RECORD-BREAKING TRIP

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14092, 25 March 1939, Page 6

RECORD-BREAKING TRIP

MADE BY " DOMINION MONARCH" ARRIVAL AT WELLINGTON THIS MORNING Electric Telegraph—Press Association WELLINGTON, This Day, After a leisurely voyage across ti:o Tasman the Shaw Sa.ville motor liner •‘Dominion Monarch” arrived this mornng completing a. record breaking trip and pioneering the voyage from England to New Zealand via South Atrica. and Australia. The vessel was oif Ear ©well Spit at 8 p.m. yesterday and proceeded very slowly i n Cook Strait to pass through the Wellington Heads at 8 a.m. and berrh at 8 at the Pipitea wharf. A liar calm and bright sunshine combined to make the harbour and city appear at its best and a welcoming fleet of launches, yachts and skiffs met the liner off Point Halswell with four aeroplanes overhead. Crowds of people and cars were at numerous vantage points round the harbour ana another crowd saw the berthing which was accomplished smoothly with the assistance of the Harbour .board tug Hoi a with another tug Terawhiti standing up. The interest manifest in the vessel’s arrival was evidenced by the number of motor cars which went out to Seatoun and other bays to see her come through the Heads and proceed up the harbour. The fact o! it being Saturday released many people who ordinarily would have been proceeding to worn but even those who do work on Saturday were to be seen craiming their necks from tram, train and bus or walking to get. a glimpse of her as she neared the wharves and was pushed into her berth. The “.Dominion Monarch” is tlm largest liner in the New Zealand and Australian trade and the most powerful motorship in the world besides being one of the largest and fastest cargo vessels afloat. She set up new records from England to Durban, from Durban to Fremantle and from England to Australia, She came over the Tasman at greatly reduced speed. The new route pioneered by her covers nearly 14,500 miles yet she made the journey under 35 days. No attempt was made to try out the power and speed of the ship s engines they being run throughout the passage at reduced revolutions but the allotted timetable was maintained well as she left Southampton on February 18th and called at Ten* riff for three days and later arrived at Capetown On March 3m. and Durban on March sth Leaving there

next dav she covered the 4244 miles to Fremantle in eight days 21 hours 54 minutes, at an average speed of 1f*.84 knots. Her actual steaming time from Southampton to Fremantle was 23 days 17 hours 22 minutes at an average speed ot 19.42 knots. From Fremantle to Melbourne she averaged 20.04 knots. Exceptionally fine weather was experienced across the Tasman from Sydney and for much of the time she was running two engines only.

SECOND EDITION