea was not for him. After two years at the college, a cadet spent a year at sea on a Devitt & Moore square-rigger, a year on a Royal Navy ship, and time on approved steamships, before sitting for a second-mate’s certificate examination.

Final Years

After Thomas Lane Devitt died, Phillip carried on the work alone, making considerable financial sacrifices to keep the college solvent. He became Sir Philip Henry Devitt when he was made a lifetime baronet for services to his country, and after his death, his nephew Sir Thomas Gordon Devitt (who had inherited his grandfather’s baronetcy) succeeded him as the senior partner in the firm.

After the training ships incurred a serious deficit over several consecutive years, Devitt & Moore had to withdraw from the shipping business. In 1931 the company was wound up voluntarily, and “The Devitt & Moore Nautical College Ltd” was registered as a non-profit private company, with a Board of Governors to administer the affairs of the college.

References

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