AGING GALES AND BLIZZARDS

Evening Star, Issue 17323, 10 April 1920, Page 10

AGING GALES AND BLIZZARDS

WOODARRA-’S CHRISTENING. Amongst the arrivals at the port- Jf Dunedin to-day was the new cargo steamer Woodarra, which eiffered the Heads, early in the morning and was beithed at Port Chalmers, her ‘ draught not permitting her to venture into the channel. Ihe Woodarra was launched only last year, and had a riotous welcome from the elements at the outset of her maiden voyage, in continuation of which she is now here. She sailed from Ayonmouth for New York on December 23/ and ran into a raging gale and mountainous seas, followed by q, blizzard, lier behaviour, however, " vindicated her builders, and she came through unI scathed. She passed the of > Liberty completely ice-coated. The Woodarra was to have sailed from New York within JO days of arrival, but continuous blizzards swept the city of sky, scrapers, and she lay at her berth for two months.

All traffic was held up owing to there being over 6ft of snow on the ground, otherwise the vessel would have remained at New York for only 10 days. The barometer registered lOdeg below zero in the vessel’s cabins, and the wafer in the water bottles and even the ink in an ink bottle were frozen. The weather is stated to have been the most severe experienced for 75 years in New York, and it is said that it cost 40,000,000 dollars to clear the streets of the city. It was a matter of rain, snow, and frost, and there was no way of getting about except to walk along the footpaths cut through the snow. The Woodarra left New York on February 29, on which day it was announced that a blizzard was expected, and it wns learned on reaching Panama that the forecast was fulfilled. The - vessel has 40 cadets on board, under Captain F. A. Bond, R.N.R., who has five years’ war service, during which time he had command of the destroyers Angler, and Rover. During the last year -of the war he was commodore of convoys

from Great Britain to the Mediterranean, and after the armistice was signed he was demobilised to take command of the Karoa, which left England with 1,000 troops for Australia. It is many years since Captain Bond last visited New Zealand.