GIANT LINER

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXIV, Issue 11930, 23 January 1936, Page 1

GIANT LINER

AUSTRALIAN .SUGGESTION VISIT OF QUEEN MARY London, Dec. 31. “A very nice gesture,” is how a Cunard-White Star official referred to the suggestion of The Sydney Sun, that the Queen Mary should visit Sydney for the 1038 anniversary. Mr Stevens, he added ,is assured of a most cordial reception h y the company which will do its utmost to meet his wishes. It is pointed out that the vessel was built to earn profits on the Atlantic by means of fortnightly passages. It will require the closest inquiry to determine if it will pay to transfer her from the Atlantic to a luxury world-cruise embracing Australia, South Africa and other parts of the Empire. Sydney, Jan. 4. Sir Samuel Walder to-day suggested that the Premier (Mr Stevens) might undertake the mission of invitation during his visit to England. Sir Samuel Walder said that the idea was well worth following up and could be extended to ships of other nations. “Round-the-world cruises of liners, say, from America, Japan, France, Germany and Sweden, reaching Sydney at the time of the celebrations would make the occasion one of international importance and focus the eyes of the world upon us,” he added. In Atlantic Winter. “It is certain that no greater advertisement for Australia could bo made in Great Britain than to divert a huge liner such as the Queen Mary from the Atlantic run. “To the less enterprising the venture might appear too ambitions, but it is remarkable how frequently the unexpected does occur—and great success cannot be achieved if the effort is not made. So it is well worth trying.”

If the Queen Mary were sent to Australia, the ship would be here in January, during the Atlantic winter season, when trade is slowest. The liner could be back on the Atlantic run for the early spring traffic and the Cunard Company itself, with such a cruise, would gain great advertisement throughout the Empire.