COUNT VON LUCKNER.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 58, Issue 187, 21 May 1938, Page 7

COUNT VON LUCKNER.

YACHT DELAYED BY STORMS. PREVIOUS VISIT RECALLED. (United Press Association—Copyright.) SYDNEY, May 20. Count von Luckner was in cheery mood when interviewed on hoard his yacht Seeteufel, which arrived today. He said: “I am here for pleasure—looking over my old hunting grounds.” The “Sun” describes Count von Lucjmer as “once a bill-poster in Sydney and later the man who sent £5,000,000 worth of allied ships to the bottom.” Count von Luckner at the outset denied that he was bent on propaganda: “I wanted to show the Countess New Zealand and Australia as a wedding present, so here we are. I was last here as a prisoner of war on the steamer Willochra. Before that I was here with a group of Hindu magicians as their advance agent and bill-poster.” Count von Luckner, who was wearing plus fours and: sandals, said that the Seeteufel encountered stormy weather after leaving Auckland. A wind from all directions forced the yacht back to shelter in a small bay. The voyage was resumed, but the vessel fought a gale last Tuesday and Wednesday, damaging a lifeboat and twisting her propeller. They ran * into a dead calm near Sydney and reached the heads just after midnight. Count von Luckner was given a warm welcome by members of the Royal Prince Allred Yacht Club and representatives of the German community. Commonwealth investigation officers and local police officers also went on hoard and talked with Count von Luckner and his wife. Count von Luckner’s visit will probably occupy three weeks.