Lyttelton Waterfront Open

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31836, 14 November 1968, Page 1

Lyttelton Waterfront Open

A jury rider this week drew attention to the problem of young girls visiting ships at Lyttelton, a problem common to seaports.

However, Lyttelton’s case is different from those at Auckland and Wellington, which enclosed waterfronts. The Lyttelton waterfront is open to the world.

According to the traffic and commercial manager of the Lyttelton Harbour Board (Mr J. B. Graham) the board’s by-laws clearly state that no person can theoretically visit the waterfront at Lyttelton without the traffic manager’s consent, unless on lawful business or occupation. Mr Graham said that the board did not want to deprive people of the pleasure

of visiting the waterfront and viewing the shipping activity. It would take a large staff to police the whole waterfront when it was not enclosed. The secretary of the Seamen’s Union at Lyttelton (Mr T. A. Kelly) said that he felt it was the responsibility of the shipping companies to determine who went aboard the ships, apart from those with legitimate business. It was not the union’s responsibility. “Anything that can be done to give the town a good name and get rid of this problem which, unfortunately reflects on all seaports, will be a good thing,” said the Mayor of Lyttelton (Mr J. B. Collett) yesterday. British shipping lines and New Zealand registered lines all have rules about visiting, in theory, but these are not always able to be enforced. In the case of foreign vessels

there is considerable flexibility as each country has a different interpretation. One prominent British line whose vessels are regular callers at' Lyttelton has a deadline of 11 p.m. for approved female visitors with special extension to midnight. Visiting seamen have been known to say that New Zealand is a good country for meeting girls who are perhaps less sophisticated and less aware of what is involved than girls in ports overseas. Conversely, some overseas seamen have been warned about New Zealand ports. Residents consider that the problem is no better or no worse than it has been in past years and most consider that foreign vessels have the greatest attraction for girls seeking a good time. “Shipping authorities some-

times seem to encourage rather than discourage girls from going aboard ships,” said Senior-Sergeant P. J. Alty, of the Lyttelton police, yesterday. Time limits imposed for women visitors were not effective for all women visitors.

“We have known of girls spending the whole night aboard visiting vessels on many occasions. Some New Zealand girls join a ship at the first port and travel down the coast. On one foreign ship, their washing was displayed aft on a clothes line while the ship was in Lyttelton. We have found girls hiding in wardrobes, cupboards, and only recently we found four girls hiding in a ship’s lavatory,” he said. Senior-Sergeant Alty said that he could not see any immediate solution but would be glad to find one.