TOURIST CRUISE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23354, 20 November 1937, Page 14

TOURIST CRUISE

STRATHMORE AT AUCKLAND FIRST VISIT TO DOMINION EIGHT HUNDRED PASSENGERS (Special to Daily Times) AUCKLAND, Nov. 19. On her first visit to Auckland, the new Peninsular and Oriental liner Strathmore, of 23,428 tons, arrived from Brisbane shortly before noon with 807 passengers, including about 700 cruise tourists who had embarked at various Australian ports. With her white sides and single buff tunnel, the Strathmore considerably resembles the Orient liner Orion, which was in port recently, and which is of about the same tonnage. As she made her way up the harbour in the rain, many spectators on the wharves took the opportunity of having the first look at her. Berthing the big liner on the east side of the Princes wharf was not altogether an easy maker. The Harbour Board’s tugs had to push hard upon her port side to hold her against the ■strong westerly wind, and even then it was necessary to drop the port anchor in order to prevent the bow from swinging round. However, she was berthed safely and without delay. A Tourist Department officer had joined the vessel at Sydney, and Customs officers had boarded her of Tiri Tiri, so that formalities at the wharf were reduced to a minimum. As a result, passengers booked for overland tours and local sight-seeing trips quickly disembarked and left in a fleet of service cars and buses which had been as§embled near by. Of the 700 cruise tourists, about 500 are making road and rail tours, visiting the chief scenic resorts of the North Island. A proportion will go right through to Wellington in this way, while others are undertaking shorter trips and will return to the liner before she sails late to-morrow for Wellington. About 250 of the passengers' have booked for the return trip to Rotorua to-morrow. Captain F. E. French, vcho commands the Strathmore, has not visited Auckland since 30 years ago, when he was third officer of the Caledonia. As he and seven of his officers hold rank in the Royal Naval Reserve, the liner flies the Blue Ensign from her mainmast.