Rarotongans Shivered As Moana Roa Arrived

Press, Volume C, Issue 29516, 18 May 1961, Page 17

Rarotongans Shivered As Moana Roa Arrived

Rarotongan passengers aboard the new Islands trader, Moana Roa, shivered when the ship berthed at Lyltelton yesterday to discharge Cook Islands fruit and 15 passengers. Captain A. R. Frazer, the master, said that some of the Rarotongans were making a first visit to New Zealand, and others had been home to the Cook Islands for a holiday. All felt the cold after the sunshine of the Cook Islands.

Captain Frazer said that there was a long waiting list of Rarotongans wishing to visit New Zealand. The present passenger list, which included a few Europeans, was full. The bulk of the passengers would land at Auckland. he said. Mr P. Thomson, the chief officer of the Moana Roa. was born in Rarotonga, and has been at sea for many years. He is believed to be the first, if not the only, Rarotongan to hold a for-eign-going master’s certificate. He is the spn of a well-known schooner trading master in the Cook Islands. Andy Thomson.

Mr Thomson said yesterday that his father was born in America, and his mother is a Rarotongan. The Moana Roa (2892 tons', which carries a crew of 50, and averages a speed of 13j knots, is a sturdy, compactlooking vessel with a buff funnel and a pale-green hull.

She is the successor to the ve'eran ship. Maui Pomare. which was familiar to Lyttelton residents for many years.