WAS IN TWO WRECKS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20276, 10 April 1934, Page 10

WAS IN TWO WRECKS.

Union Company’s New Manager. The new manager of the Christchurch branch of the Union Steam Ship Co., Ltd., Mr A. R. Thompson, arrived from the north this morning, and will begin his duties after the departure for Auckland of the present manager, Mr J. N. Greenland, who is leaving on Saturday. “ Mine has not been a particularly eventful career,” said Mr Thompson today, casually mentioning that he had survived two shipwrecks. He was iii the wreck of the Kajvatiri off the west coast of Tasmania, when five were drowned. That was in 1907, and eighteen months later Mr Thompson was in his second wreck. He was one of twenty survivors of the 100 people on the Penguin when that vessel was lost in Cook Strait.

Mr Thompson entered the service of the company in Dunedin in 1903. lie went to sea as assistant purser in 1905. At the completion of his ten years afloat he was on the R.M.S. Niagara. He left the vessel to go to the war, and served two years with the Auckland Infantry Regiment before being invalided back to New Zealand. On his return to New Zealand he returned to the service of the Union Company, and was appointed cashier at Auckland. He remained in that position for seven years, on one occasion doing a term of relieving in Lyttelton, wfhen he took the place of Mr Greenland, who was then sub-manager at the port. In 1924 Mr Thompson was appointed branch manager at New Plymouth, and he comes from New Plymouth to Christchurch. Mr Thompson is a married man with two young daughters. He will occupy Mr Greenland’s house in Glandovey Road, Fendalton. One of his recreations is bowling.