EVENTFUL DAYS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27092, 28 May 1949, Page 8

EVENTFUL DAYS

SERVICE IN WAR YEARS DENHOLM LINE VESSEL Before being purchased by the Denholm Line, the tramp steamer Hollypark, at present on her first voyage to Dunedin, spent an eventful four years under British Government control in the recent war. Built as a Government ship at Sunderland, in 1942, with the name of Empire Tristram, she was immediately placed on the North Russian convoy route running to Murmansk, a port which was constantly under bombardment by the Germans. During the next two years she saw service in the Mediterranean, running supplies and troops, mainly South Africans, from North Africa to Italy. Up to that time she had escaped any serious form of damage, but upon hqr return to Britain in . June, 1944, she was struck by a flying bomb. A chance • hit, the bomb destroyed all her accommodation amidships and killed three of the engineers. This necessitated her being removed to the repair yards at West Hartlepool, where she lay for almost a year. By the time she was fit for operations again the war had practically ended. The word Empire was used to signify all Government ships, while the latter part of a name was derived from anything of historical importance. Tristram was one of the knights of King Arthur’s court, or of what is more commonly known, the Round Table.

The name of Empire Tristram was changed to Hollypark in May, 1946, upon her being purchased by her present owners. Consisting of nine tramp steamers, Denholm Line vessels are open to be chartered by any company. On her present voyage, the Hollypark is under charter to the Union Company, for which she brought a cargo of iron, steel and general merchandise from Australian ports. When she completes discharge at Dunedin she will go to the dock at Port Chalmers for cleaning and painting, after which she will return to Australia in water ballast to reload for New Zealand.

Grenock, at the mouth of the Clyde River, is Empire Tristram’s port of registry.