ORONSAY’S VISIT

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 82, 31 December 1934, Page 9

ORONSAY’S VISIT

Tourists Pleased With New Zealand DAY AT WELLINGTON Many People Shown Over Vessel Bringing over 800 tourists on a holiday cruise, the 20,000-ton Orient liner Oronsay arrived at Wellington from Auckland on Saturday morning, and after a day and night In port, during Which the travellers were able to see a good deal of the capital city and its environs, left yesterday morning again for Sydney. The weather was overcast as the great liner was berthed without a hitch at King’s Wharf, but it soon cleared and was brilliantly fine for the rest of the day. Numbers of the visitors went on sightseeing trips to points of interest round the city, and others visited the bays and the Hutt Valley during the afternoon. They were loud in their praise of the grandeur and beauty of Wellington city and harbour. The Oronsay, beautifully appointed, carried two classes of tourists, and some 50 passengers joined her at London for the round trip. The tour proper began from Freemantle on December 11, calls being made, at Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney. At the last named port the largest contingent, 350, joined the vessel. From Auckland four parties of passengers travelled by car through Waitomo, Rotorua, and Napier, and joined tlie ship again at Wellington. An attempt to arrange a similar motor tour through New Plymouth and Wanganui failed, owing to the tourists being par ticularly attracted by the thermal regions. From Auckland also two parties, 2SO by train and 90 by, car, had made one-day trips to Rotorua. Second Cruise Arranged. The Oronsay’s visit was the first cruise to New Zealand made by an Orient liner. The Otranto will leave Sydney at the end of January on a second cruise, and so popular is this form of holiday, now that all the accommodation has already bedn booked. The Otranto will bring about 200 round passengers from London. A reception was held on board the Oronsay on Saturday morning, a large number of guests attending. In the afternoon the vessel was open to public inspection, and large crowds of Wellington people availed themselves of the opportunity of looking over the great liner. To talk to the passengers was to discover that they were most enthusiastic with what they had seen of New Zealand. Many expressed their intention of returning to the. Dominion later at a time when they would be able to tour the country, more thoroughly, Rotorua and Waitomo came in for their usual share of admiration, and it was obvious that many people were astonished, to find how beautiful ana fascinating New Zealand can be to the visitor. The vessel was to have continued her voyage at midnight on Saturday, but the sailing time was postponed till Sunday morning to give passengers a better chance of seeing the city and points of interest in the province. Commodore C. G. Matheson, D. 5.0., R.D., R.N.R., is in command of the Oronsay, and travelling in the vessel is Mr. D. R. Hughes, passenger manager in Sydney for the Orient Line, and three officers of the New Zealand Government Tourist Office. Commodore Matheson said that the coastal passage from Auckland had been enthusiastically approved by the passengers. Weather had been clear, permitting a fine view of the coast to be obtained. Mostly the course set brought the liner within easy sight of the shore, and the ship had been laid off her course to make a detour into Poverty Bay, so that the passengers could se the Gisborne district from the : sea. Brilliant Illumination. Outlined in white electric light, the Oronsay on Saturday evening made a striking adc-don to Wellington’s festive illuminations. The lighting scheme adopted was an object-lesson in effective simplicity. From the ship’s bows a single string of white electric lamps rose to the top of the foremast, was continued frQin masthead to masthead, thence down the after stay to the stern. Similar strings outlined the ship’s two funnels, the result as a whole being a brilliant outline of the big ship, looming with giant proportions in the warm darkness and presenting a startling note of brilliance against the sombre line of the quiet waterfront.