LUXURY LINER

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20510, 31 August 1936, Page 8

LUXURY LINER

TRANS - TASMAN SERVICE AWATEA DUE ON THURSDAY By Feleeraph—Press Association WELLINGTON, August 30. During the voyage of the Union Company’s 14.000 ton luxury liner Awatea from the Clyde to Wellington, there have been frequent radio telephone communications with New Zealand, and last night, when the Awatea was 1900 miles away, there was a very successful demonstration of the ship’s radio equipment and that of the post office commercial radio station, ZLW, Wellington. The Awatea called up Mr N. S Falla, chairman and managing director of the company, and when contact was established, the listener in Wellington was switched through to the captain’s cabin. Mr Falla was able to talk with the captain and chief engineer, reception at both ends being almost as easy as if conversations were taking place over local circuits instead of nearly 2000 miles across the Pacific. It foreshadowed the next development in radio telephony which will enable trans-Tasman travellers to

“ring up” land telephones in Australia and New Zealand at any stage of the voyage.

“Reception was extraordinarily clear,” said Mr Falla, “and it is a source of great satisfaction to be able to communicate so readily with a ship more than four days away from New Zealand.” The Awatea was steaming at 18 knots at the time and had just emerged from a heavy storm. She is proceeding at an economical cruising speed and will arrive in the stream at Wellington at 8 a.m. on Thursday. It is intended to conduct a broadcast from the Awatea on Tuesday for the benefit of New Zealand radio listeners who tune in to the national stations.