ON THE WELLINGTON-LYTTELTON HIGHWAY Ships That Pass in Tne Night

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 208, 30 May 1936, Page 19

ON THE WELLINGTON-LYTTELTON HIGHWAY Ships That Pass in Tne Night

TIME, 7.45 p.m. any night, except Sunday. The last of many passengers has hurried on board, and the

last of the baggage and mails has disappeared down the bold. The hatch covers are put on and they and all cargo gear quickly secured. The ship's company are at their stat ions.

A rapid succession of orders quietly spoken comes from the master standing watchfully in the port-side “cab” of the high bridge. “Stand-by" rings one telegraph to the engine-room, and as the lever and pointer go over there conies the answering ring. "Let go aft.” rings another telegraph. Meanwhile the last bow line is let go from the wharf and is hove in as the telegraph rings from aft to say that the stern line is aboard. “Full ahead,” orders the telegraph to the engine-

Captain B. B. Irwin, well-known and popular master of the Wahinc, who has commanded steamers in the WellingtonLyttelton service continuously for 18 years. He first took command of the Mararoa in 1918 and of the Maori in October, 1920. He has held his present command since 1931- and occasionally has relieved in the Rangatira.

roi m, aud in a matter of seconds the ship feels the thrust of the whirling pr< peiiers and begins to glide along the wharf with ever-gathering speed. "H ird a-port,” comes the order to the man at the wheel, which goes over as he repeats “Hard a-port. sir." and the ship’s head swings rapidly to port as she sweeps past the corner of the wharf with a boil of water under her stern. A ring on the telegraph from the second mate aft tells the master that the ship's stern has passed clear. A few seconds later comes the order -Steady : j;-y,”, and the helmsman answers "Steady it is, sir," as the wheel straightens the ship up for the run down harbour. _ By this time the steamer is well into her stride aud slipping quickly through the wide expanse of water ringed by the myriad lights all about Wellington harbour. "Northeast by east, a quarter east.” takes the ship down to Halswell Point, then ‘ South-east by south” past tire south leading beacon, after that “South, half east” out past Penearrow. Due allowance is made for the ebb and How ol the tidal streams in Cook Strait and then, passing Cape Campbell at 91 miles off, "South 17 West” puts her on her course for Godley Head. It is a fine, clear night, with but little wind and a smooth sea. The ship is right on time as she passes the low-level light ac Penearrow, and in response to an order from the master, the third ollicer telephones to the engine-room giving the time of clearing the harbour aud passing the order for tlic fraction over 16 knots requisite to take her to Godley Head by 6.20 a.m. But if the ship’s departure from Wellington lias been delayed, a quick reference to the time-tables worked out over long years gives the additional speed necessary to enable her southern arrival to be made on time under normal weather conditions.

But when one of the frequent southerly gales is blowing, and the great seas are breaking across the harbour entrance, and the visibility is poor, the ship plunges wildly as she goes out in a smother of spray that sweeps her deserted decks and is flung high over her bridge and funnels. Thrust onward by her powerful engines and whirling screws, the ship, with lively movements that quickly find out all the passengers prone to sea-sickness, gallantly rides the storm, now and then taking a crashing green sea over her sharp bow. To ease the qualms of passengers and prevent damage-from the onset of the seas, speed is reduced, and through the dark, stormy night the ship fights her way to the southward. Relief generally comes about Kaikoura Peninsula, the turbines are speeded up once more, the reserve of power picks up lost time and it is seldom indeed that the ship arrives late at Lyttelton.

Worse than any storm, however, and far more to be dreaded than strong gales, is “thick weather” and fog, the mariner's worst and most subtle enemy. Then the ship proceeds with utmost caution at reduced speed, her raucous whistle at regular and frequent intervals breaking the eerie stillness across a smooth sea and through the dank curtain of fog that blinds the ship and the watchful men on her bridge. An occasional "break” of full speed across a clear stretch of sea, and then slow again as the fog closes in—these are the conditions that make a “thick weather” passage a nightmare to the masters of the ships. Lighthouses are of little or no use in such weather, the fog signals at Godley Head and PeuI earrow Head, when heard, must be ; taken as warnings and not as definite • guides. There are no radio beacons ’ or other modern aids to navigation. 1 Regularity iu Running. But it is not always stormy or foggyon the Wellington-Lyttelton run, and mostly the ships are able to work in 2 perfect safely on a finely-cut schedule. ’ The south-bound ship passes Cape 2 Campbell at 10.10 p.m., and the northbound ship at 1.25 a.m. a little south of the light on Kaikoura Peninsula, arriv- * ing at Godley Head at 6.20 a.m., and berthing at Lyttelton at 6.45 a.m. Com- ’ ing north, the ships are timed to pass Cape Campbell at 4.20 a.m. and Pencar- ‘ row Head at 6.20 a.m., berthing at Wel- ’ lington at 7 o’clock. Weather reports ' are exchanged nightly by radio at 9 o’clock by the ships after they have t gone to sea, any changes being notified during tbe passage if and when they ] occur. The berthing of the ships , stern-first at. either port is facili- ' fated by the bow-rudders, which } are a special and unusual feature of

their construction, aud which have proved valuable time-savers in manoeuvring in narrow waters in harbour. The steamers always are superbly bandied with great skill aud judgment by their masters.

Tbe inter-Islaud express steamers go to sea six nights a week throughout the year, but in busy holiday seasons they occasionally also make "daylight trips” which require a quick turn-round at. either port to enable them to keep their nightly schedules. The distance from Wellington to Lyttelton is 174 sea miles, equal to 200 statute land miles. Thus, on her ordinary time-table, each ship travels 1200 statute land miles a week, or 62,400 miles a year, making a total distance covered by tbe two ships of nearly 125,000 miles, or more than five times round the world. Behind the daily goings and comings of the inter-island steamers is a marvellously efficient organisation built up by a great New Zealand shipping company over 60 long years of experience. Tbe Wellington-Lyttelton steamer express service is outstanding among the many great shipping services of the world, and in its particular sphere is unequalled by any other “short sea” service in respect of the size, speed and comfort of the ships employed. This much is freely admitted by oversea visitors and by most New Zealanders who have had experience of “crossChannel” and similar services in other parts of the world. The running of the Wellington-Lyttelton service is the admiration of all seafaring and other shipping people. A Great Main Highway. In these days, when so much is heard

By

of the development and co-ordination of transport, it does not appear generally to be realised that the WellingtonLyttelton sea-route is one of the most important main highways of the Dominion. Possibly that is because the steamers do their work almost wholly during the night and only their actual arrivals and departures come under notice. Nevertheless, it is true that outside the cities and towns, uo main highway in the Dominion carries as many ]tersons per annum as are transported over the Wellington-Lyttelton

“Fairlead"

sea route. When the ancillary interIsland services—those between Wellington and Pict on, and WellingtonNelson—are taken into account, this comparison becomes still more striking. It is a main highway, too. that has cost nothing to make and nothing to maintain, if one excepts the few lighthouses. The main highways on shore, with their bitumen, concrete or macadam paving have cost some £6,000,000, and there is a large and mounting annual bill for their maintenance. The.

Wellington-Lyttelton sea highway is there for all time. Its surface is seldom completely smooth and frequently very rough. At present, as far as modern eflicient aids to navigation are concerned, it is paved with the good intentions of the Marine Department, which collects annually over £90,000 in light dues from all the ships trading in or to New Zealand waters, and spends under one-half of that sura on lighthouses and other aids -to the navigator. Development of the Service. The Wellington-Lyttelton daily steamer service, with its train connections at either end, is one of some 30 years’ standing. Yet there probably has been an inter-Islaud connection, though not a daily one, ever since New Zealand was first'inhabited. Certainly the Maoris used frequently to cross the narrows of Cook Strait in their canoes. Ketches and schooners and other small sailing craft, supplemented later by the first, tiny steamers, were the principal means of coastal transport during the first decades of white settlement. With the growth of pop- • ulation and trade came a rapid development of coastal shipping, particularly , after the foundation of the Union i Steam Ship Company, 61 years ago. : Regular steamship services were established covering most ports on the coast, but 1000-ton steamers were very few, i and 10 knots was a comparatively high 1 speed in those days. i

It was many years, however, before a daily steamer service between Wellington and Lyttelton was established. Those were more leisurely days and there was, indeed, no need or demand for such a service, transport needs being well accommodated for the times. The North Island was largely undeveloped, its inland towns and settlements were small and scattered, and the railheads of the main trunk line were far apart. In the late 'nineties of last century, however, the Union Company took the enterprising step of placing the famous Rotomahana permanently in the Wel-lington-Lyttelton service. Designed and built for the intercolonial service. Ihis wonderful old ship proved eminently suitable for the trade, and her sailings alternating with the coastal movements of the Sydney and Melbourne and the East Coast-Auckland steamers, and supplemented by a Saturday night sailing from Wellington, provided what was virtually a daily inter-island passenger service, but without through railway connections.

A name that will always be associated with the inauguration and development of the daily inter-island steamer service is that of the late Captain W. Manning, who was continuously iu command of Cook Strait steamers for 3(5 years. He was in truth the "father of the service." his name was a household word for reliability throughout New Zealand, and be is still affection atcly remembered by the generation of officers who served under him and of

whom several are now senior masters in the Union Company’s service. His first command was tbe Waibi, in tbe Wellington-Blenheim service in ISS2. His long association with the Welling-ton-Lyttelton service, in command, began in 1894 and ended with his retirement in 1918. He commanded the Rotomahana from February, 1898, till October, 1908, when he transferred to the Mararoa. He took command of the Maori after her arrival from the Clyde iu 1907, and he served in her and the Mararoa until his retirement. Captain Manning died on February 13, 1929, and bis ashes were committed to the sea from tbe Wahine, 10 miles off

Cape Campbell, a. night or t.wo later. Some Notable Ships.

The Rotomahana was a notable ship and for years a great favourite of the travelling public. Sbe was tbe first merchant ship in the world to be built of mild steel. Her handsome looks were enhanced by her “clipper bow” carrying a bowsprit and a figurehead of a Maori warrior. The Rotomahana. powerfully engined and propelled by a single screw, had a good turn of speed, and in fine weather made the passage between Lyttelton and Wellington in about 12 hours. For years she held the speed record with a run of under 11 hours —a great performance. She was a small ship of 1777 tons gross register, but on occasions she could squeeze in about 400 passengers.- The Rotomahana carried on until 1907 and was then transferred to the MelbourneLaunceston service. She ended her long career in the Bass Strait trade and was finally broken up after the Avar. In 1904 the requirements of the summer passenger traffic were met by putting the Mararoa, 2598 tons, into the Wellington-Lyttelton run in conjunction with the Rotomahana, thus instituting a special daily service which became permanent in the following year. The Mararoa, which represented a great advance in size and comfort, was a speedy ship, built in 1885. Sbe remained in .the “ferry service” until replaced iu 1913 by tbe Wahine, aud she re-entered it for the duration of the war, when that ship was requisitioned by the Admiralty for service overseas. The Rotomahana and the Mararoa carried on together until the latter part of 1907, the regularity and general excellence of the much-improved service being greatly appreciated by the travelling public. Maintaining a twelve to thirteen hours’ schedule for tbe passage, these ships were the forerunners of the present express service. They speeded up tbe mail and cargo services and enabled passengers to make contacts with the through train services in either Island with reasonable certainty. it was. however, some time before the Railways Department could be induced to extend the South Island train service to the ship’s side at Lyttelton, thus permitting passengers, baggage and mails to be embarked and disembarked with a minimum of delay and inconvenience. The Maori and Wahine. A long step forward iu tbe improvement. and development of the Welling-ton-Lyttelton steamer service was made in 1907 when the Union Steam Ship Company put the turbine-driven steam-

er Maori on the run. Specially designed to embody all the experience gained in working the service and to provide for future developments, the Maori was built by the Dennys, at Dumbarton. She measured 350 feet in length by 47 feet in breadth, aud 34SS tons gross register. Propelled by triple screws driven by direct-coupled turbines of 6500 horse-power, the Maori was for years the largest and bestequipped. and one of the fastest ships of her class in the world. Replacing the veteran Rotomahana, the Maori quickly made herself the favourite ship with passengers and broke all records between Wellington and Lyttelton. A novel feature of the Maori was her bow-rudder provided to facilitate quick manoeuvring when berthing at Wellington or Lyttelton. The Maori proved a remarkably successful ship in the inter-island service, which she quickly developed and in which she ran almost continuously for 24 years. Since 1931 she has served as the relieving ship. The successful working of the Maori and the rapidly-increasing needs of the service caused the Union Steam Ship Company to design a larger and faster ship, embodying all the latest improvements dictated by the experience gained since 1907. This ship, named Wahine, and also built by Dennys, measured 4436 tons gross register, 375 feet in length, and 42 feet in breadth, and was about 1000 tons larger than tbe Maori. Fitted with eight water-tube boilers and propelled by triple screws driven by direct-coupled turbines, tbe Wahine had a speed of 211 to 22 knots, and for some years ranked among the very fastest merchant ships of the world. From the start of her career in October, 1913, the Wahine was a popular ship and a most successful one. -With this ship and the Maori the requirements of the growing passenger service were more than adequately met. The time-tables of the ships were speeded up and co-ordinated with those of the through railway services of both Islands, thus providing rapid transit from one end of New Zealand to the other. Leaving Wellington nightly at 7.45 p.m. and Lyttelton shortly after 8 p.m., the Wahine and Maori berthed at either end at 7 o’clock every morning, unless delayed by unfavourable weather, the service being maintained with almost unfailing regularity. Shortly after the outbreak of war in 1914, the Wahine was requisitioned by tbe Admiralty aud went to the Mediterranean, where she was employed as a dispatch-carrying ship between Malta and Mudros during the Gallipoli campaign. Subsequently she went to Eng-

land and was converted into a minelayer, being commissioned as H.M.S. Wahine for service iu the North Sea. She took part in 76 operations, during which she laid a total of 11,378 mines. At the end of the war she was reconditioned as a passenger ship and returned to New Zealand, re-entering the WellingtonLyttelton service about the end of 1919. Her war service is commemorated by an inscribed brass plate mounted on her first saloon stairway. Not long after the war, both the Wahine and Maori were fitted out to burn oil fuel instead of coal in their boilers. This was a great improvement, as it did away with the frequent coalings and their attendant dirt which took much cleaning up after each operation. Electrically Propelled Ship. The advent of the Rangatira in November, 1931, marked another great advance in tbe facilities afforded by the

Mr. E. E. Low, D. 5.0., chief engineer of the Wahine, who has served in the interisland steamer service for more than 30 years. He served in the Mararoa for several years and was second of . the Wahine from 1914 to 1916. EngineerCommander Royal Naval Reserve during H.M.S. Wahine’s service as a commissioned ship and chief engineer of het ever since, Mr. Low has a record of 22 years’ service in that ship.

inter-island service. This splendid ship, built by Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd., at Barrow-iu-Furness, is nearly double the gross tonnage of the Maori, aud measures 6152 tons, 406 feet in length and 58 feet in breadth. She is indeed as great in tonnage as many of the oversea liners that traded to New Zealand 30 years ago, when the daily interIsland service was inaugurated. She has berthing accommodation for some 850 passengers, and on the short daylight run to Picton. has carried up to

2300 deck passengers. The Rangatira Is a turbo-electric ship, which is to say that she is fitted with two electric generators driven by steam turbines running at over 3000 revolutions per minute, the power being transmitted to two great motors direct coupled to the propeller shafts, which turn at 153 revolutions for a speed of 16 knots, and upwards of 200 revolutions at full power. Steam is generated in six large water-tube boilers working at 400 lb. pressure to the square inch, with a superheat of 700 degrees. Her propelling machinery of 13,000 horsepower, far more economical in fuel than that of the Wahine, represents a marvellous advance on the compound reciprocating engines aud a working pressure of 1001 b. to the square inch of the Rotomahana of 30 years ago. The Cost of Efficiency.

The casual, or even the regular traveller between Wellington and Lyttelton, seldom stops to think of all that is involved in the marvellously efficient organisation that enables him or her to travel in liner comfort. The cost of running the ships is enormous. Each ship carries a crew of 100, and the monthly wages bill would surprise most people. Thousands of tons of oil-fuel and lubricating oil are swallowed up every year in steaming the ships, and the consumption of food, paint, ropes and steel hawsers and other stores and gear runs into many thousands of pounds. Even the fresh water used by the ships has to be bought and paid for, and many hundreds of thousands of gallons are required. Then there are port dues, light dues, insurance and a hundred or more other big items of expenditure. Ships are expensive things to maintain and official regulations are exacting. There is a continuous bill for running repairs and maintenance, there are periodical drydockings for cleaning anti painting, and extremely expensive annual overhauls and surveys.

Does any housewife who travels ever think of the “domestic economy” of the inter-island steamers? As soon as the passengers vacate their berths every morning, the stewards start on their never-ending round of cleaning and sweeping and scrubbing and polishing to get the ship ready for her next trip. Every bed is stripped of its linen every morning. Two fresh, clean sheets, two pillow slips aud a counterpane go to each berth and deft hands “make” hundreds of beds. The used linen from the beds and the hundreds of towels are “made up” into great canvas bags, of which a. lorry-load or more, according to the volume of travel, is carted off to the company’s steamlaundry at Evans Bay, there to be fumigated, washed and ironed. The huge supplies of linen and the daily launderings go to swell a great annual bill. The woollen blankets are changed. every morning where necessary, and are constantly being fumigated and washed- Absolute cleanliness aud meticulous care for the health and comfort of the passengers are the watchwords of the providoring department. The cost to the passenger for the nightly transport in comfort across 200 miles of sea is, as a matter of fact, remarkably cheap. Ou the minimum fares charged, it works out at less than IJd. a mile first-class and under lid. a mile second-class. This covers not only swift transport iu a modern ship, with spacious decks giving ample room in which to move about, but also a comfortable sleeping berth and luany of the amenities of an up-to-date hotel. A light supper and an early morning cup of tea are also served; while, if for any reason the ship is at sea during mealhours, then meals are provided free of additional cost. By comparison, railway and service-car fares cover transport only, all other services, including sleeping berths, being charged for. Safety on the Sea Highway.

And, finally, the Wellington-Lyttel-ton route, which traverses 30 odd miles of open sea frequently swept by strong gales aud subject all the year round to the vagaries of tidal streams, and which is bounded for its remaining 130 odd miles by a turbulent ocean on one side and a rock-bound coast on the other, is the safest main highway iu the Dominion. The recent mishap to the Rangatira is the one exception that proves the rule. The dreadful weekly toll of killed and maimed in road accidents, has been growing in recent years at an alarming rate. During the 30 odd years that the daily WellingtonLyttelton service has been in operation, not a single life has been lost by accident or peril of the sea iu the ships that maintain it. That, surely, proves that “the principles of sound navigation have been vindicated” in the interIsland passenger service and is a magnificent record.

On shore, the railways are safely operated and the running of trains on lines controlled under an elaborate system of signals and electrical appliances oh which well over £lOO,OOO is spent annually. For motor traflic the roads have been improved at a cost of millions, sign-posts and warnings and traffic inspectors are everywhere; yet fatal accidents are of almost daily occurrence. The Wellington-Lyttelton steamers work on out-of-date charts mainly based on surveys made 80 or 00 years ago, which show few soundings—there are only 15 soundings marked in an area of 100 square miles near Cape Campbell. The few lighthouses along the “road” are of use only when they can be seen at a distance of several miles. There are none of the latest shore aids to navigation along this highway, “wireless” not yet having been put to work for this purpose. If the thousands of travellers on the Wel-lington-Lyttelton road fully realised the difficulties and frequent anxieties of the able mon navigating the ships, they would demand the installation without any more delay of an adequate and efficient system of radio beacons.