GREAT WORLD CRUISE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19974, 16 June 1928, Page 14

GREAT WORLD CRUISE.

BACK WITH' THE SPOILS. MONKEYS AND MOONSTONES. DOZEN BETROTHALS ON VOYAGE. Parrots, monkeys, canaries, ukuleles, chips of stone from the Great Wall of China, bottles of holy water from the Ganges, Japanese kimonos, moonstones from Ceylon, mandarins' hats, and tea tied up in picturesque bundles were among the problems that confronted the customs officers at Southampton recently when the Canadian liner Empress of Australia returned after a six months' cruise round the world. In spite of the fact that some of the /parrots had been trained to answor "No" when the customs official asked the question: "Have you anything to declare?" hundreds of pounds must have been collected during the afternoon. Twelve engagements and no divorces were reported by the ship's purser. Passengers enjoyed the greatest diversity of weather, ranging from a snowstorm in Naples to brilliant' sunshine in Egypt. This is the first time that a round the world cruise has started and ended at a British port, and enormous consignments of food had to be stowed away in the ship when she left Southampton last year. There were 112,000 eggs, 370 crates of apples, 65,000 bottles of beer, 5000 cigars, and 34,000 pounds of sugar, among the stores consumed since the vessel sailed. The route was via New York to Gibraltar, Algiers, Monaco, Port Said, Bombay, Hongkong, Shanghai, Yokohama, San Francisco, and thence back to England. Christmas Day was spent in the Holy Land and New Year's eve in Cairo. Miss Helen Bourne, one of the passengers, operated the lever elevating the Empress of Australia from the Pacific, to the Miraflores Lake, a height of 54ft., while passing through the Panama Canal. "It has been one of the most wonderful trips I have ever made," said the captain, Commander Latta. "Weather conditions were wonderful and we did not once meet a rough sea." The Customs House resembled an Eastern market when all the spoils of the journey were examined. The problems of the siik duties caused much anxious deliberation, and many curios were left behind by passengers unwilling to pay the duties. A ukulele was among the deserted spoils. The first engagement on board was made public eight weeks after the vessel had left England, and the other 11 followed in quick succession.