SHIPS AMD THE SEA FIFTY YEARS AGO COOK STRAIT CABLE

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 54, 1 September 1934, Page 21

SHIPS AMD THE SEA

FIFTY YEARS AGO

COOK STRAIT CABLE

WORLD'S LARGEST AND OLDEST

(By "Mai

Brief mention was made in these columns last week to several of > tho largest tankers in the world. The subject is one of no small interest ia view of the extent to which the industrwy has grown in the past two decades, and, as oue might well gather from noting how many tankers come to the Dominion each year, oil and spirit-freighting is now a business of great importance tho.world over. As ono of the great oil-producing nations the United States naturally takes its place in the forefront of the oil-carry-ing' trade. The most recent available figures show that America owns 362 tankers of varying sizes which have a gross tonnage- of well ' towards 2,500,000.: The U.S.A. played a great part in establishing the tanker as it is known today and it is,. therefore, not surprising to note that it owns the oldest sailing tanker in commission. It is the Diamond Head, once the Gainsborough, an English-built iron barque of 1012 tons gross, which was launched in 1866. She is used:-for carrying oil in bulk. Kunning the-Diamond Head mighty close is. the Panucoj; built m 1868 at; Sunderlarid,' an jron barge, known rat various times as the Hehrietie Hasman and the Idai , She is now in service as a molasses carrier in Cuba;;: The Panuco has a gross'measurement of 803 tons and is 174 ft long. The only other sailing tanker now in commission-which, was launched before 1880"is the Monterey, 1854 tons gross, built in 1878 at Southampton. She. is/an -iron barquentine arid is now freighting oil in bulk for>the-'United:.States/ She was previously named the' Cypromene. \ The Tuxpan,; another Cuban molasses barge,' which was launched in 1881, is also ■on the list of nautical antiques. LARGEST SAILING TANKER The largest sailing tanker in commission is the Standard Oil Company's steel four-masted bargp' S.O. Co. No. 95, a* vessel :of ;4212 tons gross, built in 1903 in New York shipyards. She has a lengthiOf 360.5 ft and a beam of

50ft, being used for bulk petroleum carrying. Next comes the British, steel fourmasted barge Daylight, built in 1902 at Port Glasgow with' a gross measurement of 3698 tons and 351.5 ft long. She carries oil in bulk. Tho American steel barge Purol, once the motor-ship Pennant, comes third on the list. She was built in 1916 at Baltimore, 3253 tons gross,. length 292.3 ft. Others worthy of note aro the S.O. Co. C, a steel barge of 3200 tons, built in 1897, the Pure Woco Pep, 3248 tons, built in 1903, the Pure Van, 3184, tons, built in 1912, and tho Erskine M. Phelps, 3029 tons, built .in 1898. . As was pointed out last Saturday, tho largest tanker in the world is the Norwegian 17,801-ton vessel Kosmos. There aro only 16 tankers of over 13,000'.,t05s in existence; 'there aro, however, 42 of over 12,000 tons. Bc)ow are set down a few facts concerning the nine largest tankers in commission:— 1 Gross Length. Nitiontohnassc. Feet. ality. Kosmos 17,801 531.1 Norwcg. Kosmos ' II 16,900 s'<3A Nonvcc C. O. Stlllman .. 16,43fi 50.5.7 Brit. Svend Foyn .... 14,5!1G 535.1 Brit. Vestfold 14,577 588.1 Nocweg. Vlkingen , 14,326 49U Panama Sir James Clark Boss 14,362 537.9 Norwce. Charles G. Black 14,303 550.3 U.S.A., William Rockefeller 14,034 > 534.9 U.S.A. It can be" seen from tho above that the British tanker C. O. Stillman is the longest of the big tankers The Svend Foyn and the 'Vestf old are sisterships, 'built in Britain.' Excluding the last two,' all of'the others were built in 1928 or after. SOME OLD GIANTS., The oldest of the tankers over 11,000 tons gross is the British vessel Hektoria (ex-Medic), 13,797' tons, built in 1899 by Harland and .Wolff at their Belfast yards.- The'Hektoria is fitted to carry whale-oil in bulk, being 550 ft long and 63ft in beam. For many years she was the largest tanker afloat. The Solglimt, 12,246 tons, was launched the yoar after tho Hektoria, being built by tho German firm of Blohm and Voss, at Hamburg. The Solglimt has also been known as the Potsdam and the Stockholm, and is now owned by a Norwegian firm who use her for whale-oil arid fuel-oil carrying.

iirigalc")

The Pelagos, another Norwegian ship, fitted for freighting whale-oil in bulk, was launched in 190K She has a gross tonnage of 12,067, and was also built by Harland and Wolff at Belfast. She is 500 ft long, compared with the Solglimt's 550 ft.

ANNIVERSARY OF LAYING

It is now just over sixty-eight years ago since the Cook Strait cable was laid. Looking over the files of "The Post" during August, 1860, one finds that a tremendous amount of interest was. centred in proceedings. There is little wonder in that, of course, as until 1866 all communication between the islands had been dependent upon shipping movements. Lengthy preparations saw the stage set for the work to begin, and on August 15, 1866, the steamer Weyinouth commenced paying out tho cable from Port Underwood, setting a steady pace of two miles per hour. Seven miles of cable, • however, got adrift at the first attempt, and were later picked up by tho Government steamer St. Kilda and spliced to tho main line. The "Weymouth's cable was paid out, and reached to within three miles of the shore on this sido of the Strait, being buoyed there. A unique touch was then added •to proceedings. Let |'The Post "of those early days relate it for itself: ",On the result of last night's division in the House of Eepresentatives being made known to' the expedi-

SELECT COMPANY AMONG THE TANKERS

TORPEDO BOATS ARRIVE

tiori by the electric spark," says "The Post," "the party went on shore at Port Underwood and telegraphed the news to all parts of the Middle Island." The "electric spark" and tho "Middle Island" ate surely worthy of note.

On Saturday, August 25, it was announced that the St. Kilda bad left Wellington for "Lyall's Bay" to pick up the piece of cable lyiiig there, and to convey if across to the other side, •where.-,it was to, be spliced and _ the "means of connection with tho Middle Island made perfect." On - the Monday "The Post" was able to report that communication" with, the Middle Island had boen successfully .■ completed. ■■'•."■-■•-■• The paying-out machinery from the Weymouth had been placed aboard the St. Kilda, and the latter ship lifted the broken end of the cable which was lying at the bottom of Lyall's Bay. It was then spliced on the White's Bay side, the two islands being connected when tho end was run ashore at Port Underwood. "Yesterday morning," reports "The Post" of August 27,1866, "cables received in town announced the progress made by, the expedition ■'8n tho previous day; '■ in the afternoon we/heaWd that communication between the ■islands was complete, and ere night ■fell, messages had passedto. and fro between'this province and its sisters in the south conveying congratulations on the auspicious event-Now that the most arduous portion of the work is thus successfully, finished and the troubled waters of Cook's Strait .are cleft by a thin line of wire we may hope at no distant day to see the length and breadth, of the colony intersected by threads of metal carrying civilisation into the most remote places and now little-known districts in the heart of the ..country. . . ."How lyrical these historical events made, our ancestors!' Yet as " The Post" hoped then, so has it been. ; j On her return to port the same night the St. Kilda. fired off several guns/and sent up some rockets while the public of, Wellington ' \ became, suitably en-

thusiastio on, the waterfront. It was later learned that the ship had had a portion of the cable tangled round her screw while picking up the'end. She suffered no damage, however. . On August. 28-the line was'in full working order, Press and private messages being transmitted 'by ''the electric spark.''

The two torpedo boats ordered by the Now Zealand Government arrived here in good order on the deck of tho ship Peter Stuart from London on August 25, 1884. In order to prevent their being damaged, tho ship had to be hoveto for 17 days. They were handed over to Mr. Bowie, boatbuildcr, of Te Aro. In humorous vein, a correspondent to "The Post" suggested that if the boats were launched on the lakes on. the reclaimed land, and the four guns at Port Pipitea were kept trained on the hills, Wellington would bo safe from any armed cruisers.

A Keuter telegraph published in "The Post" of August 25, 1884, 're-ported-that two days before, a French fleet under Admiral Courbet opened a bombardment upon the Chinese arsenal near Foochow. After three hours of shelling, the stronghold was destroyed, and seven of' the nine Chineso gunboats lying' inshore were sunk.1 Tho other two escaped.'Eleven Chinese transports were disabled without being given a chance to surrender. ■ According to the "Times" the affair was a "sickening massacre."

A telegram from St. John's, Newfoundland, dated July. 17, 1884, stated that the-relief ships Thetis and Bear ■picked up Lieutenant Greeley and six survivors' of his expedition about five mileg off Cape Sabine. • One died later of frostbite. Seventeen others had perished by starvation, ■ and one was drowned. As far as science was concerned, the expedition was adjudged to be an outstanding success. The decision in regard U, the stranding of the Eingarooma was given on August 23, 1884. It was ruled that she had been carried ashore by the set-off curren', and that, though the bad might have been used oftener, the captain and officers were not to blame for the mishap. The discipline of the crew was highly commended. The brigantin© Augusta, of 138 .tDris, en route from Newcastle with coal, missed stays in a light wind outside New Eiver Heads, and ran on to the rocks, where sho became a total loss. The Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company's chartered steamer Florida arrived at Port Chalmers on August 23, 1884, after a passage of 52 days from Hobart. She brought IC2 passengers, including 56 assisted immigrants. One death occurred on the voyage. ' . ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. G. Brown. —Your statement is incorrect. The Devon was bound from Auckland to Wellington at the time of '"the mishap, bringing cargo from Montreal. Prior to discharging at Auckland she had visited Austra-lian-ports. E. Mackay (Bulls). —Beceived. Will be ■ dealt with when opportunity offers. G.W.C. (Hataitai).—The Union Cornmany owns 167,686 tons of shipping; 50,446 tons, or 30.08 per cent, is at present laid up. I\K.—Details aTO lacking concerning the ships you mention. —"MAETINGALE." On her maiden trip from Oslo, via South Africa,, the 'motor-ship Taronga arrived' at Sydney last week. • "Her :highest' speed was -17.5 knots and sho averaged 16.9 ;for the, voyage..She .is a-Danish-built vessel of 7003' tons grosi register,'and'4B4 feet long. '