In the Wake of Endeavour is the story of the men and ships of a great shipping enterprise, and of their exploits in peace and war.

It was in 1873 that The New Zealand Shipping Company was founded, in Christchurch, New Zealand, with a fleet of four sailing ships. Gordon Holman traces the history of the Company from those early, difficult days, when it played such an important role in colonial development, through the golden age of sail and the advent of the steamship, right up to the operation of modern, refrigerated cargo carriers. He describes the men of vision who have controlled the growth of the Company across the years, and how, in 1912, they acquired the ships of the Federal Steam Navigation Company by amalgamation. By that time the Company's fleet had expanded to 35 ships, totalling over a quarter of a million tons.

The deeds of the brave sailors and famous ships of that fast-growing fleet in the testing conditions of the twentieth century - including the hazards of two world wars, as well as the continual battle against the sea - are retold in gripping style.

The climax of the hundred-year story is the bright future in prospect for the Company as an integral part of the giant Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. Its ships continue to sail in the wake of Endeavour.