STILL AFLOAT

Evening Post, Volume XCIV, Issue 88, 11 October 1917, Page 11

STILL AFLOAT

THE OLD STEAMER HAUPIRL

Ifc ■was^reported some months ago that the old steamer Haupiri, which . was a well-known unit of the Union Company's fleet, had been sunk under instructions from the Home authorities at the entrance to a French port. It will, therefore, come as a great surprise to those interested in shipping to know that the old vessel is still afloat and doing good service in another part of the world. In the columns of the shipping journal Fairplay, under date 26th July, appears the following notice regarding the Haupiri in respect to the renaming of the vessel:—"l, William Arthur Cox, of 24, St. Mary Axe, in/the City of London, hereby give notice that in consequence of the boat hereunder mentioned being owned by the Sun Shipping Company, Ltd., and it being desired that all tho company's boats' names shall have the prefix 'Sun,' I have applied to the Board of Trade under section 47 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, in respect of my ship Haupiri, of London, official number 89,094, of gross tonnage 715, or register tonnage 452, heretofore owned by Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, Ltd., of Dunedin, New. Zealand, for permission to change her name to Sunland, to be registered in tho said new name at the * Port of London as owned by the Sun Shipping Company, Ltd." The Haupiri has had 'an adventurous and long career (says Dunedin Star).' Many years ago sho was purchased by tho Union Steam Ship Company, being then known as thfl Richmond, and was engaged in the South Sea Islands trade for some time. Later on she was placed in the Auckland-East Coast bays-Gis-borne service, in which trade she remained for severil years. ' She also had the distinction of being the vessel selected to inaugurate the regular passenger and cargo service between ■ Wellington, Picton, and Nelson. The Haupiri has met with several mishaps during her long service. On one occasion a fire broke out on board shortly after she had left. Auckland for the East Coast. The vessel at once returned to port, when the. fice was extinguished before any serious i damage had been done to the ship. On j 17th May, 1912, she ran ashore on Bar- i rett's Reef, at the entrance to Welling- j ton Harbour. The Haupiri put back.to i Wellington and was beached and subse- | quently_ repaired. In later years the Haupiri was added to the unemployed list, and after being laid'up in Wellington Harbour for some considerable time was purchased, by a South African firm./ The vessel left Wellington about two years ago, and. after reaching a South African port was then ordered to proceed to England.