GOODWILL GIFT

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 252, 21 July 1936, Page 5

GOODWILL GIFT

Presentation to Captain B. B. Irwin RELIC OF MARAROA The spirit of the brotherhood of the sea was much in evidence at a happy little gathering yesterday morning in the rooms of the Wellington branch of the Merchant Service Guild. The occasion was the presentation to Captain B. B. Irwin, commander of the Rangatira, of a goodwill gift from a brother Shipmaster, Captain C. W. Ostenfeldt, of the Kalingo. The gift was a cigarette box made in the form of a seaman’s chest from a piece of teak from the steamer Mararoa. The box, which represented many hours of work, was beautifully made and finished with a remarkably clever inlay of paua shell, the lid bearing an anchor, Captain Irwin’s initials, and the year 1936, and the front panel the name “Mararoa” inlaid below the lock. The Mararoa was the famous steamer built for the Union Steam Ship Company in 1885 and employed for many years in the inter-island service. After being gutted, the old ship was towed to sea and scuttled off Taurakirae Head on February 16, 1931. She was commanded by Captain Irwin from 1918 to 1920. “Herewith is a small token which I am asking you to hand to Captain B. B. Irwin,” wrote Captain Ostenfeldt to Captain F. A. Macindoe, secretary of the Merchant Service Guild. “Captain Irwin has endeared himself to many of us, and I am sure others will be glad to take the opportunity of expressing with me a wish for his continued good health and prosperity. The box is made from a piece of teak taken from the Mararoa before her career was ended, and jn making it for Captain Irwin, I have had the hope that it will revive some happy memories.” All those .present, including a number of shipmasters, referred to the high esteem in which Captain Irwin was held by all who knew him, and expressed pleasure at being associated with the presentation of Captain Ostenfeldt’s happily-conceived gift. Captain Irwin feelingly expressed his thanks for fhe gift and the goodwill shown by the maker and those present. The healths of Captain Irwin and Captain Ostenfeldt and a toast,to the memory of the Mararoa were drunk by the gathering.