THE AORANGI.

Hokitika Guardian, 25 February 1925, Page 2

THE AORANGI.

ARRIVAL AT AUCKLAND. BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSN., COPYRIGHT. AUCKLAND, Feb. 24. The Union Company’s new liner, Aorangi arrived this afternoon. As she moved majestically into the harbour the wharves were lined with hundreds of spectators; while the steamers in port blew their whistles lustily. The Port Aledieal Officer journeyed down the harbour at an early hour in a launch, with the result that the Aorangi was enabled to berth without anchoring as is customary with overseas boats.

An “at home” for invited guests was held aboard this afternoon, while the chip wr,s open for public inspec-

tion to-night. The Aorangi sails for Wellington to-

morrow night. Nearly 050 guests attended the reception held aboard the Aorangi this 7>r afternoon. They were received by Captain Crawford. There was no .set entertainment; the guests finding ample entertainment, in the inspection of tho beautiful vessel, which was a revelation to most of them. Great interest was taken in the children’s nurse riant! gymnasium. As the guests filed aboard, they were presented with flowers. The ship’s orchestra added to the gaiety of the proceedings. There was a great crush on the wharf to--< night of people eager to go aboard, but only a small proportion could ho accommo'latcil. CROWD BREAK THROUGH. AUCKLAND, Feb. 25. Nearly three thousand visitors were admitted aboard the Aorangi last night. At !).:!:) there were hundreds outside the gates and under the pressure the games gave way. The crowd temporal ily took charge, but with the help of wharf officials and police, order was restored without further unpleasant-

The “•Press” in a leaderette yesterday .said ; —Everybody knows what “s.s.’l and “R.M.S.” before the name of a vessel stand for, and nearly everybody could spell out “t.s.s.” But not many ] eople, we fancy, will know the mc.n.ing of ‘‘R.M.M.S.”, or realise the romance that lies hidden in this nautical short description of the magnificent vessel that is expected to reach Auckland to-day from Vancouver. Perhaps the easiest way to appreciate the .significance of the Aorangi’s appearance in the Vancouver mail service is to contrast her size ;md luxury with somo of the good ships that have gone before her— the. Moeraki, .Manuka, Moana; Alalieno. Mara inn. Even the larger Makurn, and the modern 13,030-ton oil burner Niagara are eclipsed altogether by the Aorangi’s 18.500 tons. And the Aorangi brings to the Pacific all the luxuries of sea- travel for which the Atlantic liners are famous; suites fit for Royalty, furniture and furnishings in keeping with them, verandah cafe, elaborate laundry, fully equipped gymnasium. There is reason for pride, too, in the thought that New Zealand enterprise, which built up the Union (Steam Ship Company until it came to own one of the world’s big merchant fleets, lias had the honour of building the first steel ship and the first turbine ship, and now, with the aid of British experience, the world’s largest and finest motor ship. For the Aorangi is so completely modern, from her one man lifeboat davits to her engine-room, that it will be a long time before her supremacy is challenged in the Pacific, even when motor ships are much more common than they are today. The behaviour of the Aorangi in winter storms in the notorious seas around Britain and the open sweep of the Pacific outside Vancouver lias proved that the motor ship is just as staunch a sealxiat as the steamer and the sailer Mere before her. One cannot escape the thought, also, that the arrival of the Aorangi is a reminder that wo have entered upon the Oil Age. It is oil that carries ns through the air, over the land, across the surface of the sea and underneath it. Yet a few years ago, as the historian counts time, we could travel no faster on land than a horse could bear us and at sea were at the mercy of the wind. Sooner or later other letters, of which we do not now dream, may replace. “R.M.M.S.”; but in the meantime they convey our last thought of speed, cleanliness, and comfort.