MANY YEARS AT SEA

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 137, 12 June 1931, Page 11

MANY YEARS AT SEA

CAPTAIN OLSEN RETIRES MASTER of COASTAL .STEAMER SERVICE IN MANGA WAI TRADE Arter ha\ ing been associated fur years with the local coastal trade . principally between Auckland am: . Mangawai, Captain E. Olsen, mastei of the Northern Company’s steam- i Kawau, has retired. Hu hud been witii * the company for 22 years. Captain Olsen formerly was malt of tin* original steamer Kawau, which first was built as a yacht, but afterwards was put into the .Mangawai - trade, states the New Zealand Heral-L Later he was mate of the present , steamer Kawau ami when the vessel was bought by the Settlers’ Company lie was put in charge of her. <'ap‘ai>i Olsen left the Settlers’ Company ami ran the steamer Energy in the tra*i« while the Daphne was being built for Mr A. J. Farmer, then owner of Kawau Island. He look vharge uf that vessel in the same trade. ’ M hen the Northern Company bought the Daphne about 22 years ago amt the vessel was laid up,' Captain Ol.tcn was transferred to the Kawau. Siu o that time he has been in charge ol various vessels, but his service han been principally as master of the Kawau. It; is a coincidence that, about the time' Captain Olsen resigned, the Daphne, which hr Took on her maiden voyage, was moved from the stream to the North Wall for dismantling. Varied Experience as Mariner Practically the whole of Captain Olsen s life has been spent at sea. His first voyage was from Norway when he was J 6 years of age, and after that he went to New York ami was on American ships for about tbre.- year-. Later he saw service on Gorman vessels. am] for six years on British ship* iiM soiled rmt of London. In 1880 Captain Olsen enmr on* to Now Zealand as quarter-master of the ship Ferngler.. which had been chartered by th*' New Zealand Shippli g Company to bring passengers from London. The trip occupied davs. Tho Mangawai trade in those dnvn was far more brisk than now. The gumfiolds were being worked ox ten sively and extra trips often had m be made to bring cargoes (l f gum to Auckland. The passenger traffic, u»o. was an important thing to th? xer\ > e before Hie days of the railway in North Auckland. Large quantities of woo! were taken, vhoop-farming n. stead of dairying, as to-day. was then the principal occupation of the r**m muni! v.

Exciting Incidents in Career ij * aptain (>lsr>- has had many an ovi i-itiiig exporiem e at sea. Oii.-i* w . n , he was on tho British Statesnun, hiring tho time of trouble between Turkey and Russia, ships were being ehuitored to transport Indian troops from Bombay to Suez. ’l’hc British Sratman was one of those ships, but while at Bombay she was ordered to procoed to Singapore One night, when the third mate w:*s iu charge of the ship, the captain and the mate both being ill. Captain Oisen. then a seaman, came away from •’<» j wheel at midnight. He v-oul I see ;» I squall approaching am] he let go all tin* halyards ho could lay his hands <»•« I fix vessel weathered tin- storm. 1 t I another vessel about 10 miles a-’ern capsized ami only two persons w«io ax e<l. ft teek eight hour.-*’ work »o clear the rigging of the British S|:it<•- | (in another omnsL- . whei !.>.,( from Portland. Oregon. in H.e > .’p Oakwart. < aptain (Msen had eft t f» wheel .me night bur did not g.> l.el-.w, ns he hail a prenionifion that all a:.’ rot well. It was when the -Lip uus I’.fuml’tig Cape Horn ami it hml been liftmult to get sight of the sum American ship close by was Mooring a dif’erent course, ami it was obvious that one of the ships was on n wr< : g course. As she went for’ard he saw t: o snow-covered cliffs straight ahead, and although it- was night it was possible to see the breakers. “Wo mana > T I Io clear the shore, but H was rhe v - es| tiling | ever 1 •lew.’’ -mid < .• ••• 1 Olsen.