THE TAHITI’S HISTORY

Hokitika Guardian, 19 August 1930, Page 3

THE TAHITI’S HISTORY

INCIDENT* OF CHEQUERED CAREER, ~ AUCKLAND, August 16. Built in Glasgow in 19Q4, the R.M.S. Tahiti, bneiof ‘ the best known vessels in the Union Steam Ship Company’s fleet, lias had- a chequered career. When first launched she was known aS the Port Kingston, having been specially built- for the banana trade between the East Indies and England. She was painted all white with q gold baud along the full length' of her .side and was generally recognised as one of the most handsome ships in the trade. EXCITING CAREER AS TROOPSHIP. In 1911 she .was purchased by the Unioin Company for their Sydney-Wel-lingtoii-San Francisco mail and passenger run. With the outbreak of the war, she was taken over by the Government for service as a troopship and it.niay be remembered that it was on her that a . serious epidemic of influenza broke out when -she was south of Sierra- Leone, a number of deaths occurring. As New Zealand Transport No” 4 slid" carried' the Wellington Mounted Rifles and portions of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, and the; Canterbury Infantry Regiment, of the Main Body of the Expeditionary Force. ■, Her complement then was 30- officers,! 611 men :and 282 korse-s/ Ip 1917 she! did one trip* from,•England -as a temporary hospital (ishln. (j Early in 1919 she‘re-entered the San Francisco service and except for a short time in 1926^'when she was re lieV.ing in the Vancouver, she has been engaged between Sydney and San Francis:o ever since. G REYOLIFFE DISASTER RECALLED. On November 3, 1927, the Tahiti was involved in the worst disaster in the history of the port of Sydney. When on her way down the harbour in charge of a pilot, she came into collision with tlie' fdrrjl ‘ steanier Greyeliffd; bound for Watson’s Bay. The! ferryboat was cut “clean in;two : andsliiik ill two minutes. Terrible scenes; \veVe witnessed, ’ hnd 1 although the • Tahiti’s boats were lowered 'in quick! tune, many of the Ri’hfortunate passen- < geik lif the feny 'Had 7 no chance of , escape and’’were dVoivnecl. One halfo*f J the ferry sank oin the' port side of and the other to starboard. DitM'fls were at tvork recovering the boclildS 1 for several -'iveeks afterwards, a lief’ the death r'oill’’ was finally put down at 43 ; . At the time of the disaster, the details of which were read with horror 'throughout- the world, both 5 vessels were proceeding in the same; direction,...when the, ferry, suddenly canted and was cut clean in halves by theosliiirp VBdWis i vo| Hhe. s-niail |steamer. On ahother occasion the vessel drag? ger her anchor during a storm and almost wemt' ashore’M an island in the and ,on when’ entering Papeete Harbour, on • June 22, 1929, a coral ree-f was struck. She suffered damage. .to her , hull. and the’ pumpS had to bg kept going all the rest of the way to Wellington.

OUTBREAK OF FIRE IN THE HOLD ; On'" one occasion ateut eight years ago, "file" Tahiti was oh fire after leaving Wellington for Rarotonga en route to San Francisco. She 1 had cleared Wellington about midday on a Saturday, and the fire was- discovered early on the Sunday morning. Efforts were made to suppress the outbreak, but as no impression could be made on the flames, the vessel was put about and brought hack to Wellington, where she arrived at 0 p.m. on the Sunday. The fire was confined to Nos.-1 and 2 holds, where, wool, hemp and general cargo was stowed. The outbreak was quelled by the store brigades, with the assistance of the Union Company’s tug, Terawhiti, which pumped thousands of gallons of water on. to the fire. The job, of suppressing the outbreak occupied about.nine hours, but it was font; days before the. liner was able to resume her voyage. THE SHIP’S OFFICERS. Once, when the Tahiti was at San Francisco undergoing fumigation, several men were suffocated as the result of going into the hold before the fumes had been dispersed. The chief officer of the ship at that time was Mr Donald M’Donald, now master of the Union company’s steamer Kaituna, and he won the King’s Gold Medal and the American Gold Medal for going to the rescue of other men who had been overcome by the fumes.

Captain Toten obtained his first position with the Union Company in 1908 as third officer of the Maponrika, which as the time was engaged in the WelI i ngton-P i oton-G rey mouth-N elson find Westport service. At the time.he joined the company he was in possession of an extra master’s ticket, so that be has long been qualified for the position lie now holds. He is of a very quiet disposition, and is referred to by those who know him as a “good fellow.’’ Recently, during the time that Captain W. D. Cameron and Captain B. B. Invin took their holidays, Captain Toten was in charge of one of the ferry steamers for some time. The second officer, Mr M’Kenzie, belongs to Dunedin. About six months age he sat for his master’s ticket at Lyttelton and was successful in the examination. He joined the Wahine an second officer until bis holidays. After wards he was transferred' to the'Tahiti.