The District Commissioner
Addendum 5: Steamship Trading Company Limited
Additional information for Chapter 2 - New Guinea calls
The retired sea captain and Tasmanian apple farmer, Algernon Sydney Fitch, (1181 to 1972) founded the business to run salvage operations in Australia. In 1919 he sailed the company’s first ship, the “SS Queenscliffe”, to Port Moresby and traded along the Papuan coast. The first cargo run per the online source www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/steamships-trading-company-ltd was “25 coconut fibre sacks, 15 pounds of tobacco, and a case of condensed milk”.
In 1924 the public company was formed and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. By the mid 1930s the enterprise had grown to a chain of several stores in PNG. In 1992 it bought the retail and hardware stores of rival Burns Philp for AUD $24 million. It was the first company to list on the Port Moresby Stock Exchange in 1999.
Over the years it bought into and sold out of plantations and Coca Cola bottling operations, and diversified into retail, auto dealerships, transport, manufacturing, hotels, and information technology. Today it is one of the largest private employers in PNG. By 2003, only 70 of Steamships' 4,000 employees were expatriates.
Sales turnover in 2021 was almost K$565m with net profit of K$91m across the logistics businesses (Consort Express Lines, East West Transport, Joint Venture Port Services, and Pacific Towing), Property and Hospitality (Coral Seas Hotels and Pacific Palms Property) and commercial (Colgate – Palmolive joint venture).
Its main competitors are MBF Carpenters Limited and P&O PNG Ltd.​​​​​
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This photo was sourced online 24 May, 2022 and it was uploaded online 11 October, 2019 by Geoff Hancock.
The narrative accompanying the photo was “Pipi Gari & Algernon Fitch...Port Moresby 1971. Pipi Gari, from Elevala, was the first qualified Papuan ships Captain, appointed by Captain Fitch (the founder of Steamships Trading Co) in 1929. He had a coastal vessel named after him, & Pipi Gari Street in Korobosea is also named after him. He spent most of his life at sea and as a young boy travelled on several Hiri voyages. He was more than 100 years old when this photo was taken. Captain Fitch passed away in 1972, aged 91.”
This photo is of Port Moresby in 1968. The photo was taken by Howard Stephenson. This Steamships building in Port Moresby was burnt down in 1977.
Photo was sourced 22 May, 2022 from an online posting by Geua Boe-Gibson 11 April, 2015.
This photo is of the Steamships store on Champion Parade in 1972 and was posted by Jimmy Pythias online.
This building replaced earlier company buildings on the same site dating from 1924 and was opened in 1952. It was burnt down in 1977 and replaced by a new building in 2007.
This photo is of the interior of the Steamships Trading store in Port Moresby in the 1960’s.
The photo from the Chris Read collection was sourced from https://www.pngaa.net/Photo_Gallery/GoldenOldies/portmoresby3.html and is provided courtesy of the PNGAA
This photo is of the Steamships Trading Company in Popondetta, Northern Province in 1966.
Photo by Patrol Officer Dennis Ludbrook was sourced online.