"A LOT OF BRICKS"

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 118, 15 November 1922, Page 6

"A LOT OF BRICKS"

THE MARAR SOA'S CREW ft

A MEMORABLE TRIP.

v The passengers who came : up from Lyttelton la.sfc night by the Mararoa will long remember the trip—not because of any inconvenience they may have been subjected to, but, on account of the unusual travelling circumstances, and the cheery spirit that prevailed on the crowded ship. ■ No one aboard could have expected to find himself attended to as faithfully as in ordinary times, and all must have realised that they would IVave to forego many of the comforts of travelling under conditions of industrial rest. Tile passengers ma_de the best of the circumstances, and many turned to with a will and gave a hand where it was required. A large proportion of the travellers wore returning from the races afc Christcburch, and the' sporting element %vas much in evidence. Several of the jockeys aboard gave assistance to the stewards and in other departments-, and tho passengers as a whole afforded relief wherever they could for the overworked tempomry crew. , The Mararo.i has mado few trips on which she has carried so many passengers. It was estimated that she had 750. persons aboard, and her accommodation was necessarily greatly taxed. Beds were laid out on the decks, on the: seats, and in' other suitable places, while the cabins were all full. Matty amusing incidents occurred. One of the ship's officers remarked this morning that a literary man could' have found sufficient humorous material in the trip to write a very good story. In the dining saloon at meal times there was great congestion, and the stewards were kept on the run continuously. It took more than two hours to put all the passengers through the dining saloon, and at stages they were waiting one and two deep behind the chairs, ready for the first vacant seat. Some found errors in their orders, and demanded that the mistakes should be rectified, but the majority took things as they came and gladly overlooked omissions on the part of the bustling stewards.

The ship's officers spoko this morning of the cheerlncss that prevailed' right throughout the passengers and crew during yesterday's voyage. Referring to the crew, one officer remarked! "They are a lot of bricks, and worked like Trojans. Applications for passages by the Marar.oa this evening have been (received freely during tho day, nnd shortly before " The Post " wont to press it was ascertained that the first-class accommodation was full,', and that shakedowns were being provided. The second-class accommodation was, also well taxed. Bookings wero still .'boing made, and it appeared that the Mararoa would be a fairly full ship.