FIFTY YEARS AGO
The strange disappearance overboard of the mate of the steamer Huia, while that vessel was bound from Wangnaui to- Wellington, caused considerable excitement when she arrived in port. The mate's name was-Alex-ander Murphy, and, according to reports, about three and a half hours after leaving Wanganui, he -disappeared overboard.1 Murphy.--. had been left, in charge- of the'wh'eel while the captain ■ went" below. • After lengthy interrogation of all the passengers, and discovering none of them to be'absent, the captain suddenly remembered that the first mate had not arrived on thej scene, and proceeded to look for him. He was not on board, however, and after lengthy cruising about in the waters of the Tasman the search was given up. It was surmised that Murphy had fallen overboard. Fifty years ago the Union Company, had just added a new vessel to their fleet. It was- the Waihora, and- was in many respects similar to the Tarawhera, being specially' fitted for the ocean traffic. Her dimensions were: Length 285ft~ beam 36ft, depth 22ft. Her gross tonnage was 2003 tons. The engine-room was a spacious one for those days, its length being 50ft. The vessel was expected to sail at 13* knots an hour on a daily consumption of 25 tons of coal. Like tho Tarawera, she was fitted with electric light. Her accommodation was sufficient for 120 saloon and 100 second class . passengers. An inventory of a large portion of the amenities provided by the Waihora was given by "The Post," nnd included "sycamore panels" for the "social hall," "a handsome skylight" for the saloon, and "comfortable seats" on the promenade decks. A message from Christchurch stated that the New Zealand Shipping Company %d .received advice of the arrivalof the British King at Rio.de Janiero. vTbe company had also chartered the Cunard steamer Catalonia, which was of 4841 tons register and 4000 horse-power. She was a vessel of 430 ft .length and 43ft beam, and was built, in 1881 on the Clyde. ■ The British Queen, with 295 Government immigrants for Welington and Canterbury, was expected to arrive in the near future, according to a report in "The Post" of May 8,1883.
FIFTY YEARS AGO
Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 111, 13 May 1933, Page 22
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