Irrawaddy Flotilla Company
Encyclopedia
The Irrawaddy Flotilla Company (IFC) was a passenger and cargo ferry
company, which operated services on the Irrawaddy River in Burma, now Myanmar. The IFC was Scottish-owned, and was managed by P Henderson & Company
from Glasgow
. The IFC operated from 1865 until the late 1940s. At its peak in the late 1920s, the IFC fleet was the largest fleet of river boats in the world, consisting of over 600 vessels carrying some 9 million passengers a year.
. Click here to see a photograph of Beeloo, a mail steamer of the IFC.
The ferry became indispensable to the oil fields up river at Yenangyaung
and Chauk
for carrying supplies and heavy equipment. Partly because the railway to Mandalay followed the path of the Sittaung River rather than the Irrawaddy River, the company stayed relevant and useful well into the twentieth century, even after independence from Britain.
The ships, which were paddle steamer
s, were built in Scotland, before being dismantled and transported to Burma for reassembly. When the Japanese invaded Burma in World War II
, Manager of the IFC's Burma fleet, John Morton, ordered the scuttling of all 600 ships in his fleet. This supreme act of denial prevented the Japanese from having a usable, local fleet for transport up the Irrawaddy River. In 1948 the company was reconstituted as the Government Inland Water Transport Board.
:
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
company, which operated services on the Irrawaddy River in Burma, now Myanmar. The IFC was Scottish-owned, and was managed by P Henderson & Company
P Henderson & Company
P Henderson & Company, also known as Paddy Henderson, was a ship owning and management company based in Glasgow, Scotland and operating to Burma. Patrick Henderson started business in Glasgow as a merchant at the age of 25 in 1834...
from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. The IFC operated from 1865 until the late 1940s. At its peak in the late 1920s, the IFC fleet was the largest fleet of river boats in the world, consisting of over 600 vessels carrying some 9 million passengers a year.
Beginnings
The IFC was formed in 1865, primarily to ferry troops up and down the Irrawaddy River and delta. Soon, the company was carrying passengers, rice, government stores, and mail from Rangoon to Prome and, in 1868, to BhamoBhamo
Bhamo is a city of Kachin State in northernmost part of Myanmar, located 186 km south from the capital city of Myitkyina. It is on the Ayeyarwady River. It lies within 65 km of the border with Yunnan Province, China. The population consists of Chinese and Shan, with Kachin peoples in...
. Click here to see a photograph of Beeloo, a mail steamer of the IFC.
The ferry became indispensable to the oil fields up river at Yenangyaung
Yenangyaung
Yenangyaung is a city in Magway Division, Myanmar, on the Irrawaddy River.-History:For centuries, the dominant industry in the area has been petroleum. It began as an indigenous oil industry, with hand-dug wells, and from 1755 onwards, early British soldier-diplomats began to note its existence...
and Chauk
Chauk
Chauk is a town and river port in Magway Division, north-central Myanmar, on the Irrawaddy River. It is located across the river from Seikpyu and is connected by a bridge. In 1902, the Chauk-Lonywa oil field was discovered near Chauk.-Economy:...
for carrying supplies and heavy equipment. Partly because the railway to Mandalay followed the path of the Sittaung River rather than the Irrawaddy River, the company stayed relevant and useful well into the twentieth century, even after independence from Britain.
The ships, which were paddle steamer
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
s, were built in Scotland, before being dismantled and transported to Burma for reassembly. When the Japanese invaded Burma in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Manager of the IFC's Burma fleet, John Morton, ordered the scuttling of all 600 ships in his fleet. This supreme act of denial prevented the Japanese from having a usable, local fleet for transport up the Irrawaddy River. In 1948 the company was reconstituted as the Government Inland Water Transport Board.
Quote
The paddle steamers of the IFC inspired the famous lines penned by Rudyard KiplingRudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
:
-
- By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' lazy at the sea,
- There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o' me;
- For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say:
- "Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay!"
-
- Come you back to Mandalay,
- Where the old Flotilla lay:
- Can't you 'ear their paddles chunkin' from Rangoon to Mandalay?
- On the road to Mandalay,
- Where the flyin'-fishes play,
- An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!
-