Construction and service to New Zealand The ship was constructed by
Harland and Wolff in
Belfast and was launched in 1883.
Doric was the sister ship to the . These were enlarged versions of two ships commissioned in 1881, the
Arabic and the
Coptic. The ship was constructed of steel, a first for the ship building company, whose previous designs had been constructed only in iron. The ship was the first White Star Line ship to bear the name
Doric, with a
later vessel built in 1923 also sharing the name. The
Doric was launched on 10 March 1883; with her sister ship launched two months earlier. She is one of the first ships whose machines were built by the shipyards themselves. These were, until then, built by outside workshops. On the following 4 July, the ship left Belfast for
London, making a stopover at
Holyhead to embark
Thomas Henry Ismay, president of the White Star Line, and several dignitaries accompanying him to visit the ship. Ismay's plans when he ordered these ships were unknown, but it was likely that he originally planned the project for the route to New Zealand. At that time, in fact, two companies, the Shaw, Savill Line and the Albion Line had just merged to form the
Shaw, Savill & Albion Line to compete with the
New Zealand Shipping Company, which was preparing to have five brand new ships delivered to them. The route from
London to
Wellington therefore seemed poised to prosper. Following the amalgamation in November 1882, the owners of the Shaw, Savill & Albion Line entered into negotiations with Ismay to plan a joint service, benefiting from the experience of the White Star Line. An agreement was quickly formed between the two companies The
Doric then continued her charter contract throughout 1884, and joined the joint service on 6 January 1885, on the Wellington route, passing on the outward journey through
Tenerife,
Cape Town and
Hobart, and to return via
Cape Horn,
Montevideo and
Rio de Janeiro. Crews were provided by White Star, but ships were managed by Shaw, Savill and Albion. The crossings were calm and uneventful. In 1893, the White Star acquired a new ship on the route, the
Gothic. The
Doric and the
Coptic were then no longer useful on this route where the traffic was down.
Service on the Pacific and fate In May 1895, the
Doric was returned to Harland & Wolff shipyards where her facilities were improved, and its machines changed to the more economical alternative triple expansion machines, which increased her tonnage and speed. In 1906
Doric was sold to the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company for £50,000, who renamed her
Asia. Still assigned to the same route, the ship made her first crossing on 11 June 1907 under her new colors, after a rapid overhaul. On 23 April 1911,
Doric ran aground in foggy conditions and was wrecked near
Taichow Islands,
Wenzhou, South China. Once all of the crew and passengers had been safely rescued, the ship was looted by local fishermen who subsequently burnt the remains of the vessel. ==Legacy==