The Natal Line (Bullard, King & Co. Ltd., managers) with services to South African ports was established around 1850 with sailing ships. Ten years later the White Cross Line of sailing ships was established. The first steamer in the fleet was Pongola of 1,449 grt built in 1879 for the Natal Direct Line to carry passengers direct to Durban and later East African ports. In 1889, sailings to Durban from India began to carry labourers to work the sugar plantations. In 1911, immigration from India was stopped and eight years later Bullard, King & Co. Ltd. were taken over by Union-Castle Line but kept their independent identity and colours. The Natal Line was never well documented even though it formed an important part of Union-Castle Line from 1919 and British & Commonwealth Group fleet from 1955.

Edwin John King and Lewis D. King remained as directors of the company, with R. N. King as company secretary, after the 1919 takeover, but Sir Owen Cosby Philipps, later Lord Kylsant, was appointed to the Board. Lord Kylsant was later arrested and summoned for fraud on 13th May 1931 under Section 84 of the Larceny Act of 1861, in connection with the issuing in 1928 of a false prospectus for the Royal Mail Group, of which Union- Castle Line was a member, and overstating the financial position of the Royal Mail Group. Many British shipping companies and the shipbuilder Harland & Wolff Ltd. failed financially, and Lord Kylsant was found guilty and served one year in jail. The Royal Mail Group was resurrected financially in 1933 by the amalgamation of many famous British shipping companies.

The Natal Line had a fleet of a dozen mostly Sunderland built steamers in 1919, but this figure had halved to six steamers by 1934 when the order for the first of the three identical coal burning steamers was placed with the Neptune yard of Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd. The rationale behind the choice of fuel was the very plentiful supplies of coal at Durban and in British ports. The name of Umtata was chosen for the first of the trio, as it was also the first Zulu African tribal name beginning with ‘Um’ in 1883. This steamer of 1,789 grt had been wrecked in 1891 near Madras, with Umtata (2) of 2,655 grt built in 1898 giving twenty six years of service to the company before being scrapped. The funnel colours were unusual, being a yellow funnel with a black top and a central chocolate brown band, and the hull colours were light grey with chocolate brown boot topping. The houseflag was red with a white cross with a centrally placed white rectangle carrying the letters ‘B.K. & Co.’ in red.

The new Umtata (3), yard number 1480, was launched on 30th August 1935 and completed in November 1935. Umtali, yard number 1492, the second sister was launched on 24th January 1936 and completed in July 1936, and Umgeni, yard number 1556, the last of the trio, was launched on 17th January 1938 and completed in May 1938. There had been one previous Umgeni in the fleet, a steamer of 2,662 grt completed in 1898 that had sunk in bad weather in convoy in November 1917, and also one previous Umtali of 2,641 grt completed in 1896 and sold to Yugoslavian owners in 1925 and renamed Sohn.

Umtata, Umtali And Umgeni

The trio were designed with a slightly raked stem, cruiser stern and long bridge superstructure of 210 feet, on dimensions of length overall of 468 feet, moulded beam of 61 feet, and moulded depth to Upper Deck of 35 feet six inches, and loaded draft of 25 feet six inches. The gross tonnage varied from 8,140 for Umtata to 8,180 in Umgeni, and the trio had accommodation for 108 First Class passengers, the most of any ship in the Natal Line fleet, as well as for 130,000 cubic feet of insulated cargo of South African fruit, the total deadweight being 8,300 tonnes. They were twin screw vessels, powered by two triple expansion steam engines boosted by twin Bauer- Wach exhaust steam turbines to deliver 7,200 shaft horse power and a good service speed of fifteen knots. This speed was sufficient to meet the needs of time contracts involved in the carriage of fruit and dairy produce to London. Umtata, as built, could be distinguished from the later identical pair of sisters of Umtali and Umgeni by her shorter and less raked funnel, and also by her less raked bow, and differences in the size of her windows on Bridge Deck. However, the aft promenading decks of Umtata proved somewhat smut ridden due to her shorter funnel, and it was soon increased in height to give more distinction and elegance to the design.

The trio had two continuous steel decks, the Upper Deck and Main Deck, the passenger accommodation being on the Upper Deck and the Bridge Deck of 210 feet in length. They had four cargo holds with two insulated ‘tween decks in numbers one and three holds but only one insulated ‘tween deck in numbers two and four holds. The lower hold in number one hold was also insulated for the carriage of fruit. The Boat Deck above Bridge Deck was 160 feet in length and had six lifeboats of 27 feet in length, as well as the dayroom and bedroom for the Master and the cabins for Chief Officer, Second Officer, Third Officer and Radio Officer and the Radio Room. The exposed weather decks of the superstructure were sheathed with white wood, two and one half inches in thickness.

The trio had six watertight transverse bulkheads up to the level of the Upper Deck, with the fore peak for water ballast and the aft peak for fresh water. The cellular double bottom was subdivided into compartments for water ballast, fresh water and boiler feed water. The coal bunker hold was forward of the boiler room and engine room, with coaling done through a coal hatch on Boat Deck and vertical coal shoots through Bridge Deck and Upper Deck. The purser, chief steward, storekeepers and engineers were accommodated on the starboard side of the Upper Deck, together with the purser’s office, bakery, butcher’s shop, pantries, baggage room, bullion room, linen room and stores issuing room. The 32 Goanese stewards were quartered in a house on the poop deck, while the Lascar native crew that made up the total crew of ninety were accommodated in the poop ‘tween decks, with two native galleys provided in the poop area.

Passenger Accommodation

The passenger accommodation was to a very high standard with 32 passengers accommodated in two berth cabins on Bridge Deck, and 76 passengers accommodated in two or three berth cabins on the port side of Upper Deck, the outboard cabins being for two persons and the inboard cabins for three persons. Every cabin was furnished with a wardrobe and dressing table in polished hardwood, with fresh hot and cold water to the wash basin with a splash panel above. A cane chair, curtains, carpets, bedside lights, mirrors completed the room, with a toilet fitted in every cabin, and a folding Pullman bed in the three berth cabins. The passenger cabins were very spacious and there were ample deck areas for promenading. The public rooms were as follows:-

The Dining Room on Upper Deck was furnished in modern style and panelled in figured birch wood of light colour, the window and door frames being in cross banded birch of a darker shade. The room occupied the full width of the vessel and could accommodate all 108 passengers in a single sitting, with a central table for eighteen people, and tables for six and four spread throughout the room. A serving bar was provided outside and to the aft of the Dining Room.

The Lounge was a spacious and well lit room at the forward end of Bridge Deck, and was entered from the Entrance Hall through glass panelled doors. Large casement windows were fitted in the side walls, and the panelling was in figured African mahogany cross banded with Sapele mahogany. The window breasts and canopies were also of Sapele mahogany, with comfortable upholstered chairs, sofas and settees and tables of hardwood. There were bookcases at the sides of the room, as well as a piano and piano stool, and attractive floor coverings and carpets. This was a very comfortable room with a relaxed atmosphere for the passengers.

The Smoking Room was at the aft end of Bridge Deck with walls panelled in figured oak, limed to a light fawn colour, and relieved by bands of green strapping. Large windows subdivided into twelve sections were fitted, with furniture of dark polished oak, with dark brown leather armchairs and wooden easy chairs, and tables with reversible hardwood tops covered with green baize on the reverse side. This was a very elegant and relaxing room fitted with a well stocked bar, and with patterned flooring and mats on the inside of the wooden double side doors.

The Verandah Café to the aft of the Smoking Room was open at its after end, and was simply furnished in cane chairs and settees and teak topped tables inlaid with other woods. It provided a cooler retreat from the other stifling rooms in the heat of the Tropics.

The Entrance Halls on the Bridge and Upper Decks were panelled in a light coloured mahogany, relieved by a frieze in cross banded Sapele mahogany. The two flights of stairs in hardwood were fitted with an ornamental wrought iron balustrade featuring ‘sun’ patterns, the handrail being of hardwood. The other essential rooms for passengers included a combined hairdresser and shop that featured birch wood furnishings, the doctor’s room and surgery, a hospital with adjoining bathrooms, and a portable swimming pool could also be rigged in the Tropics. Electrically driven fans if too hot or heaters if too cold were fitted in all of the public rooms, and background music could also be provided by a relayed electrical installation.

Main Engines

The main propelling machinery of the trio was very interesting, being twin triple expansion steam engines boosted by twin Bauer-Wach exhaust steam turbines. There were over three hundred sets of Bauer-Wach exhaust steam turbines in service in 1935 when Umtata was delivered, of which over sixty had been constructed by the Neptune engine works of Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd. The fitting of an exhaust steam turbine is the mechanical equivalent of an enormously large flywheel on the engine shaft. This has a marked effect on the motion of the reciprocating engine, as the noise and clatter associated with this type of prime mover disappears almost completely as soon as the turbines are switched into action. Consequently, wear and tear are largely reduced, and the racing of the propeller in heavy weather is almost entirely suppressed with a resulting increase in the ship’s speed. This results in a large saving in fuel consumption and in the general maintenance costs of the triple expansion steam machinery. The twin Bauer- Wach exhaust steam turbines were circular in cross section, but small enough not to cause overcrowding of machinery in the engine room.

Steam was generated in four Scotch single ended marine boilers each of 17.5 feet in diameter and 12.5 feet long. Each boiler had four furnaces and burned hand fired coal under conditions of forced draught. The boilers were fitted with air heaters of the Howden corrugated plate type and superheaters of the smoke-tube design, and the working steam pressure was 225 psi. The triple expansion steam engines were of modern design with the high pressure cylinders fitted with poppet valves. The diameters of the high pressure, intermediate pressure and low pressure cylinders were 22.5, 38 and 63 inches respectively, and the stroke was 39 inches. The auxiliary equipment consisted of two main condensers connected to the exhaust turbines, boiler feed pumps, fresh water distillation system, two steam driven generator sets for the ship’s lighting, a diesel driven generator in case of emergencies, as well as bilge pumps, fire pumps and brine circulating pumps.

Deck Machinery

The foremast and mainmast were fitted with eight tubular steel cargo derricks of five tonnes capacity, and one heavy lift derrick of 25 tonnes capacity was fitted on the foremast. The eight steam winches were supplied by Clarke, Chapman & Co. Ltd. of Gateshead, with each exerting a pull of five tonnes direct from the barrel with a warping end of one foot diameter and an eleven inch diameter whipping drum. The two winches at number two hatch were arranged to work together on a common set of blocks and could deal with a load of twenty tonnes at a speed of twenty feet per minute. Two steel tube derricks were fitted behind the bridge for coaling purposes, each mounted on a derrick post and rigged for lifts of two tonnes. A Clarke Chapman steam driven winch capable of exerting a force of over three tonnes direct from the barrel was provided to operate this pair of derricks.

A Clarke Chapman steam driven windlass was provided, and for warping purposes a Clarke Chapman horizontal steam winch was provided in the steering gear compartment on the poop deck and fitted with an extended shaft carrying the necessary warping ends. The steam driven steering gear was provided by Donkin & Co. Ltd. of Walker on Tyne, and the gear was operated by an inverted vertical steam engine. The tiller of cast steel was connected by springs to a steel quadrant mounted loosely on the rudder stock. The steering gear was controlled from the navigating bridge by a Donkin duplex ram hydraulic telemotor, and mechanical control was also provided from each side of the docking bridge. The rudder was of the semi balanced, double plated and streamlined type.

Refrigeration And Ventilation Of Cargo

The insulated cargo holds were cooled and ventilated by the circulation of cold air, and the necessary temperature was attained by means of six air cooling batteries, each having a separate highly efficient fan. The refrigerating system used circulating brine filled pipes, and each fan was capable of changing the air in the hold spaces forty times per hour. The air trunking was of galvanised steel and provided cool air on the long six week voyage from Durban, Mauritius, Beira and Lourenco Marques to London, Hull, Middlesbrough and Hamburg. The refrigerating equipment for ice making and dealing with the insulated provision stores consisted of two electrically controlled triple cylinder methy chloride machines. A marine pattern ice tank with a direct expansion coil was installed, and the whole of the refrigerated equipment was supplied by J. & E. Hall Ltd. of Dartford. Siemens Brothers provided two sets of thermometer tubes and thermometers to give two temperature readings for each of the insulated holds, the recording machine being located in the refrigeration room.

Navigation And Safety Equipment

The navigating equipment consisted of direction finders, magnetic compasses, telegraphs, and loudspeaker telephone links from the bridge to the fo’c’stle and poop in connection with docking operations, and with the engine room via a three way switch and indicator. The engine room telephone was provided in a noise proof box to give instant communication with the navigating bridge and the Chief Engineer’s cabin. The reply engine room telegraphs, the steering and docking telegraphs and alarm indicators were provided by Chadburn’s Telegraph Co. Ltd. of Bootle.

The six lifeboats were of 27 feet in length and capable of accommodating 45 persons. In addition, two emergency boats of 22 feet in length were stowed on the docking bridge aft. A steam fire extinguisher system as well as smoke detectors was fitted in all of the cargo holds and ‘tween decks. Outbreaks of fire in the accommodation were dealt with by dozens of Miramax fire extinguishers, as well as long lengths of hose connected to an ample water supply. Fire resistant doors and bulkheads in the accommodation were essential to contain the spread of fire and limit the damage. Bridge controlled alarm circuits were fitted throughout the vessels, with loud bells and gongs in the passenger accommodation, buzzers in the crew quarters, and klaxon horns in the engine room.

World War II

The trio of Umtata, Umtali and Umgeni each achieved a flat out maximum trials speed of seventeen knots on the Newbiggin Measured Mile off Northumberland. Outward voyages were made from the West India Dock in London via the Canaries and the South Atlantic to Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban, Lourenco Marques and Beira with inducement callas at Cape Town if cargo offered. The homeward fully loaded voyages with fruit, dairy produce and general cargo, or sugar from Mauritius were made via the South Atlantic. First Class passenger fares to Durban were a mere £48 in prewar days, a similar cruise today would cost many thousands of pounds.

The Natal Line fleet on the outbreak of war on 3rd September 1939 consisted of this new trio plus three other vessels, these being Umvoti of 7,270 dwt built back in 1903 as Comrie Castle and purchased in 1924, Umona of 5,450 dwt built in 1910 by the Laing yard on the Wear, and Umvuma of 6,730 dwt built by the same yard in 1914. Umvoti was sunk as a blockship at Folkestone harbour in 1940. Umtali and Umgeni were both in port in the West India Dock in London on the heavy German bombing raids on London Docks between 7th and 11th September 1940. This blitz lasted for five nights and eighteen ships were seriously damaged or sunk during this reign of terror. Umgeni was much more seriously damaged than Umtali, both were repaired over the following month. Umtali rescued the crew of the Denholm tramp Mountpark on 26th April 1941 after she had been sunk by air attack off Tory Island, Ireland while on a voyage from Bahia Blanca to Manchester with grain, but six crew members were lost. Umgeni was attacked by a Focke Wulf ‘Condor’ south west of Ireland on 21st May 1941, but was not damaged and the long range reconnaissance bomber was brought down by convoy gunfire.

The beautiful and warm tropical Caribbean island of St. Lucia was the last port of call at Castries for Umtata in March 1942. She arrived with a cargo of mineral ore, but during a daring raid by U-161 on entering the narrow harbour, she was torpedoed in the stern at the Visby Wharf and settled on the harbour bottom by the stern. Lady Nelson of Canadian National Line was also sunk during the same raid on 9th March, both ships being salvaged over the next two or more months. Umtata, however, did not return to service, as she was sunk while under tow to Port Everglades by the tug Edmund J. Moran by U-571 (Mohlmann) on 7th July 1942 close inshore off the south western tip of Florida to the south of Miami. Fortunately, her crew of ninety had escaped injury at Castries on St. Lucia and during her later sinking.

The old Umona built in 1910 under Capt. Peckham lost no fewer than 82 crew, two gunners and fifteen passengers when she was torpedoed and sunk by U- 124 ninety miles off Freetown on 30th March 1941 while on a voyage from Durban and Walvis Bay for Freetown and London with maize, pulses and jam. The radio officer of Umona stayed at his post sending out distress signals until the last moment and then jumped over her side as she went down. However, this was not the end of his ordeal, which he shared with a gunner clinging to a raft and being circled by sharks. Four days later, a submarine was sighted which turned out to be their vanquisher U-124, and after some meagre supplies of food and water were passed to the two survivors, she submerged. The radio officer died before rescue came, but the gunner was rescued after a terrible ordeal in the baking sun of twelve days, one of only three survivors.

Umvuma of 1914 lost seventeen crew, one gunner and four passengers when torpedoed and sunk on 7th August 1943 ten miles short of her destination of Port Louis on Mauritius to load sugar. Seventy two crew, seven gunners and eight passengers survived and were landed at Port Louis. The Natal Line and Bullard, King & Co. Ltd. as managers were left with only the sisters Umtali and Umgeni, and the new twin screw turbine powered Umtata (4) of 7,288 grt and 9,578 dwt, launched on 1st September 1943 and completed in January 1944 by the Neptune yard of Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd.

Post-War Careers

The Natal Line fleet received another cargo-liner in 1948 to boost the fleet to four vessels. This was Empire Kinsman of 10,000 dwt renamed as Umzinto, which gave eight years of service until being sold on to Costa Rican owners in 1956. The fleet continued to load at the south berths of the West India Docks in London until Umtali and Umgeni were sold in 1957 to Elder Dempster & Co. Ltd. for their West African trade and were renamed Calabar and Winneba respectively. This surviving pair of cargo/passenger ships had been renovated and converted to burn oil fuel in post-war years, and thus could still make a profit on a new monthly passenger service from Tilbury to West Africa. Elder Dempster Lines made considerable improvements to both their crew and passenger accommodation. They ran from the Thames to Madeira, Freetown, Takoradi and Apapa. They were popular ships with their all yellow funnels and grey hulls until they were displaced by passenger air transport from London at the end of 1962. The Elder Dempster Lines West African service then continued with their passenger liners from Liverpool. Calabar arrived at Inverkeithing on 6th January 1963 for demolition, and her sister Winneba arrived at the end of that month at Antwerp to suffer the same fate.

The British & Commonwealth Group had been formed in 1955 from the merger of Clan Line and Union-Castle Line, and Natal Line thus also came under this umbrella group as it was owned by Union- Castle Line. Four vessels were then transferred from Clan Line and one from Scottish Shire Line in the years between 1957 and 1960. The war built ‘Empire’ steamers Clan Angus ex Empire Prince, Clan Alpine ex Empire Barrie, and Clan Allan ex Empire Forest, became Umkuzi, Umvoti and Umtali respectively. The much newer and handsome cargo-liner Clan Robertson of 7,878 grt and 10,118 dwt completed in 1954 was transferred five years later to Natal Line and renamed Umzinto. The cargo-liner Lanarkshire of 8,176 grt and 9,830 dwt, completed in 1940 by the Greenock Dockyard Ltd., was transferred to Natal Line in 1960 and renamed Umgazi. However, Umkuzi, Umvoti and Umtali were re-registered under Clan Line in 1959.

The three vessel fleet of Natal Line was transferred in a reorganisation of the South African trades to Springbok Line of South Africa towards the end of 1960 and renamed as follows:-

Umgazi ex Lanarkshire of 1940 renamed Grysbok

Umzinto ex Clan Robertson of 1954 renamed Rooibok

Umtata (4) built on the Tyne in 1944 renamed as Klipbok

Umtata (4) arrived for breaking up at Yokosuka in Japan in September 1961, and Umzinto ex Clan Robertson was the last of the Natal Line steamers when she arrived for breaking up at Kaohsiung on 26th November 1975. The reorganisation and transfer to Springbok Line had thus brought to an end a long history of 110 years of Natal Line and had owned 38 steamers and many more sailing ships. The ships had served the eastern provinces of South Africa and entered the beautiful port of Durban through the narrow channel passing ‘The Bluff’ many hundreds of times.