ARRIVED: NEW ZEALAND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10767, 13 May 1913, Page 2

ARRIVED: NEW ZEALAND.

PORT AFTER STORMY SEAS.

Circumstances made to order conlcl not have been more auspicious than these which ushered in the arrival of H.M.S. New Zealand at Lyttelton this morning. There was sharp, crisp, bracing and healthy south. - west weather, and it had with it the most unusual concomitants of blue skies and bright sunshine. The early morninc in port was so dull and threatening that residents who liavo read the signs of the -weather for many years had no hesitation in predicting that before the appointed time for the vessel's berthing there would be rain, wind and, perhaps, a little snow. When the tug Canterbury left the wharf soon after eight o'clock, with 600 enthusiastic excursionists, the aspects were anything but bright, and blue noses and mufflers were seen on every side. But long before the operation of berthing thwe was the fairest of all autumnal weathers Canterbury can produce, and the setting of the great event for which the province has been waiting was as brilliant as it could be mad©. The battleship anchored all night off Camp Bay, just inside the Heads. She was riding at anchor there when the representatives of the people caught the first sight of her, as the tug passed out of the moles and the Heads cam© into the view of those on board. In the distance she looked like a black pile, with vast volumes of smoke belching from her funnels. When the tug was off Gollan's Bay the black hull had become larger, and it, together with the masts and flags, showed up clear and distinct against a background of amber sky. As the tug, under slow steam, drew nearer and nearer, more details were added to the picture, the spars and rigging coming into view. When the tug was within' half a mile of her she swung round. Her sharp, graoeful bow faced up the harbour, and she was seen to be moving onwards towards the temporary berth she had secured at Lyttelton. From that time until she was made fast alongside No. 3 wharf an hour and a half later the interest in her was almost breathless. Clouds which had hung over the scene disappeared. The sun suddenly changed the sable hull into a dark grey, touched the polished oaps of the great bow gun*, the searchlights and the brass work, and lit up the whole aoene. „ Her length from bow to stem was fully disclosed. She went forward silently without apparent effort, giving an impression that a slight push from a gigantic unseen hand had sent her gliding through the water. By her side the tug Lyttelton—one of the most powerful in Australasianoisily puffed and coughed, like a youngster trying to keep pace with a giant. She completely dwarfed tugs, launches and all the other small craft that had gathered in lier wake. The impression she gave those whose attention *she absorbed was of speed rather than strength. Her lines are clear-cut and elegant. She has no element of ugliness in her form. It is only her armament that gives her a formidable appearance, and at first glance it is lost sight of in her lines and curves. If a comparison is allowable, she is more like a greyhound than a bulldog. Some of her admirers, not well versed in nautical and naval affairs, judged her size by her height above the water. Consequently they felt some disappointment in that respect. The hulls of the peaceable ocean tramps which come into Lyttelton almost weekly tower high above the New Zealand's hull. Towards the stern indeed she tapers off until the deck gets very low. A moment's thought, however, brings to mind the fact that her great tonnage and her displacement are accounted for by the weight she carries between her sides. As she headed up the harbour all these things were discussed by the people on the tug. On her decks men ran to and: fro, looking very tiny in the distance, and the bandsmen assembling on one of the decks, sent across tne water the strains of " Nancy Lee," "Life on the Ocean Wave," and other popular pieces. Opposite the signal station the Lyttelton put on a spurt, ran in front, and tugged and hauled at a hawser made fast to the battleship's bows. 5 A suggestion of the-fable of the lion and the mouse was irresistible. It is no disparagement to the tug to say that it appealed somewhat ludicrous at it —apparently bursting with importance, but taking a pardonable pride in the most onerous duties it had taken in hand towed the battleship towards the mole? and triumphantly through them to the "pond" inside.

It was a moment of triumph, not for the tug Lyttelton alone, but also for the town and province. There was silence everywhere while the moles were approached. The vessel headed straight between them. When they had been passed, a, feeling of relief, as at the lifting of a heavy suspense was felt by everybody. Bombs were iired, syrens screamed, and the heart of every loyal resident of the port throbbed with pride. The common sentiment was expressed by a visitor on tho Canterbury. "I would rather be the Mayor of Lyttelton to-day," he said, 'tlia-ri be ihe, King of England."

BIG CRUISER BESIDE JETTY. j WELCOME AT PORT. BRINGING IN THE GREAT SHIP. AN IMPRESSIVE SIGHT. After lying at anchor at Camp Ray all night, H.M.S. New I Zealand came up the harbour this morning, and was berthed inside the moles. There was a big crowd at the port to welcome the battle-cruiser, and excursion steamers, launches and motor-boats escorted the vessel in. Not the least impressive feature of the arrival was the manner in which the great ship was handled.