NEW STANDARD LINER.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 16748, 25 May 1920, Page 2

NEW STANDARD LINER.

GALLIC AT NEW PLYMOUTH. MAIL FROM, AUSTRALIA. The Shaw, Sayill and Albion Company’s liner Gallic arrived at New Plymouth this morning from the United Kingdom, via Australian ports, on her first, voyage in these waters. The Gallic is one of the standard ships built during the war and is therefore a new vessel, having been registered at the Port of Liverpool in J uly, 1919. She is built on particularly pleasing lines and looked very smart as she came alongside the wharf. Her gross tonnage is -7921 and, although she is therefore not the largest vessel that has been berthed, she is the longest, being 480 feet, whilst her breadth is SO feet. The Gallic sailed from England with a general cargo for Australian ports and, after completing discharge, came on to New Zealand, New Plymouth being her first port of call in Dominion waters. She loads 2887 carcases of mutton and 4113 quarters of beef here and then proceeds to Waitara, Wanganui and Lyttelton to complete loading for Home. The vessel was originally named the War Argus, and had done very little trading until slip made her first voyage to Australia some months ago. She carried an Australian‘mail tp New Plymouth, but no cargo. Captain J. Thompson, C.8.E., 0.8. E. Command R.N.R., is in command and has with him the following officers: chief, Mr. N. Cole; first, Mr. H. M'Gill; second, Mr. J, S. Cairns; purser and chief steward, Mr. Owen Pritchard ; chief engineer, Mr. A. Wharton; second, Mr. J. Rae; third, Mr. J. L. Armstrong; intermediate third, Mr. -G. C. Whightman; assistant third, Mr. A. Fnragher; fourth, Mr. S. T. Stott; assistant 4th, Mr. F. Lewis; fifth, Mr. W. Jowart, junior fifth, Mr; J. Fair; sixth, Mr. E. A. Stitch; and two wireless operators (first, Mr. W. T. Lines; second, Mr. Mannix) and a crew of 91. •Captain Thompson acted as assistant captain of the Olympic during the war and his decorations are in recognition of him meritorious services in this capacity. The Olympic was the largest vessel afloat carrying troops, and incidentally she had to her credit the sinking 'of two submarines, one of which she rammed and the other she sank with her six inch gun. Chief Officer Cole is well known in different parts of New Zealand, having traded here for the past* fourteen or fifteen years with vessels belonging to 'the White Star line. Ho acted as chief officer on one of the larger Australian troopships during the war. Mi-. Ill‘Gill, first officer, was in command of a destroyer at the time the mail-boat Lein-’ ster was torpedoed when crossing from Ireland to Holyhead with Shout 800 lives on board,,-and ho was instrumental in saving 60 of the 80 passengers who survived. The second officer, JUTf. J. S. Cairns, served and was on board four different vessels when they were torpedoed by the enemy, and Mr. Owen Pritchard, purser,’ was with tho Navy in the North Sea during tire greater par* of the war, being in all the engagements with the enemy, including the battle of Jutland. Bo was on board H.M.S. Kildonald, which conveyed Lord Milner, Mr. Lloyd George and tho Prime Ministers of France and Italy to Russia after tho sinking of H.lil.S. Hampshire with Lord Kitchener on board In recognition of his services on this occasion he received the Order of St. Ann and was also presented with a sword of honour. The chief engineer Mr. Wharton, was on board the Ceramu, ■which was the biggest ship carrying troops from the Antipodes during the war.

Quite a number of the crew are R.N.R. seamen.