Shipping Lines - Going back to a time when tall ships looked in on River Street

From the early 1880s until the first few years of the following century over 80 of the world’s sailing ships berthed at Montrose to take on dressed boards from the sawmills and planing sheds of Messrs. Robert Millar & Sons based along the Ferry Road area.

Before mechanical equipment such as forklifts all the timber had to be handled individually. I can remember an elderly lady member of the former St. Andrew’s Church in George Street, telling me that many workmen could be seen walking round Montrose with one shoulder lower than the other for a couple of weeks after a “batten boat” had been in the port.

Timber was stacked round the quayside awaiting shipment to Melbourne, Sydney and Fremantle, with an occasional cargo to Launceston.

While most were tall ships there was also a rare steamship employed in the trade. The few were owned, for example, the Sandon and Wastwater, by Messrs. Huddart, Parker Pty. an important Australian-based steamship company one of whose principals was Montrose-born and educated John Traill who, together, with his brother David, gifted substantial sums for town improvements including Traill Pavilion, still a popular venue today.

John migrated to Geelong before moving “up country” to Melbourne, where he established himself in the business district of the city with offices in Collins Street and an impressive domestic property in St Kilda Road. The house was photographed by Montrose couple Mr and Mrs Sweetmore while on a recent tour of Australia and shown to be in excellent condition externally.

Victorian journalists had a way with words especially when describing an event in the pages of the “Review” in September 13, 1889. Under the heading of ‘Sailing of the Ship Wavertree’: “The full-rigged ship Wavertree, of Liverpool, 2.118 tons register, left here on Monday afternoon (sic) for Melbourne with a cargo of dressed wood for Melbourne from Messrs R. Millar & Sons/ The Wavertree which was drawing nineteen and a half feet forward and 20 and a half feet aft left the deep water berth a little after 2 p.m. in the tow of three tugs. She went down the river in fine style accompanied by the tug John Batey until she was a few miles off.

“Owing to the direction of the wind the vessel proceeded northwards, it being the captain’s intention to pass through the Pentland Firth. As the Wavertree is the largest ship which ever entered the harbour here she has excited a good deal of interest and a large crowd had gathered to see her sailing. We are informed it is not the intention of the Messrs Millar to charter another large ship for some time to come”.

Another brief article on the same subject made the correction that the largest ship to enter the port was the Cressington being 42 tons heavier and sailed in February, 1890