Damage To Cars On Way To N.Z.

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31256, 31 December 1966, Page 12

Damage To Cars On Way To N.Z.

Concern about damage in the shipping of new cars from Britain to New Zealand was expressed yesterday by the managing director of a Christchurch car firm, Mr R. J. N. Archibald. His company, he said, had just received a Jaguar saloon which was wrecked when it broke loose in the New Zealand Shipping Company’s vessel Rakaia on the voyage to New Zealand. His company had been importing cars since 1935, and until this year had not received a car so badly damaged as to be worthless, he said. “But 1966 has produced not one, but three.” Earlier this year his company received a shipment of badly-damaged cars, and this year has received eight cars with severe damage. His firm did not know that the Jaguar was damaged until It was unloaded from a transporter at the garage, he said. Importers could get no satisfaction from the shipping companies about damaged cars, Mr Archibald said.

The Jaguar was to have been delivered to his company’s Timaru agent, but now it would probably be put up for tender, and someone would probably repair it and put it back on the road, Mr Archibald said.

He said car importers believed that damage in transit, pillaging, and outright vandalism were probably costing the country many thousands of pounds a year. His firm will apply for a replacement licence for another car. "These cars are not cheap, and to my way of thinking this sort of thing is a useless drain on overseas funds, but there is absolutely nothing we can do about it” “Very Concerned” The shipping companies were very concerned indeed about damage, the local claims cleric for the New Zealand Shipping Company (Mr D. Stanley) said when asked to comment The Rakaia had encountered extremely heavy weather soon after leaving London, and the Jaguar had broken loose and also damaged two other cars. “Every reasonable precaution is taken, but we cannot control the dements. Our livelihood depends on cargo, and we are very concerned at any damage. We do our utmost to get cars here in good condition, and we are not just sitting back doing nothing, you can rest assured of that

“If we find anything wrong with the stowage we will make sure that it does not happen again. The matter is definitely being investigated."

Mr Stanley said the stowage of cars was checked after they had been loaded. The Vauxhail agents in Christchurch also received two badly damaged cars from the Rakaia. They were imported for demonstration purposes, but are too badly damaged to be used for this.