STEWART IS. FERRY

Press, Volume C, Issue 29691, 8 December 1961, Page 20

STEWART IS. FERRY

Maiden Voyage Of Wairua The new Stewart Island ferry, Wairua, will make her first crossing of Foveaux Strait on December 20. She will leave Wellington on December 16, arriving at Bluff on December 18. There will be a reception on board the Wairua on the evening of December 19, at which the hosts will be the master (Captain I. D. Williams) and the Secretary for Marine (Mr G. L O’Halloran). There will be a further reception on board when the Wairua arrives at Stewart Island, between noon and 1.30 pm. on December 20. About 30 guests are expected. The Wairua will then leave for Bluff again at 2 p.m. The Wairua, which cost £300,000, has accommodation for 300 passengers and a crew of 12, on daylight trips. Both a day lounge and a coffee bar are provided for the comfort of passengers. As well as carrying passengers and cargo between Bluff and Stewart Island, the Wairua will be used for servicing lighthouses in the Foveaux Strait area, and for carrying muttonbirders to the islands off Stewart Island. Sleeping accommodation for nine is provided for such longer trips. The Wairua will carry out a twice-weekly service to Stewart Island during the winter, and a thrice-weekly service during the summer tourist season. A feature of the Wairua is her anti-rolling devices—the latest of their type. These are the first to be fitted to any New Zealand ship, and should ensure her a reputation of at least reasonable comfort on a crossing which is often rough.