OLD SOUTHERN CROSS

Taranaki Daily News, 31 August 1933, Page 8

OLD SOUTHERN CROSS

STRIPPING OF THE VESSEL. FINAL OPERATIONS ASHORE. > At the end. of a tow-rope the old • Melanesian steamer Southern Cross set i off on her last voyage one afternoon s last week; when she was towed from the i Prince’s wharf, Auckland, with the in- • tention of having her placed ashore for ; final stripping. The old vessel will be s hauled up and demolished. Since the Southern Cross has been . alongside the Prince’s wharf the whole of her superstructure has been stripped, : and the hull has been cut to within a ’ few feet'of the water line. All that : was left to tow away was merely a . shell. i The stripping of the old steamer re- . vealed- that there was a great deal of , sentiment in connection with the vessel, i and the souvenir hunter was very busy. There were requests for wooden panels, links of chains and all sorts of odds and ends to remind friends of the vessel’s long association with Auckland and the mission work in the islands. Much of the vessel was put,to practical use. The gear was in good order, and there was a demand for it for further maritime' purposes. One of the masts was used for the small motor vessel Baroona while the captain’s cabin was hoisted ashore to be used as a “bach.”