A presentation on the life of sailing ship owner and sea captain, Harrison Douglas (1857-1919). the presentation covers sailing in the Pacific and Tasman during the 1880's - 1915. Born in Whitehaven in the north-west of England, he based himself at Devonport in Auckland, New Zealand and sailed from there for over 35 years.

1. Captain Harrison Douglas
Master Mariner
1857 - 1919
Revisedandupdated7/1/15

2. Hello there Peter and John Douglas here ...
The following pages are an initial attempt to outline and
document some things of the “sea-life” of our
grandfather, Harrison Douglas.
When growing up we were exposed to story, reference
and anecdotes of his and our father’s family-life.
Many of the stories, names, incidents and
connections sounded like “the stuff of legends.” But,
with the advent of internet-broadband, some basic
online-searches have yielded up records from
newspapers, photograph libraries, maritime indexes
and general historical websites based in New
Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom and the USA;
these “finds” confirm, frame and expand the story.
Our first-purpose in these pages is to pass on to our own
slowly-aging children, some of the “Captain Harrison
Douglas legend” .. . . .. with more sea-legs than sea-
mist.
Peter Harrison (b1938) and John Charles (b1943)
Photos: top ca1948, lower 2008

3. Right: Photos of shipbuilding at
Harrington Harbour in the 1860’s
Left: Harrison Douglas, Second Mate

4. Harrison was born at Harrington Harbour, Cumbria,
Great Britain in 1857 and died in Auckland in
1919; he and Louisa (d.1942) are buried at
O’Neil’s Point Cemetery, Bayswater, Auckland.
The son of ship’s carpenter Jonathan Douglas he
went to sea at the age of twelve serving his
apprenticeship, was certified by the British
Board of Trade as a second mate in 1875 and
obtained his masters ticket in 1880 in Auckland
and later, extra-masters certification.
He settled at Devonport in Auckland where his
three children (Jack, Harry and Mary) and
subsequently his two grandsons were born.
From his Port of Auckland base he engaged for
over thirty-five years in both the transpacific
and inter-colonial shipping trade, as master
mariner, publican, ship owner, investor,
businessman and an influential opinion-leader
in the maritime industry.

6. Queen's Wharf, Auckland about 1905.
The view is looking along Queen's Wharf to the city with
west of Queen street, Gladstone's Coffee house, the new
Custom's House building back on Custom's Street, and then
the Harbour Board Building. Sailing ships berthed at the
tees, or fingers, have broken out their sails to dry after rain.

7. VESSEL* TYPE FORMER NAME BUILDER YEAR BUILT TONNAGE
YEAR ACQUIRED OR
SAILED BY H.
DOUGLAS
YEAR SOLD
Minnie Hare Schooner --
Lane & Brown,
Totara North,
Whangaroa
1874 50 gross ca1886 --
Clansman Schooner -- Not known ca1884 150 gross 1891 1896
Ngunguru Steamer --
Wm. Holmes,
Devonport,
Auckland
1893 105 gross 1893 --
Empreza Barque Empress Govan, Scotland 1865 236 gross 1896 1899
Aldebaran Barque -- Russia ca1885 349 gross 1899 --
Bankfields Barque
James
Beazley
Osborne,
Graham and Co.,
Sunderland
1876 859 gross 1908 --
Casablanca Barque --
T. Royden and
Sons, Liverpool
1868 601 gross 1910 1911
Rona Barque
Poly
Woodside
Workman, Clark
and Co., Belfast
1885 678 gross 1911 1914
*Vessels sailed/owned and sailed by Harrison Douglas in this presentation

8. Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XV,
Issue 5295, 8 October 1888, Page 2

9. Star , Issue 6523, 16 April 1889, Page 3

11. Auckland Star, Volume XX, Issue 295, 12 December 1889, Page 4

12. Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 107,
7 May 1890, Page 1
Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 34,
10 February 1891, Page 8
Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 267,
10 November 1891, Page 1
Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 287, 3
December 1891, Page 8

13. Evening Post, Volume XLI, Issue 146, 23 June 1891, Page 2
Note: The “P” Douglas is a typo, subsequent records
confirm his ownership of the Clansman.

15. Otago Witness , Issue 2189, 13 February 1896, Page 38

16. Northern Advocate , 9 December 1893, Page 5
The Ngunguru tied up at the Whakatane Hotel, 1899

17. Observer, Volume XV, Issue 877, 12 October 1895, Page 8
West Coast Times , Issue 10307, 24 June 1896, Page 4

18. The Brisbane Courier, Tuesday 15 December 1896, page3.
New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV,
Issue 10346, 22 January 1897, Page 4

19. Evening Post, Volume LV, Issue 28, 3 February 1898, Page 6
Evening Post, Volume LV, Issue 44, 22 February 1898, Page 6

20. Star , Issue 6254, 11 August 1898, Page 3
Empreza undergoing repairs,
Port Adelaide ca1890

21. Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 11126, 19 January 1899, Page 1
A Panorama of Auckland. 1905.
The view ranges from St. Patrick's
Cathedral on the left to Albert Park
on the right. The wooden tower to
the right of centre was the fire-
watching tower for the fire
station. Queen's Wharf and the
Railway Wharf are visible.

22. Evening Post, 17 October 1899, Page 4 - by telegraph from Onehunga, 16th October
Barque Aldebaran in basin,
Newcastle Harbour 1899

23. Evening Post, Volume LVIII, Issue 142, 13 December 1899, Page 6
Excursionists boarding at the Devonport Ferry Terminal.
The cheap and easy travel into town provided by the
introduction of electric trams in 1902 provided a huge
opportunity for the ferry companies and coastal steamers. The
trams enabled people to travel easily and quickly into the city
from the suburbs and day excursionist crowded on to the
vessels at weekends and holidays, it was cheap and took the
passengers out to the lovely near islands of Rangitoto,
Motuihe, Browns Island, Motutapu and Waiheke and to the
wharves at the vvarious bays on the city and North Shore. The
trippers were packed in ... there must have been some
regulation but one would not believe it when the vessels
seemed to have standing room only, with people sittting on the
rails and crowding every deck. There was competition to be
first away on a fine day and frequently the ferries and steamers
raced each other down harbour.

24. Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 11503, 6 April 1900, Page 3
The “Douglas’ boys” Harrison (Harry) and John (Jack) ca1899

25. Evening Post, Volume LXI, Issue 110, 11 May 1901, Page 4

26. Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9766, 11 June 1903, Page 4

27. Taranaki Herald, 16 February 1904, page 4

28. ca1906 – Harrison, Mary (b.1903), Jack, Harry, and Louisa

29. Evening Post, 15 May 1908, Page 6 - by telegraph.
Note: The “James Zeazley” is a typo, subsequent
records show name to be “James Beazley”.

30. Star , Issue 9322, 24 August 1908, Page 3
The Bankfields at Wallaroo, Australia

31. ca1910 – Jack, Louisa, Mary, Harry, and Harrison

32. Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 13693,
29 March 1910, Page 9
New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII,
Issue 14371, 16 May 1910, Page 4
Dominion, Volume 4, Issue
1166, 29 June 1911, Page 9

33. Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 52, 30 August 1911, Page 8
Rona at sea in full sail

34. Steam builds up as sails slide down . . .
During the time Captain Douglas gradually closed his sailing days, cargos
“carried-by-sail” were progressively affected by the “Great War” and the “rise-of-
steam” – an indicator seen in the Rona’s increasing cartage of Australian coal
from Newcastle to New Zealand ports . . .
Otago Daily Times , Issue 16373, 3
May 1915, Page 4
Sun, Volume II, Issue 368, 15 April 1915, Page 6
New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15582,
14 April 1914, Page 5
Coal loading at Newcastle,
New South Wales ca 1910

35. Rona on the rocks Pencarrow Heads 1921
Lynda Paris (nee Douglas) eldest great granddaughter of Captain Harrison Douglas beside the
Polywoodside (formerly Rona) moored in Melbourne, Australia as a museum site 3/3/2013.

36. Auckland slipways and scows. 1911.
For those who know present day Auckland this brings home the extensive changes that have taken place over the years. The location
from which this view is seen is now in the heart of The America Cup Village and the Viaduct Basin is 100 metres or so behind the
viewer. The location can clearly be identified even today for the yellow building behind the scow on the slip is that of Foster's Ship
Chandlery which is still there at the bottom of Hobson Street. Gleason's Hotel on the right, a notorious seamen's' pub, is no longer there.
The scow Alltair, one of the few hold scows, is on the slipway of the well known firm of Bailey and Lowe. The other two scows are
theBee and the Hobsonville. Harrison Douglas II served his apprenticeship as a boatbuilder and shipwright with Bailey’s

37. The “original Douglas boys and the sea” . . .
Both of Harrison’s sons working life was connected
to the sea.
Our father Harry served his apprenticeship as a
boat-builder and shipwright, and except for a
break of nearly four years to serve in the New
Zealand Army overseas during WWI, spent his
life in that trade mainly working for the
Auckland Harbour Board. He became the
Dockmaster of the Calliope Dock at Devonport.
Jack studied marine engineering rising to the
Merchant Navy rank of Chief Engineer. While
serving with the British Phosphate Commission
in 1940 his ship (Triaster) was sunk by a German
raider and he spent three and a half years in a
German POW camp for merchant marine
officers.
Jack and Minnie
(nee: Mactier) 1957
Harry and Dorothea
(nee: Liddell) 1965

38. Harry as an apprentice, 1911
Cantilever loading of phosphate at Nauru Island, 1939
Jack (back row, second left) with an international group of
fellow Merchant Navy officer POW’s in Germany, July 1941
Calliope Dock,
Devonport

39. At Devonport ca1921 – Mary, Jack, Louisa, and Harry

40. Reference SourcesReference Sources
Papers Past Website (NZ)
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
New Zealand Maritime Index
http://www.maritimemuseum.co.nz/
State Library of Victoria
http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=MAIN
State Library of South Australia
http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm
National Library of Australia
http://www.pictureaustralia.org/
Newcastle Cultural Collections
http://collections.ncc.nsw.gov.au
Digital New Zealand
http://search.digitalnz.org/
The Maritime Paintings of Roger Morris
http://www.seapainter.com/index.htm
Harrington Photographic Archive (UK)
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/photoarchive/index.html
Index of Workington and Harrington Sailing Ships (UK)
http://www.mightyseas.co.uk/marhist/workington_harrington/workington_harrington_index.htm
The Mother of All Maritime Links (USA)
http://www.boat-links.com/linklists/boatlink-39.html
The Magnolia Box
http://www.magnoliabox.com/
Rose, John. Akarana: The Ports of Auckland. Auckland: AHB, 1971.
Douglas Family Collection of photographs, postcards and documents 1857 - 2013