THE MOERAKI ARRIVES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 296, 14 December 1922, Page 10

THE MOERAKI ARRIVES.

MANNED BY VOLUNTEER CREW. IjARCJE i ONSIGN.MENT OF CARGO. Ti.-.» Union Steamship Company's iloer-iki, whi-.h has been held up at Sydnuy for a month owing to trouble with seamen, and which was subsequently manned by a volunteer crew, arrived at Auckland yesterday. Everything worked smoothly throughout the trip. The Moeraki was originally timed to leave Sydney on November 9, and after taking passengers, mails and cargo ■.board she anchored in the stream. Trouble occurred in the stokehold when X man injured his hand and he and two Others left the steamer. The other •members wanted the vacancies filled -with firemen who were on Australian fcrticles, despite the fact that the Moeraki was on New Zcalnd articles. The company would not agree to this, and jthe remainder of the stokehold staff refused duty. They were arrested and ■entonced to ten weeks' impTisonmeiiL. The sailing had to be cancelled nnd the passengers, of whom there were 176, and the mails were taken ashore. The eteamer Temained at anchor with the <iffioera, engineers, stewards and d-.vk Jiands till last week, when arrangements *"vere made to obtain a voluntary stokehold crew. The deck hand- r>en refuted duty and were sentenced to seven day* imprisonment. However, p-or-; volunteers were available and th.» steamer eway at 4.30 p.m. on Friday. The Moeraki" brought 276 passengers and IPOO ■tons of cargo. 500 of which is for transhipment to the Navua. w'i'.cil is due to eail for the Western Pacifi; Irian Is tomorrow. This is the \a.r<p.sz shipment that has been brought by an intercolonial steamer for some time. She elso brought 1665 bags of English and [.Australian mail for New Zealand. The stokehold crew and the deck hands are British -seamen and are all experienced men. They have been out of employment in Sydney for some considerable time owing to the action of the union ' there. They came. to Sydney by Commonwealth Government vessels and wer<•paid off because tbe Australian Union objected to them. When the opportunity occurred for employment the men quickly took advantage of it. One of them stated that there were hundreds . of British seamen in Australia out of ':, employment. *: The Moeraki is due to leave on the r -return voyage to-morrow and wi" sub- - eequently relieve the Paloona in the Wellington-Melbourne-Bluff service.