Have done a bit more digging Jim and you (and me!) will be surprised at what PSNC did, far too much to pen on here, but they were great innovators with having the first passenger ship with electricity and the first company to accept experimental steam and motor engines and had some of the fastest ships afloat in the 1870's with speeds of 15/16 knots not being uncommon (all the ships mentione below were bulit in 1870/1880's). They started a regular service to Australia and NZ in 1877 in conjunction with Liverpool traders Anderson and wait for it.... the name of the PSNC ship was 'Lusitania' on her maiden voyage she knocked 10 days off the previous record held by P & O (Peninsular and Orient) The PSNC/Anderson venture was called Pacific and Orient and became Orient Shipping when PSNC sold its interests in 1915. PSNC started a fortnightly service to Australasia after the 'Lusitania' voyage. Some of the vessels on the Australia service whose names you will recognise and some you may not...........'John Elder' (was going to be called Sarmiento, but the name was changed to John Elder who'es yard built her and he was the designer of her compond engine) 'Chimbarazo' 'Cuzco' 'Garonne' 'Acongagua' Liguria' 'Potosi' (one of the first vssls to be lengthened) 'Cotopaxi' Illimani' 'Oroya' 'Orizaba' (this vssl ran aground off Garden Island, Sydney when she ran into dense smoke which suddenly sparang up from bush fires in a land clearing exercise, she became a total wreck) 'Orotava' 'Oruba' (this vessel purchased by the Admiralty in 1914 and rebuilt to look like the battleship HMS 'Orion', she was scuttled in 1915 in the Agean sea to form a breakwater! ours is not reason why)
PSNC also established a Liverpool- Bordeaux-Buenos Airies service, but it only lasted a few years, as the WCSA was more profitable. As mentioned in the cruising forum they also ran services from Valparaiso, panama to San Francisco and Alaska'
So hope above was of some interest to a liverpool lad