Between the years 1873 and 1973, the ships of the New Zealand Shipping Company (NZSC) operated passenger and cargo services between Great Britain and New Zealand.

The company was founded in 1873 by a group of businessmen from Christchurch. Similar groups also formed in other major cities to challenge the dominance of the Shaw Savill line controlled by London and the (Scotland-Dunedin) Albion line. There were initially seven directors: George Gould Sr.'s chairman, John Coster, John Thomas Peacock, William Reeves, Robert Heaton Rhodes, John Anderson, and Reginald Cobb (who died in 1873) worked for the New Zealand Loan & Mercantile Agency and were the fathers of George Gould.

Soon after, the Dunedin and Wellington groups of businessmen joined this Christchurch company, followed by the Auckland group. In July 1873, they finished the four-main-centre link. Hon. Evan Prosser of Dunedin, John Logan Campbell of Auckland, and John Johnston Wellington were elected to the main board.[6] Captain Ashby set up shop off New Broad Street in London and chartered two ships to transport 500 government emigrants: On May 31 and June 20, respectively, Punjab (883 tons) and Adamant (815 tons) were scheduled to depart for Canterbury with their entire cargo. They had chartered 18 vessels and purchased two vessels, Hindostan and Dilfillan, by November 1873. Waikato and Waitangi were the names of two 1,000-ton ships that were to be launched in the same month.