Records of the Gourock Ropes & Canvas (Africa) Ltd, rope makers and textile manufacturers, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Reference:GB 248 UGD 042/6/6
- Dates of Creation:1909-1968
- Name of Creator:
- Physical Description:1.2 metresThere are no physical characteristics that affect the use of this material.
Scope and Content
- South Africa general managers department records 1909-1923
- Financial records 1944-1967;
- Correspondence 1948-1968;
- Export sales East Africa correspondence 1952-1960;
- Gourock Rope & Canvass (Rhodesia) Ltd correspondence and sales files 1953-1960;
- Sales correspondence 1959-1968.
Administrative / Biographical History
In 1895 the Gourock Ropeworks Co Ltd, rope makers and textile manufacturers, Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, Scotland, decided to establish a South African office. It was opened in 1897 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa and soon trade was also being established in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Johannesburg, South Africa. The company opened offices in Capetown, South Africa, in 1899 . The South African War at the beginning of the century resulted in the business' steady growth and offices were opened in Johannesburg (which became the head office), Durban, East London and Bloemfontein. Branches in Rhodesia were also established in Bulawayo and Salisbury and an office at Ndolo in 1949 .
Gourock Ropes & Canvas (Africa) Ltd, Johannesburg, was formed in 1949 to acquire the African business of the Gourock Ropeworks Co Ltd. Gourock Ropes & Canvas (Rhodesia) Ltd was also formed in 1949 as a subsidiary of the African company to look after the interests in Rhodesia, its head office being in Ndolo. In 1947 a new net factory was opened in Cape Town where hand braided nets were produced for the fishing industry. Net looms were imported from England and installed in 1948. As well as becoming the chief supplier of nets in South Africa, it was also hoped that the company would export its products to Australia and New Zealand. Between the two companies in South Africa and Rhodesia, virtually the whole of the southern African continent from below the Congo was supplied. The companies appear to have ceased trading in the late 1960s .
Source: GB 248 UGD 42/11/8/3 The Gourock Brochure (1954)f
Arrangement
Generally arranged chronologically within record series.
Access Information
Open
Acquisition Information
Gourock Ropeworks Co Ltd : Port Glasgow : c.1971
Other Finding Aids
Digital file level list available in searchroom
Manual file level list available at the National Registers of Archives in Edinburgh (NRA(S)1717) and London (NRA10832)
Alternative Form Available
No known copies
Conditions Governing Use
Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the University Archivist
Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use & condition of documents
Appraisal Information
This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 248 procedures
Custodial History
The bulk of this material was received directly from the creator by the Economic History Department, Glasgow University in c1971. Management of the collection transferred to Glasgow University Archives in 1975.
Accruals
None expected
Related Material
GB 0248 UGD 42 Records of Gourock Ropeworks Co Ltd
The Gourock Ropeworks Co had a number of subsidiary companies whose records survive:
GB 0248 UGD 42/6/1 Records of Govan Ropeworks Co Ltd
GB 0248 UGD 42/6/2 Records of Archibald Thomson Black & Co
GB 0248 UGD 42/6/3 Records of Gourock Ropeworks Export Co
GB 248 UGD 42/6/4 Records of Gourock-Bridport Ltd, Montreal, Canada
GB 0248 UGD 42/6/5 Records of Greenock Ropework Co
GB 0248 UGD 42/6/7 Records of Gourock Ropes and Canvass Co Ltd, Australia (including Birkmyre Canvass Co Pty Ltd)
GB 0248 UGD 42/6/8 Records of Birkmyre Brothers (Calcutta) Ltd
GB 0248 UGD 42/6/9 Records of Gourock Ropes & Canvass Ltd, New Zealand
GB 0248 UGD 42/6/10 Records of Gourock Ropes & Canvass Ltd, Argentina
GB 0248 UGD 42/6/12 Records of miscellaneous companies related to the Gourock Ropeworks Co Ltd
For contact details of all repositories with a GB code, see the Archon repository search page
Material in other repositories: no material associated by provenance
Bibliography
No known publications using this material
Additional Information
This material is original
No alterations made to date
Subjects
Corporate Names
Geographical Names