MYSTERY VESSEL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23615, 27 March 1940, Page 10

MYSTERY VESSEL

CRUISING IN SOUNDS VISIT BY NAVAL SEAPLANE SIMPLE EXPLANATION FOUND [BY TKLKGHAPH OWN CORHKSPONDKNT] BLENHEIM, Tuesday A uaval seaplane is reported to have landed alongside an overseas cargo liner that anchored off Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte Sound, on Sunday. The aeroplane sent an officer on board. This incident, indicative of the vigilance the authorities are called upon to maintain, even in New Zealand, is believed to have arisen from the rumour that gained circulation regarding the supposedly mysterious movements of the vessel along the Nelson and Sounds coasts. Remembering the exploits of the German raider Wolf in the last war, people jumped to the conclusion that the ship might be a Nazi armed raider. As a result Easter holiday-makers in the outer Sounds who noted the arrival of the liner were interested in what appeared to be a good deal of Jierial activity connected with her presence. There was, of course, a perfectly innocent and harmless explanation for the steamer's visit to the Sounds. Having finished loading at her last port of call on the North Island coast, the vessel was simply filling in time over the Easter holidays and avoiding unnecessary harbour dues before proceeding to her next berth. On the way to the Sounds she temporarily anchored in Tasman Bay, where her apparently inexplicable call aroused the curiosity of Nelson observers. Such is the credulity and suspicion of people, especially in'wartime, that it was not long before extravagant lears were expressed.