DAYS OF SAIL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 191, 15 August 1939, Page 5

DAYS OF SAIL.

IN THE CUTTY SARK.

CAPTAIN WILCOX RETIRES.

IMSPARTMENTAI. CHANGES.

Vivid recollections of voyages in the famous clipper ehip Cutty Sark are retained .by Captain H. T. W. Wilcox, Superintendent of Mercantile Marine at Auckland, who retires on superannuation at the end of the present month, after thirty-two years' service with the Marine Department. Captain Wilcox will be succeeded bv Captain H. A. Dillner, D.S.C., who ie at present superintendent at Dunedin, and Captain A. Davies, surveyor of ships at Auckland, is to take over Captain Dillner'e duties in Dunedin. "Of course we were all proud of her, and she was no doubt one of the smartest things ever sailed . . . We passed everything ... In the old days in a calm all the sailing ships seemed to converge, and when the wind came again we would always pick up the others and pass them."' "A Hard Life." Thus Captain Wilcox soliloquised this morning, when referring to the Ciittv Sark, on which he served for four years as an apprentice under Captain Richard Uoodget and later as third mate. '-\Ve had nine apprentices and that was almost half the crew. It was a hard life, and so long as there was a breath of wind there was no laying-to . . . We were always hungry, in" fact, we were like a lot of hungry wolves. The crew was none too manV for a vessel like the Cutty Sark. On my first voyage in her we beat the P. "and O. steamer Britannia up the Australian Coast and were tied up and anchored in Svdnev before she got into port. We passed her in the middle watch off Wilson's Promontory.

After his service with the China tea clipper Captain Wilcox served in several other sailing vessels and then joined the British-India Navigation Company. After six years with this company he came to Xew Zealand as chief officer in the training ship Amok lira. In l!to!t Captain Wilcox was appointed assistant superintendent and surveyor of ships at Lyttelton, where he was stationed for 14 years. He was promoted in 1927 as superintendent at Wellington and in 1931 aiii'cceded the superintendent at Auckland. Captain T. Atwood. Captain Wilcox was born at Southampton in 1*74. Captain Dillner ha* liad a varied career at «ea. He is a son of the late Captain H. Dillnor. formerly a wellknown master in the Blackball Coal Company's fleet, and he arrived at Lyttelton with his parents in 1 H7l>. He was educated at the Lyttelton District High School. On leaving school he followed the sea, and after serving in sailing vessels took his second mate o ticket at Lyttelton. He then joined the Government steamer Tutanekai. and had some exciting experiences, chiefly in boat work, in Vhe lighthouse service. Captain Dillner then joined the New Zealand Shipping Company's service, in which he qu-alified for his master's certificate. Service with various Britis.li shipping companies followed, and he visite<l all parts of the world. In August, 1914. he was. in the employ of the oldest existing steamship company, the General Steam Navigation Company. Anti-Submarine Work. On the outbreak of war, Ceptain Dillner volunteered for special service in the Navy, and was later appointed to command a division of armed vessels employed in anti-submarine work. This work he performed in the North Sea for the duration of the war. For his service he was decorated by His Majesty the King with the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Italian Government awarded him the bronze medal for military valour. Captain Dillner was also twice mentioned in dispatches. On returning to New Zealand in 1918 Captain Dillner was appointed surveyor of ships at Lyttelton, and in 1931 he transferred to Dunedin as Superintendent of Mercantile Marine. Captain Davies has' had lengthy experience both in sailing vessels and steamers, and he has been attached to the Marine Department in Auckland for; just over 19 years. During the war. period he was engaged as pilot at Wellington. He is an efficient and highly popular officer, and there are many expressions of regret that his promotion has not been enjoyed in Auckland.