LANDING OF “PILGRIMS”

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 71, Issue 55, 14 December 1950, Page 5

LANDING OF “PILGRIMS”

REJUVENATION OF THE DARRA BIG EVENT ON SATURDAY (P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. Eighty-five years old, but rejuvenated at a cost of £2OOO to play the part of the Charlotte Jane in Saturday’s re-enactment of the landing of the Pilgrims at Lyttelton, the old hulk Darra will enjoy the bright blaze of publicity before returning to ceUrement.

On Saturday the Darra, now to all intents and . purposes a full-rigged ship, will be moored in the inner harbour and the “Pilgrims” will land from her in, longboats built in Aberdeen in 1865 for the Orient Line.

The Darra was a smart tea clipper in herJday,. .onee doing the run from London, to Adelaide in the record time of ,7Q<days. After a spell as an immigrant' ship, she was re-rigged as; a barque, and carried coal and timber between England and America. In 1899 she caught fire at Sydney, and remained there for some time, a burnt’ out travesty of a fine vessel, and was brought to Lyttelton for use as a coal hulk,. . -V..-..,/

To change the Darra into the Charlotte Jane, her decks weer altered, three masts were stepped, yards slung and more than 7000 yards of rope used for the rigging. Her old timbers were freshly painted in the Charlotte Jane’s colours, black and white, and dummy gun ports run along her bulwarks. The Darra,- however, could not be compressed to the dimensions of the Charlotte Jane, so those watching the re-enactment will have to diminish the „ Darra by about one-third to get a true picture. The Darra is 199 foot long and 33 foot in the beam, displacing 999 tons in her prime. The Charlotte Jane was a vessel of 730 tons, 131 foot long and 32 foot in the beam. Into these cramped quarters went her 125 passengers, who must have been heartily glad the 14 weeks’ voyage had ended.