AN OCEAN LINER AT LAST.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 19 April 1909, Page 2

AN OCEAN LINER AT LAST.

ISOLATED NO MORE.

SAFE ARRIVAL OF THE P.AKAIA.

BERTHAGE AT THE WIIAIU'.

A RED-LETTER DAY.

OFFICERS SPEAK HIGHLY- OF THE POHT.

To-day, the 19th April', 1909, is a day which will be Ion;; remembered in the annals of Nelson. In the crisp early mornins of a beautiful autumn day an ocean tramp was seen lying we'll out in the Bay. It was known that it was the New Zealand Shipping C°-' s Hakaia, and that it ns tin- first ocean linf -to visit Nelson. The si^ht was unusual for Nelson, but it will be common soon. Slowly the .vessel made her vi-:\v fo Uie harliour wtr.illL'e until «lie picked up the pilot. Captain Collins, outside the lighthouse, and was soc.n veil on h-»r way (o the entrance. The Anchor Steamship Company's steamer Alexander went alongside and made fast to the Rakaia's bow to assist in slewing. The Harbour rtoard'p tug Gordon w;is soon alongside with the Board member and others, and then a start wn made for the harbour. Captain Collins was •!• charge, «i!id with an order ::i)\v .vid then, urou^it the R.ikaia -vith a beautiful cuive in thrown the entrnrce. The Aloxander gave the" bow a warp in negotiating the cnvo. and then kept ahead until the wharf was reached The Rakaia's hex! vas then 1.--k;n h ' t'vaids Maekay's Bluff, and when the wharf was abreast the anchor was dropped and Hie vessel slewed round in good style. Quietly she came up to the wharf, and when once the lines had been thrown ashore she was soon made fast. The bow is lying well towards the red buoy and the stern is at the other end of the wharf. Everybody seemed to have a word of praise for the manner in which Captain Collins, the pilot, handled the vessel. Quietly she .ame, but firmly, ly. There was only one course taken, and that was the rinht one. The curve «:is grw-tully nf^oitated, the slew was perfectly made, .md ihe great vessel .swuiw 'ami nsli'd rjui>-tlv against the wharf uiiln.ut even a bump. Bystanders remarked that pven if the fenders had been made of eggs they would not have hceii crashed.

Nelson tiirnril out of bed at an early hour this morning, and as tl'e vessel entered the 1 arbour a large numbir of people wjrs on the whirves and on the adjacent hills. As sooq as the vesfel had been "hurthed the Chairman of the Harbour Boari (M.r J. Urnnam. M.P.), addressing the large. crowd on the wharf from the steamer's deck, said that tho achievement which they, had just uitnejied was the fulfilment of a p.-imise made eight year; ago. He did not desire to make a speech on that cc:v.sion, -but he hoped they fiH realised j that tjis \>;ie a red-ietter' diiy in the 1 li-tory ot Xehoii. He hoped on some future oivision to speak of the whole J natter ol tin: improvements; :>m! now he would just ask them to give t'iree l.eavty ihe-M's for tin- pilut. L'apLiiin Collins, for the mugnifieent way in which he had brought the vessel m. V.'h'iii ihese had been given, he called for more oheers for the engineer and the dredgemaster, Met.-r.-, Harrowman anH M'Haiu respectively, a'ld in doing so stated thnt without tluir who'.e-Ueart-c.a co-ouemtion the work wnuld uj^ have been completed. On the c.a|l of Mr F. fs. Jones three hearty cheers were jjixen fur '.ho Harbour Hoard. Mr Corrigiin, a director of the Freezing Works, th°n call.-d for -heei> foi CnptBone, Maniv Superintendent of the N.Z. Shipping Company, the officers of ihe Rakaia, an;! 'he N'w Zealand Shipping Company, which were also heartily given,