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Ballande & Fils (Shipping company, New Caledonia)

House flag of Ballande - Image by Dominique Cureau, 21 December 2005

Presentation of Ballande
House flag of Ballande
Compagnie Navale de l'Océanie
Compagnie Navale et Commerciale de l'Océanie
Société des Voiliers de Nouméa
Société Anonyme des Hauts Fourneaux de Nouméa
Comptoirs Français des Nouvelles-Hébrides

See also:

New Caledonia

Presentation of Ballande

In 1863, the shipowner Armand Ballande, from Bordeaux, sent his first ships to Port-de-France (later Nouméa. Ballande became swiftly a main shipowner in New Caledonia. In 1887, his son Louis Ballande was granted a contract by the Ministry of Marine and Colonies for the resupplying of the colony. He operated on the line Bordeaux-Papeete (Tahiti)-Nouméa mixed passenger and cargo sailboats. At the end of XIXth century, the family Ballande invested its fortune in vineyards near Bordeaux and nickel mines in New Caledonia.

Ballande created several maritime subsidiaries like Société des Voiliers de Nouméa and Compagnie Navale de l'Océanie. In 1930, some parts of this company were overtaken by Messageries Maritimes.
In 2005, the group Ballande, essentially located in New Caledonia, was involved in several industrial branches such as nickel mines in New Caledonia, general trade in the Pacific Ocean, and trade of wine and spirits in France and Australia. They still have a maritime subsidiary, Compagnie Wallisienne de Navigation.

Dominique Cureau & Ivan Sache, 21 December 2005

The Log, published by Nautical Association of Australia Inc. in November 1989, gives indeed Compagnie Navale de l'Océanie as a subsidiary of Ballande. Société Anonyme des Hauts Fourneaux de Nouméa are also given as being associated through another article by the same magazine in 1986. This article states that Ballande & Fils were taken over by Société Anonyme Calédonia which in turn was taken over by Société Le Nickel, which later became Société Caledonickel. The Log article was made with imput from R. Pelletier who had been the Sydney representative of Ballande.

Neale Rosanoski, 21 December 2005

House flag of Ballande

The house flag of Ballande is shown on the cover of a 1914 book. It is vertically divided blue-red-blue (c. 1:4:1) with a white lozenge on the red stripe charged with the black letters B & F (for Ballande & Fils).

Neale Rosanoski & Ivan Sache, 21 December 2005

Compagnie Navale de l'Océanie

House flag of CNO, as shown by The Log - Images by Dominique Cureau, 21 December 2005
Left, flag used in the Nouméa, Saigon and Australia trade
Right, flag used on the European run (for instance by the Saint-André)

The Log (op. cit.) shows two flags for CNO, both derived from the Ballande house flag by replacing B&F by CNO, in black.

Another house flag of CNO, as shown by The Log - Image by Dominique Cureau, 21 December 2005

shows a third house flag for the Saint-François, 1913-1921, with a blue C, a black N and a red O. The funnel base colour not mentioned but from the black and white hatchings it was a light red.

Neale Rosanoski & Ivan Sache, 21 December 2005

House flag of CNO - Images by Dominique Cureau, 21 December 2005
Left, as shown by in Lloyd's book of house flags and funnels of the principal steamship lines of the world and the house flags of various lines of sailing vessels, published at Lloyd's Royal Exchange. London. E.C. (1911), also available online thanks to the Mystic Seaport Foundation
Right, as shown on Jean Bruneau's chart

Lloyd's book and Bruneau show the house flag of CNO with black letters. Bruneau shows a blue border all round the flag instead of two blue stripes on the top and bottom of the flag.

House flag of CNO, as shown by Jean Randier (Grands Voiliers Français) - Image by Dominique Cureau, 21 December 2005

Jean Randier shows the flag of CNO with a blue border and the letters C.N.O. in blue.

Dominique Cureau & Ivan Sache, 21 December 2005

Compagnie Navale et Commerciale de l'Océanie

House flag of NCO - Image by Dominique Cureau, 21 December 2005

The Numistoria website shows a bond of Compagnie Navale et Commerciale de l'Océanie. The flag shown on the bond is similar to the CNO flag but with the letters NCO instead of CNO.

Dominique Cureau & Ivan Sache, 21 December 2005

Société des Voiliers de Nouméa

House flag of Voiliers de Nouméa - Image by Dominique Cureau, 21 December 2005

The house flag of Voiliers de Nouméa is similar to the CNO flag but with the letters V.N. instead of CNO.

Dominique Cureau & Ivan Sache, 21 December 2005

Société Anonyme des Hauts Fourneaux de Nouméa

House flag of Hauts Fourneaux de Nouméa - Image by Dominique Cureau, 21 December 2005

The house flag of HFN, as shown in The Log (op. cit.) for the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul and by Randier, is similar to the flag of CNO but with the letters HFN instead of CNO.

Neale Rosanoski & Ivan Sache, 21 December 2005

Comptoirs Français des Nouvelles-Hébrides

House flag of CFH - Image by Dominique Cureau, 21 December 2005

The Log (op. cit.) gives little detail on this company, saying only that they operated the Saint-André which was not the same vessel of that name also shown for CNO. The company is not domiciled but by the livery style the article assumed it could be connected with Ballande & Fils which would seem to date it before the Second World war. The black and white hatchings suggest a lighter shade of blue than used by the other companies. There is a Comptoirs Français des Nouvelles-Hébrides appearing in Lloyds from the 1960s until the early 1990s, based in Port Vila and operating two small coasters, but I suspect it is not the same company.

The house flag of CFN is similar to the flag of CNO but with the letters CFH instead of CNO.