COUNT VON LUCKNER

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28440, 21 November 1957, Page 23

COUNT VON LUCKNER

Exploits In N.Z. Recalled A 76-year-old German can still tear the two-inch thick Hamburg city telephone directory in two with his hands, just as he used to demonstrate the power of his wrists with New Zealand directories. He did so when he met a New Zealander in Germany recently, and recalled his exploits and his enforced stay in New Zealand during the First World War. The German was Count Felix von Luckner, famous for his exploits as captain of the German raider Seawolf during World War I, and well known in New Zealand for his escape from Ripa Island. The New Zealander was Mr Barrie T. Jones, of Christchurch, who was with friends in Baden when Count von Luckner and Countess von Luckner called. “Ah, New Zealand, the favoured land; I remember it well, and I am sure New Zealanders have not forgotten me,” said Count von Luckner when introduced to Mr Jones. “Do you know that island In Lyttelton harbour, or Mount Eden Prison, near Auckland?”

In a letter home, Mr Jones describes Count von Luckner as a lively gentleman who has forsaken the sea for a caravan, in which he and his wife are touring Europe.

One of the anecdotes he told Mr Jones was of the time he was closely confined in Mount Eden after his escape from Ripa Island. “On the first morning a rather shabby chap arrived to shave me,” he said. “I told him I was quite able to do the job myself, only to be informed that this was forbidden in case I attempted suicide. I discovered that my barber was also a prisoner with a life sentence for murder. I apparently showed my lack of enthusiasm, but my barber, with a smile to allay my fears as he sharpened the razor, told me not to look so worried—he only murdered women.” Count von Luckner said that when he returned to New Zealand and revisited the scene of his confinement he had more difficulty in getting in than out. Count von Luckner proudly claimed chieftainship of the Waitete, a Maori tribe in the Waikato, he told Mr Jones.

Busy Station.— Flinders Street Station, Melbourne’s principal suburban railway station, is one of the busiest in the world. During a normal week, 2850 trains arrive and depart and 293,000 passengers pass through its barriers.