HAPPIER EVENT

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 58, 6 September 1945, Page 8

HAPPIER EVENT

I STRATHAIRD RETURNS

aARGE DRAFT OF MEN

* Back in port, today under much hap- * pieiC circumstances than those which * iccotsnted tor her visit to Wellington * nearly six years ago was the P. and . 0. liner Strathaird, and, still on war service, she brought home in her a "! large number of returning servicemen, juite a number who had been taken " forward by her to the war. ft was mother happy home-coming under the , peace for which the men and those tvho followed them fought gallantly ihrough many a campaign to the tcr- ; minating point—for most of them—in 1 Trieste. if the splendid condition »f the troops gave no indication of * iard war service, the ribboned breasts bore the evidence of long and arduous I campaigning. ■/„ Most of those who returned wore three service ribbons — I the 1939-45 Star, the Africa Star, and ' x the Italy Star. There were many of -them, too, with other decorations. t The transport brought back many ■more than had been taken by her on - her original mission to New Zealand. She had long since been remodelled internally to carry a far greater complement, and on the voyage completed today she ■ had 3740 members of the' forces. The ship came via Lyttelton, where over 1300 members of the draft disembarked. An official party, which * went on board the vessel, included the Prime Minister (Mr. Fra.ser), the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom (Sir Patrick Duff), the chairman of the Wellington Harbour Board (Mr - W H. Pries), the Mayor (Mr. Appleton), and Messrs. T. L. Macdonald M.P. (representing the Leader of the Opposition) and Leadley (R.S.A.). The official welcome over, and the vessel berthed, a well-planned embarkation procedure was put into operation without delay, though to many of the people eager to see returning relatives and friends the waiting seemed unduly long, with, close approach to the troopship difficult. The men on board were equally eager to bridge the distance between themselves and the crowds on shore. For both the Trentham Military Band played its part. The main object of those responsible for the disembarkation details was to get the members through as quickly as possible, and to this end railway transport was provided almost at the . ship's side. Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, and Manawatu sections dis- .' embarked first,'and they were followed by the Wairarapa section, which left * for home by" bus transport' Then followed the Wellington section, number- ■. ing over 450. : DRY—WITH AN EXCEPTION. \ Largely, the trip had been- uneventful; Even the news of Japan's capitulation—received when the ship was a day out from Colombo—was received quietly. The Japanese surrender, however, was made the reason for waiving the usual dry order of things on board. The news having been received just before reaching Colombo, a consignment of beer was procured (officially) at tiv.t port, and, in celebration of the victory over Japan, an issue of one bottle per man—officers excluded —was made. The officers were not altogether out of it; quite a few of them had prepared themselves suitably for the voyage before leaving Egypt. For what was lost in dryness on the voyage a considerable recovery was made by a day ashore at Melbourne, where, by all accounts, the troops were treated royally. Out of the thousands who went ashore at Melbourne only 13 were posted missing when the Strathaird pulled ■ out. The conditions under which the men returned were regarded generally as being good. The reply to many ' inquiries amongst those who travelled by the vessel was that accommodation and food had been quite all right, and that throughout the voyage all hands had been as comfortable as could be expected. The voyage itself had been rsmarkably good for the time of the year. The officer commanding the draft was Lieutenant-Colonel Purcell, who : disembarked at Lyttelton, the Second '. in Command. Lieutenant-Colonel El- . liott, of' Wellington, taking over for f: the last lap of the voyage.