PORT OF WELLINGTON

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 11, 14 July 1928, Page 28

PORT OF WELLINGTON

;;' /: ; a slack week . -,fThe arrival of:. only five overseas itoamers during the week- resulted in ©no? of the slackest periods that have teen, experienced on the wharves this year, No passenger steamer- arrived . from: either Australia or America, but ' the olfl intercolonial steamer Mperaki left "yesterday for Australia on her last .voyage from Wellington. Before she sailed for-Australia she was, repainted at■' Evans , Bay,- and when she came toiind to the Queen's Wharf on Wedinesday night there wore many who failed ;to recognise the old steamer owing: to the fact that her hull had Tjegn painted light.. grey and her fittings had. been, cleaned, up, giving her. the outward appearance of. a new yes" seL.The only other incident of. inter- , es't was" the arrival at Auckland on"Wednesday, of '.tho'' Ulimaroa from Sydney, twenty-six hours behind time owing to1 bad weather. :The .Waitemata, .which, arrived on Saturday night from . Sari Francisco, berthed, on: Sunday morning. After discharging 693 tons, of Pacific Coast cargo She! sailed again mi Thursday, for .Australian ports, to complete.'.. Included in the ,Pipiriki's . 2600: tons of general cargo, from: America were 1200 'tons of bitumen. .Home: cargo amounting to 4400 tons was dischaigcd'by the JTekoa, which sailed on Wednesday for Oam:iaru.' ' '■'. ."' ." '■"■'"' ". To,' coniplete'-.loaumg ;for; the XTnited States.'and. Canada, the 'Canadian Challenger sailed on Tuesday :for Auckland. ; The.Aravva,.from ■ Southampton.;.and liohdori,; via, Auckland,, arrived yesteri3ay.,to. j cpmplete. discharge of. her. Home .cargo. : The Eotorua, ; which' arrives today, from .Southampton, has -no cargo at .Wellington. : > ■

Shipping pßoard's Fleet. -The; report that'; an "offer had: been mafleV'iylvJhoi'T^au'srOdSayic'i'Cbi'pofatioii.' to;: ■pureU'asp::.4lio-,-TJiiitpd states. :Line3 frpm-;thff Shippuig-Bbard has been confirmed,: states < " iTairplay.". Lawrence BJ. 'Wilder,. of; the Brown-Boveri Company, /confirmed"the report, that his: company had /indicated that it. was do-, sirous of obtaining tho 'North-Atlantic passenger ' service,1 including the flag: ship of the-United States- Lines, the Leviathan, '.Before making a.definite: bid 'for.tho. lirie-.it'was-explained that the company first would like to know what profits thelinc is now making and: something about i;Ke present "'.condition. of the ships in service. Mr. Wilder: is the .promoter' of the proposed Blue Bib-; bon ; Line, which-has ■ plans for ships tha\t wiU'eross the' Atlantic, in four days. If. capital',were . attracted 'to build .these ships, .',it. would take,at least twb'; .o.r. tlireo .years, to,, complete them, and,.-meanwhile, ...the company would like'to acquire..the Government line in, ordjsr' to ..build" up : a goodwill for the proposed:"express, service..■■■.". The profits of. tho United States Line in 1927 were about ,3.71,000 dollars,". according to' a recent report made by. General Dalto'n, general .manager of the Merchant Fleet Corporation.'1.- The Shipping Board, it wiljj be recalled, r'eudered'au adverse report,on tlio' Blue.Ei.bbpu. Lino project^, arid stated, that.it had been unablo'to get satisfactory/.assurances: that there wasadequate,, financial 'support. ..Shortly after.", the "now; Jones-White Bill, becomes law,'it'is expected that1 there will be. several ..propositions, made to the Shipping..Bpard for- taking over,,the North Atlantic-,passenger service..,'....' ," , Gallantry-at 'Sea. _ r ;" /■"•-""', ;'.•'•'■ : Presentation of the honorary .silver iricd/a-1 and, certificate of the litiyal'llumaaa S.Qeiety to Mr1. Charles M' Farlane,;- Chief'•■.officer, of tho. British India Steam. Navigation ".Company's Ghakia, was^niado, by ;Viscou>it Inchcapc. at the company's .offices in May. The-ihcdal and eortifieato were awarded foi> Mr. M'Farla.ne's; gallantry in saving tlie life;..of.:> the.•master -of a. native: sailings craft: .at ..sea. '. On .12th November,. while "tho steamer Ghakia was passing' off ■Porebunder on tlie. Kathiawar coast'! during :cyelonic: ■vveatherj a' dismasted: native dhow : .was. sighted, flying a dis-; trosa, signal.:.. The, weather was too. bad to launch a ship's boat, so, with difficulty,1 the steamer was manoeuvred alongside', -'the '■. dhow. .-' Ropes were thrown' to.-the. crew of the dhow a"nd,: one by one, five of: them were hauled on board the. steamer in. an exhausted condition, and under circumstances of added danger, as the dhow was all the time being dashed against the side of the Ohakla and breaking up rapidly. 'When the fifth" man had been brought onboard it was thought that all.had been -taken-: off ', iJlit :!it tho last moment a man, jvho turned, out to be..the master of tlie craft, was seen crouching in the stern.: . A rope was thrown to him, but ho-wasI.'apparently;' in too oiliausted and helpless a condition to make' any effort 'to. save himself, and his position scei\ed hopeless. At that mdmcrit, fhoiigli mouiitaiiious seas were running^- the ...chief officer, Mr.. C. E. M'^arlane,'-climbed over', tire rail and, descending1 the: rope pilot-ladder, jumped on to the sinking dhow, seized the man,"swung him" on to the ladder, and with tho assistance of tho second and third officers brought- him up to the •afetyof the ship's deck. ■'. ,

A Ship With a History. . ; ;.- Behind the brief announcement that the steamship-Hollypark is to be broken . up, there ' lies a''story of one of the mos't.heroie .exploits of the war at sea, writes .the;.',' Syren -and Shipping.". The Hollypark was the vessel which, under the aliases of Farnborougli ...and Q5, proved tho most successful-of the ! submarine decoy ships employed by the ■Admiralty,.to, counter-; the German policy of sinking.- merchantmen at sight. She was first commissioned in October, 1915, by Lieutenant-Commander Gordon Campbell, K.N., . whose gallant wor.k in her gained him the D.S.O. and V.C. and led to his promotion, first to commander and then (to captain. ■ The feat which Won him the Victoria Cross took place on 17th February, 1917, and is related by Mr. E. Keeble Chatterton in his book, "Q-Ships and Their Story." At that ' period tho German High; Command had issued. orders to their submarine .captains .that.: ".every Allied.;' merchant ' ship, was ' t j>.. be' ■. attacked without ,'deiay,' the. object being to eiit, off: .seaborne, supplies from England and.force;.her.to make peace. The Q5 was in, the/.locality, of .'the Fastnet Light/about 10. o'clock on the day mentioned,', when'those .on board her saw ;a torpedo approaching. ;In his orderbook. Commander Campbell .had laid it! down that in these circumstances. the officer of ■the watch was. to. increase. qr decrease speed as ; necessary, so\ as to ensure the torpedo hitting the, ship. .-An--alteration-.of the. helm. resulted in the ,Q5 being struck abreast of No. 3' hold, a 'terrific explosion ..being caused and a huge hole torn [in her side.- In' accordance with the 'practice .adopted; by Qrship commanders^ the vessel was apparently abandgnedbyiher.crew, - -the . object-being,' of "cpurse,-to."te ; mpt"'tTje; submarino to come within .range.:. A;loiVe on the bridge,; and lying hidden;,' .'was; Commarider Campbell,, ;wh.o saw- U.-83 appear on the starboard quarter, a couple. of.hundred yards away, .sub-

i merged, but making a scrutiny of the ship through .his periscope. Eventually, gaining confidence, the German approached to within 13 yards, and about five yards from the boats. Still tho order to open fire.was withheld, although Q5 was making water rapidly and sinking by the stern. The minutes that passed must have seemed like hours for those on board, but at length their patience was rewarded, for the submarino finally came to the surface about 300 'yards on the port bow. Commander Campbell waited until all his guns Were bearing, and the first shot, at point-blank range, hit the conning tower and killed the German commander. .Then followed a hail of shells, which shattered the submarine's hull, and she finally sank, only two of her crew escaping. The Q5 herself was in an extremoly critical condition, but assistance was summoned, and by dint oft superhuman efforts the vessel', was' towed into Bantry 'Bay and beached." - Shevjniis.t; have provided '■ a remarkable' spectacle .as she approach-^ 'edp.fp'r.she'had. a list of 20deg*.' and her.: stern was nearly. .Bft Under- water." Months later she was temporarily repaired/■refloated,- and icve.ntually • re-: turnod, reconditioned, to:'her. owners.. Shortly after- the- action the. .public w.as'.mystified by. an announcement in. tho.: ''Gazette-that tlie Kingjia.d. granted' the Victoria Cross, tp ,'Coinjnander .'(iio/\v,! Eear-Admirai ;\ Campbeii i *'in.': r'ecogui-; tioh 'of his'u 'c6nspicup.its':gaJl.ahtryj-'cQhT summate coolness:; and .sitiil in cpni": mand of "one of 'His.- Majesty 's ships- in action.'.' i%t the' end of: the .war the Q5,-., bearing once agaiji/.her pTiginal -nanie., of-..Lodorer,:,;feCeiy.ed. from the. Admiralty, a .tabltit; inscribed, with .do-.' tails' of .li'er'war/' \ybrk," t'o.gethe-f;. with ' l thc''namesl'.o'i.;the/^coniin;an4J.ug dfli.cer -iiiid' in embers "of ."the/.cre'Ay who .'won' do-' corations" for their'•services, while :in: her.*- ;.*.-j'- ';:":[' .'■■'■ "-•' ■'■,''.'"j.t-?:- *'.:> An Uiillicky, Crane." ;: '. ':";• .' . ' The ..floating ' crane" Toba, purchased froni-a Dutch,-yard -by- the:'• ■ Argentine-Grovern-mont; for; .use. by -tho.Navy,- wasreceutly.; raised- at,''• Puerto-,..-Belgranp,'----aft-qr having capsized and T sunk- therealmost'two -years- ago. The Toba was. bought.--for-.the- purpose v of having, a crane, of\ sufficieut power to- lift guns and oilier heavy\pieces to ,the -Tvarships, but', on - arrival,- /she /pitched Over and. settled at/Ttho-bottom of the-dock, Itillv ing some .of. the. crew a.nd. forming...a constant 'menace' to' riavigati6ii'"at the' pprtv..'. ISveii; oil her. jyay.'-'piit-she had bad luck, breaking- away. fi-6m her tow. when-off Uruguay, and~drif ting-for several days before being towed again,, and now she is .tlie cause of litigation between the, Government and the com-: pany concerned, the authorities maiiiT taining that, as slip had never been in service, she lias not been handed over tothem.'jThe.Toba. was dismantled, below water and brought to the surface in sections. '.''..'■ '■'■.■ • ' ■ Russian Steamsliip Services. l\is. ariiiounced that during the 1928' navigation season |he Soviet Mercantile Marino .Company will maint(tin-.:15: regular " steamship ' 'lines''to. foreign: ports,:-states--:;the--'-',Syren: and -Shipping;"" ' :The- LeiiingVad-Londo'iV"ser-vice- will,bo a bi-weekly one by three passenger and cargo steamers provided with refrigerated accommodation, while two similar • vessels will maintain weekly sailings between Leningrad and Hamburg.