In regard to 12 ships named after Sydney that I referred to last week, there were also a further two that carried the name Union Sydney. Both were chartered roll on/roll off vessels employed in the transtasman trade and seen here over the period 1974-86.
It will be remembered that the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand Ltd was founded here at Dunedin on July 1, 1875. In November 1917, it became part of the P&O group, which in turn sold it to Thomas Nationwide Transport Ltd of Sydney in 1971.
The immediate effect of the sale soon became apparent in 1972. Older conventional ships employed in the Tasman and coastal trades were disposed of and the emphasis was placed on the development of roll on/roll off services between Australia and New Zealand. And at the same time as the familiar ships with Maori names started to disappear in came a new naming system that included the prefix Union.
Back on November 14, 1967, Hawea arrived at Dunedin to inaugurate the company's first coastal roll on/roll off cargo service. The ship was later joined on this run from Auckland by Wanaka ,which berthed here for the first time on May 3, 1970.
Both of these vessels, which came from the Taikoo Dockyard in Hong Kong, were later transferred to the transtasman trade, Hawea in July 1972, and Wanaka 14 months later. However, both retained their links with Dunedin, with Wanaka berthing here for the 176th time in March 1976, and Hawea for the 205th time in August 1976.
By then the first Union Sydney had been running alongside them on this route. This 4572gt vessel made 69 visits to Dunedin from May 16, 1974, to February 25, 1977.
On March 25, 1977, Union Lyttelton made its first appearance here and, on August 17, was joined by sister ship Union Hobart. These 4376gt chartered vessels, built in 1977 and 1976 respectively, between them made a total of 245 visits to Dunedin before they left the local scene by September 1983.
Replacements came in the form of the second Union Sydney (6299gt) and sister ship Union Dunedin (6300gt). Both were chartered from Greek interests and were built in Japan by the Minami Nippon yard in 1978. Besides their stern ramps the pair also featured another ramp situated forward on the starboard side.
Union Sydney made 34 visits to Dunedin from October 5, 1983, to January 17, 1986. Union Dunedin appeared here for the first time on December 12, 1983. And when it made its 48th and final call on November 18, 1986, this aptly named vessel closed the chapter on the Union Lines roll on/roll off services to the upper harbour.
A little later, on March 9, 1987, the bulk carrier Union Auckland displayed the company colours in Dunedin for the last time when it arrived to discharge gypsum.
Over the years Port Chalmers, like Dunedin, had handled steamers and motor ships employed on the company's coastal and overseas services. But most of the work in the lower harbour was centred on its Port Chalmers Marine Repair Works, which closed in December 1975.
With its close proximity to the two dry docks, the works carried out annual surveys, dry dockings, refits and repairs to not only its own fleet, but also for other owners.
After the works closed, visits by units of the fleet to Port Chalmers were almost non-existent. The crane ship Ngahere turned up there on April 2, 1985, and departed two days later as the Operation Hope vessel with food supplies for Port Sudan.
A more interesting visitor to Beach St on Christmas Day, 1986, was the Australian-built 23,852gt Union Rotoiti. This large roll on/roll off vessel with its angled, port side stern ramp, built in 1977, had been converted from gas turbine to diesel propulsion.
But it was left to its 23,692gt sister ship Union Rotorua, built in 1976, and still operating as a gas turbine vessel, to finally sever the Union Company's proud record and history with this area. The ship made its first visit to Port Chalmers on May 16, 1992, and its 14th and last on April 1, 1993.
