Images of Industry

S.S. CARMARTHENSHIRE Entering Hong Kong Harbour April 23rd 1897

HONG KONG SCHOOL, 19th century

Date: 1897

Media: oil on fibreglass

Size: 445 x 595 mm

Acquired: 1993; Purchase

Accession Number: 1993.221

Having been completed by the famous Swan Hunter yard on the Tyne in 1887, the Carmarthenshire became one of the vessels of the famous Shire Line, established in London in 1860 by Captain David Jenkins. Jenkins was born in Exeter in 1824 to a family with its roots in Pembrokeshire, and he went on to establish the first regular shipping service from the UK to Japan in 1869. His ships all bore the names of Welsh counties and it was said that one had to be a Welshman to be considered for employment with the firm! Shire Line eventually became part of the great Royal Mail Group in 1907, but the Carmarthenshire had already been sold out of the service in 1901.

Comments (2)

Comments are currently unavailable. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Marc Haynes Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales Staff
28 July 2017, 15:01
Dear Ian Jenkins,

Thank you very much for your comment. Please visit the Print on Demand pages of our website (https://museum.wales/shop/category/2928/Prints/) for details about obtaining reproductions of images in our collections.

Best wishes,

Marc Haynes
Digital team
Ian Jenkins
28 July 2017, 12:08
My great great grandfather was David Jenkins, ship owner and MP for Falmouth and Penryn. Alas, the family fortune went the way of all flesh, but it would be nice to have a picture of one of his Shire Line vessels.
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