Ships and the Sea

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 94, 22 April 1933, Page 22

Ships and the Sea

MATAI'S WORK

GOVERNMENT STEAMER

TENDING THE LIGHTS

The Government steamer Matai (1010 tons gross) is a fine ship.- With her ■graceful lines, white sides, and yellow funnel, she is.a worthy Viceregal yacht, besides being a lighthouse. tender. The Matai. was .built to replace .the old .Tutanekai, which- was scuttled off Taalakirae Head. The Matai's base is at; Wellington, and she is berthed at the JLyttelton.Ferry Wharf. . What is- the work of the - Matai? Many people would think, not knowing the facts, .that there is not enough •work round -the. New Zealand coast to keep a steamer- of- the Matai's size fully employed. -However, there is a great amount of work to be done, and the Government steamer is a necessity. -Round the New Zealand coast there are. many lighthouses guarded Isy keepers, automatic lights, and beacons. Stores are supplied to the keepers of .the. lighthouses by the Matai. Pencarrow lighthouse, at the Wellington Heads, is no exception in this respect, and there are very many more lighthouses.less conveniently situated to a. city or town than that at Pencar-row. The Matai carries the supplies of kerosene necessary for the lights, attended-by. keepers. The staff of the ship do the work of recharging

the gas cylinders which are used in the automatic lights. Between two and six gas cylinders are used in each automatic light. The work of painting the towers and cleaning the apparatus of the automatic lights is carried out by the ctb-w of the Matai. The repair ■work on the non-automatic lights is done by the keepers. In the seas off CKTorth Auckland in particular, besides other places, there are niany beacons, and from time to time small coastal craft knbck into them, or they break adrift. The Matai attends to these beacons. When sunken rocks are reported, the Matai is sent to the spot, and the rocks ar© investigated and charted. After the Napier earthquake, the.Matai's staff investigated .the dif-J ference in levels in certain portions of the coast. . STOKES FOR SETTLERS. ,In certain isolated portions of New Zealand, particularly in the West Coast bays, settlers'have difficulty in obtain- '- ing supplies, and in such cases the Matai lands them. In no case, however, does the. Government steamer interfere with'private enterprise in the carrying of supplies. Heavy, surf, boats are used in all cases iri the landing of stores, • etc., and the landings are of ten'made -in. difficult places, so 'expert' seamanship, is necessary. It •is 'believed :.that no' ship other; than the Matai does heavy surf boat work*regularly in" New Zealand.' The Matai has a ship's company of about forty. Her trip round the North Island taies between five and six weeks,, and the. South Island, trip takes about a month. • In addition to this, "she makes' many other...trips to places such as the .Cook Strait lighthouses. Not so long ago she carried stores to the Chatham Islands, and. ■before this she was used in the search for the yacht Windward, which was loßfc, when returning from the Chatham Islands.' ■ ■