THE TAHITI DISASTER

Taranaki Daily News, 26 August 1930, Page 9

THE TAHITI DISASTER

- SECOND LOSS IN SERVICE. MATAI WRECKED-ON REEF. The Tahiti is the second liner that has been lost by the Union Company in the San Francisco mail service, lhe other vessel was the Maitai, which was lowt at Rarotonga on Christinas . Day, 1916. Like the Tahiti, the Maitai was on a voyage from New Zealand to San Francisco. The accident occurred in the evening, shortly after she anchored at Rarotonga after trying in the afternoon to recover two anchors, which had been lost at an anchorage two months previously. The evening was calm, but there was the usual ocean swell. The vessel dropped her starboard anchor and then the port anchor. She was- steaming slowly ahead to ease the strain on the anchors when one of the cables parted and the Maitai then drifted on to the reef, which was very close to the vessel. She soon became a total wreck, but no lives were lost. The Maitai was originally named the Miowera and was formerly owned by Mr.' James Huddart, the founder of the Jluddart-Parker Line. With the Miowera and the Warrimoo, Mr. Parker ran an opposition service to the Union Company between Sydney and Auckland. So keen was the competition between the rival companies that both firms reduced the fare to 10s between the two. ports. It was said at the time that it was cheaper to keep travelling between Auckland and Sydney than to live on shore. Many tales were told of the good times steerage passengers had travelling in the saloon in the different vessels.. The Miowera and the Warrimoo were sister ships, both being three-masted vessels of the same size. They were afterward purchased by the Union Company.