THE EASTERN SEAS

Otago Witness, Issue 3802, 25 January 1927, Page 25

THE EASTERN SEAS

WAIHORA’S INTERESTING VOYAGE. Details .of an unusually interesting round voyage from New Zealand to Calcutta and back were related to our representative on Friday evening by the officers of tho Union Company’s freighter Waihora. now discharging Eastern merchandise at the Victoria wharf. This was the Waihora’s first trip East, and to the ship’s officers it was one full of incident. One of the interesting circumstances of the voyage was that the Sussex, a steamer under time charter to the Union Company, was in port with the Waihora at Calcutta, and although they were subsequently widely separated through each traversing' a different course, the ships were in port together again at Lyttelton, and now they lie stem to stern at Dunedin’e principal 'wharf. Exactly two and a-half months have elapsed since the Waihora was recommissioned at Port Chalmers and put to sea. East bound. She called at Newcastle for bunkers, and then steamed to Calcutta by way of Torres Straits, the Arafura Sea, h lores Sea. Java Sea. and through the Gulf of Siam. The Sussex went from Dunedin to Newcastle towards the end of last year and loaded wool for Java. She sailed a somewhat different course from that of the Waihora. Having discharged her coal, the Sussex proceeded to Calcutta. Both ships arrived at the Indian port early in December. The Waihora occupied a loading berth at the Kidderpore Dock (No 8), and the Sussex was berthed on the opposide of the dock. The Sussex sailed from Calcutta three days ahead of the Waihora. The former vessel proceeded to Penan'g, Singapore, Samarang, and through Torres Straits direct to Auckland. The Waihora again steamed a different course, coming to Wellington direct via Cape Leeuwin. The run was made in 33 days, and it was a. nqn-stqp voyage. It is almost a straight .course from Calcutta to Cape Leeuwin, which is the most south-westerly noint of Australia. The distance is 3800 miles, and the Waihora covered it in 18a days. The courses steamed by the Waihora when East bound and south bound, as de- ; picted on the various charts of these far ’ Eastern Seas, were shown to the newspaper man. ■

The approach to Calcutta is by way of the Jloogli River, and this interesting expanse of water was illustrated on the chart. The Hoogli runs a very devious course, and at its mouth it is over 30 miles wide. There are at least two bars about half-way between the entrance and Calcutta, and all l:mge vessels navigating the river have to anchor for the flood tide before passing these bars. The river is notorious for its shifting .sandbars, which make it very difficult to, 'navigate. The authorities employ a large number of pilots, who must be constantly supplied with new charts, this being ; necessary owing to the changing sand bars and shoals. Large; jute mills, controlled mostly by Americans, are situated at’; intervals along the river bank. They afe painted a cream coolur, and. with the gdeen jungle and trees as a background, they form a picturesque scene. The country is mostly of a swampy nature, which makes the conditions ideal for the extensiyje cultivation cf rice. The width of the river varies going up to Calcutta. Calcutta is situated 122 miles up the river fromjithe East Channel lightship, moored at thfe; entrance. When bound East from Newcastle the Waihora passed clos. to Wetta Island, in the Flores sea, to the north; of Tmor. The water is very deep along ’the shores of the hundreds of islands that abound in these Eastern seas, and vessels are thus able to steam very close to the land. According to tradition, the natives of Wetta Island . re fierce and treacherous. They live generally among the mountains and seldom visit the coast, except in the months’ of October, November, and December. Head hunting is still a favourite pastime among the natives of W etta Island. The Waihora steamed along the shores if the island during the night, when bush fires illuminated the sky-line. Another interesting group passed by the Waihora was the Andaman Islands. These islands are in the Bay of Bengal, and lie about 120 miles from Cape Negrais, in Burma, and about 340 miles from the north end of Sumatra. The group consists of 204 islands and rocks, and occupies a space of 219 miles in a north and south direction, with an extreme width of 32 miles. On the Andaman Islands is a large convict station. The penal settlement centres round the harbour of Port Blair, and the administration headquarters are on .Ross Island. The settlement is divided into, two districts and four subdivisions. The whole aim of the authorities is to treat the prisoners in such a way as to educate them for useful citizenship. Every religion in India is represented. The free population in 1906 numbered 2976. and the convicts numbered 14,691, including women and children. Of the convicts in that year 8559 were in prison for murder. In 1906 the total military strength was .517, of which 155 were British. The police military battalion numbered 595. The only communication is by vessels of the Asiatic Steam Navigation Company, which bring mails from Calcutta every four weeks. There is also an intermediate mail service from Rangoon. Steam and animal tram lines are laid in various parts of the island, the animal trains running chiefly to the forests. There is also a wireless telegraph station in connection with Rangoon, via Table and Diamond Islands, and various parts of the settlement are connected by telephone. In the course of her voyage the Waihora passed two well-known ships that formerly flew the Union Company’s house flag. These were the Navua and Atua, which left Port Chalmers in December last for Sydney and . Egypt. The Atua was passed off Melbourne Heads on January 3, and the Navua on the evening of the same day off Wilson’s Promintory. The two ships are bound from Sydney to Port Said with wheat cargoes. The Waihora gave the Navua an old-time salute with.her whistle, the'outward-bound ship replying. The Atua .was too far away for the Wain Ora to exchange compliments of an audible nature. ' The Waihora arrived at Wellington on January 10, and the Sussex reached Auckland on January 11. i;