CORINTHIC’S MASTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20338, 21 February 1928, Page 4

CORINTHIC’S MASTER.

RETIREMENT OF CAPTAIN F.

HART,

46 YEARS AFLOAT.

(Feom Our Own Correspondent.)

LONDON, January 10. When the Corinthic arrived at the Royal Albert Docks last Friday Captain F, .Hart, so well known by New Zealand travellers, completed his last voyage as her master, for lie is now to retire to his home at “ Corinthic,” East Molesey. Of his 46 years’ service at sea Captain Hart has spent 35 years in the employ of the White Sta- Line. For 18 years no has had command of the Corinthic, and during that time he has made 44 voyages to New Zealand in that ship, steaming well over 1,000,000 miles and carrying about 30,000 passengers. Captain Hart was born at Liverpool in 1867, and entered an apprenticeship which took him to sea in trading ships at the age of 14 years. His first ship was tho Royal Alexander, and for nearly 10 years he served in that and other sailing* ships. becoming master when he was 24? Then he forsook sail for steam, and joined the Inman International Line as fourth officer in the Liverpool to New York trade. Subsequently, in lie entered the service of the White Star Line, and began his voyages to New Zealand. Promotion came gradually while engaged in the transpacific service of the White Star Line between San Francisco, Japan, and Hongkong. It was during these years that the Spanish-American war was fought, and Captain Hart had many interesting experiences. The Coptic, in which he was serving at the time, brought the first news of the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands by tho United States. Just after the Battle of Manila, the Coptic was about to leave Hongkong for San Francisco, when an American warship arrived, and her commander requested the master of the Coptic to take Captain Gridley, of Admiral Dewey’s flagship Olympia, back to America. Soon after leaving Nagasaki, Captain Gridley, who was very ill, died on board the Coptic, and, after cremation at Yokahama, the ashes were taken to America in the Coptic. Captain Hart was the chief officer of tho Persic when she made her first voyage from Belfast to Australia, and after service in the Medic and a brief spell in the Atlantic service in the Athenic, he • became chief officer in the Oceanic, at that time the largest (25,000 tons), and fastest liner in the transatlantic trade. After 12 months in the Oceanic Captain Hart was appointed to his first steam command in June, 1903, at the age of 36. when ne took over the cargo steamer Eovic in the North Atlantic trade. Later he commanded the Victorian and -the Armenian. In June, 1909, Captain Hart took command of the Corinthic (of the Shaw, Savill. and Albion Company), and, with the exception of one voyage, when he remained in England for an operation, he has been in command of the ship an every voyage she has made. While waiting the return of the-.Corjnthic, he made two voyages in the Ceramic, which was carrying American troops to England during the Great War.

The Corinthic was one of the first merchant ships to be defensively armed before the war. She had made two or three voyages armed with two 4.7 in guns mounted on her stern, and on the declaration of the Great War, when she happened to be 10 days out of London, she called at Capetown for the first supply of ammunition. In addition to her voyages to New Zealand the Corinthic also took British troops to Durban, and crossed the Atlantic several times carrying American and Canadian troops.