THE PASSING OF THE OLD-TIMERS

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 28, 1 February 1917, Page 8

THE PASSING OF THE OLD-TIMERS

EX-CRACK MAIL LINERS

RIVALRIES OP THE SEA.

Exit the Warrimoo, erstwhile crack Pacific mail liner, holder of many records, pioneer ship in the Pacific mail service, but now relegated to the humble position of a Chinese tramp steamer! It had been known for some time in semiofficial civcles that the famous old ship had been sold by the Union Steam Ship Company, but no definite information concerning her new owners had been published in Wellington, before the brief announcement in last night's Post. '

All the old steamers that used to plough Hie blue waters of the Pacific with His Majesty's mails snugly stowed in the holds, are rapidly going the way which all vessels that outlive theinyears of usefulness must follow. First of these was the Aorangi, one of the prettiest vessels that ever came throngh Pencarrow Heads. For years the Aorangi carried the mails between San Francisco and New Zealand, and her name was a household word all over this country. Then she gradually dropped out of the service. What old steamer, however well-built, can. hope to compete with modern design, . high-speed turbines, which think nothing of propelling their hulls at 21 knots and over, and the hundred and one improvements which have been, made in shipbuilding during recent years? Then the war came on and the British Admiralty searching round for suitable vessels commandeered her for "special service." About eighteen months ago news came through that the Aorangi had been filled with cement and used to block ■ the mouth of a certain poit which the enemy was in the habit of using. So the old ship, having been useful all her days, remained in the nation's service, though she floats no more.

Then the Maitai, still engaged in the Wellington-San Francisco mail sen-ice despite her age, was caught on a jagged .veef at Rarotonga whilst on her way to Wellington, only a few weeks ago, and according to present reports is likely to remain there. And lastly comes the news that the Warrimoo has passed from New Zealand. A FAMOUS SHIP. _ The histories of the Maitai and Warrimoo are very closely commingled. Both;,vessels were built in the early 'nineties for the late Mr. James Huddart, who proposed to run them in direot opposition to the Union Company. The coming of these vessels was the signal for keen rivalry between the two companies, and many were the exciting races between the Rotomahana and Mararoa on the one hand and the Warrimoo and Maitai (then known as the Miowera) on the other. Those were exciting days for all New Zealanders who took any interest in shipping, and there were few'then who did not. The Warnmoo's run was from.Wellington to Sydney, and thence to Melbourne, and the Rotomahana's sailing dates were made to coincide with those of the other vessel. The tense rivalry between the companies is well summed up by Will Lawson in the following Knee:—

We hailed the. Wakatipu as we'passed, Ahoy! from a dozen throats; And she cheered us with a, whistle blast

For the sake of the Union boats. Logging her ten knots, sure and slow. She fell astern in our wake, And -watched the Rotomahana go With the Company'^ honour at stake,

In calm weather the little Rotomahana ■usually hud things her own way, but when any kind of a sea was running the Warrimoo, with her heavier weight of hull,: invariably'outpaced her. Then Mr. Huddart placed the Warrimoo in the Vancouver mail service, together with the Miowera, the subsidy paid to the company being £35,000 per annum. The Miowera was the first vessel to leave Sydney with an All-Red mail on board, and she cleared Sydney Heads on 18th May, 1893. In 1897 the Canadian-Aus-tralian Company, owners of the two vessels, went into liquidation, and the Union Company took them over. A distinctive feature of the Warrimoo and Miowera before they were purchased was {■he fact that they had oval funnels painted yellow, with a St. George's Cross on either side. They were then withdrawn from the 'Frisco service and placed in the .intercolonial run, and for several years after the Warrimoo ran in the Mel-bourne-Bluff-Weilingtem-Sydney trade. The price paid the Union Company by her new owners is said to be in the region of £58,000, a satisfactory figure for so old a vessel. THE LAST REMAINING SHIP. The last of these famous old mail "fliers" still in commission is the Mararoa, now engaged' in the WellingtonLyttelton ferry service. The Mararoa was built to last, and although she celebrated her fortieth anniversary two years ago, there is every prospect of her " going on for ever." For forty-two years her engines have driven her uncomplainingly through sunshine and storm, and the fact that she is still able to cut out her twelve knots on the run up from Lyttelton is proof that age has I [ not robbed her of the vigour that characterised her when she and the Maitai did their best to break each other's speed records. Many and various are the stories told of her deeds when, as tho R.M.S. Mararoa, one of the crack mail "fliers" of the Pacific, she carried the mails between Sydney and San Francisco. She sailed from Sydney on her maiden voyage to California on December, 1885. When she reached San Francisco her officers were given a great reception, for she was the I first steamer with triple expansion en- ! gines to arrive in San Francisco Bay. And thereby hangs a tale. To cele- | brate the event, one.of the big founders ! in San Francisco, cast a set of massivo brass eagles, which were fastened to her piston rods, so that as the engines worked, the eagles rose and fell with the pistons—producing a very pretty effect.. Needless to say, the officers and engineers were very proud of these eagles, and took good care to see they were not abstracted by any curio seekers. The second officer of the Mararoa many years ago was Captain C. P. Post, now master of the Government steamer Tutanekai. As a young man Captain Post . was very taken with these eagles, but after leaving the ship he thought no more about them. A few months back, he was travelling .up from Lyttelton on Transport Board business, when he bethought himself of the eagles. On making enquiries amongst the engineers he learnt, that all but one had disapparecl. This he was fortunate enough to secure, and the old curio is now one of his most valued possessions.

Messrs. J. H. Bethunc and Co. announco in our auction (.'olumns thai, on Wednesday next, at 2.30 p.m., at their rooms, Feflthcrsi-on-strecl, they are submitting two level scctione, Kima-etrcet, Miram&r.

Messrs. K. Johnston And Co., advftrt.its particulars of a. sal? of household furniture- and effeclfi, on tho premises, No. 5, -MelrosE-crcscent, to-morrow morning, at 10.30, At 2 o'clock, at theh roonw, thej' will «sll 570 lots of iutfli-