Duncan Dunbar (shipowner)

Duncan Dunbar was a Scottish businessman and London-based shipowner who established what was described as the largest shipping line in Great Britain. He was also the first chairman and founder of the London Chartered Bank of Australia.

Early life

Duncan was born on 8 September 1803 at 7 Fore Street, Limehouse, London, Middlesex. His father Duncan Dunbar Sr. had moved to London in the 1790s and founded a successful business as a brewer and wine merchant. He settled in Limehouse in the 1790s, establishing his alcohol business at Dunbar Wharf. Duncan Jr. was 22 when his father died in 1825 and inherited the business with his brother John.

Business

A noted protectionist, Duncan Jr. possessed the largest sailing fleet in the world in the mid-19th century. Most of his fleets were built in his own shipyard in Moulmein, Burma. He also founded the London Chartered Bank of Australia in 1852. He died at his home at Porchester Terrace, Paddington on 6 March 1862 and was buried at Highgate Cemetery. Duncan left £1,500,000 in his will. All 39 of his ships were sold within two years of his death.