FIFTY YEARS AGO

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 71, 25 March 1933, Page 24

FIFTY YEARS AGO

In the '' Post- of fifty years ago appeared a descriptionl of the s.s. loiiie, one of the new steamers chartered by the. New Zealand Shipping Company for the direct service with Great Britain. The vessel was launched on.; January 13, 1883. She had a graceful, yacht-like hull, with .ample beam, and four masts, square-rigged on three. The -steerage accommodation >was iii three sections. The saloon. class facilities, were ,of "most unique and perfect.description," and the vessel was illuminated throughout with electric" lighting. Her dimensions'were i-^—Length, 440 ft; breadth,44ft;- depth, 32ft; gross tonnage, 4700 tons.- She had two double cylindered engines of 500 horse-powe.r. ; The Shipping Company's pioneer steamer British King arrived in port on March 20, 1883, with passengers and cargo from- London. She was a steel vessel .of 2278 tons, nearly 300 tons heavier than.;the Mikado, a vessel which had held premier place in the New Zealand trade before this latest addition to the shipping company's fleets The British King, was the largest vessel that had entered Wellington Harbour up to that time. Her length was 425 feet, and her beam 39ft, and she was capable of 3.000 persons and 5500 tons of cargo. Her steaming timo from Plymouth was forty-eight days— the smartest passage to 'date. \ Levin and Co., who (as reported in last Saturday's notes), wore asking the Wellington, Harbour Board for a refund 'of the Lady Jocclyn's pilotage fee were successful in their appeal, and a motion, to this effect was passed at the fortnightly meeting of the board. The- steamer Manawatii had her propeller blades removed on her passage from when she struck a submerged log. She' was able to ;mako use of her sails, and after putting into Queen Charlotte Sound, arrived in Wellington ■on the fourth . day after leaving Westport. •

The Union .'Company's .newest steamer, the Tarawhera, arrived at Wellington from Melbourne on March 24, 1883. She was the largest vessel then owned by the company, her main dimensions being:—Length, 285 ft; beam, 36ftdepth of hoia, 25ft; tonnage, 2003 tonsspeed, 13-14 knots. She : could accommodate 124 saloon passengers, and carry over 1400 1;ons of cargo. Her passage from London to Melbourne was done in the smart time of 45 days 15 hours. She was built of steel, and was. rigged as a two-masted topsail schooner.