Ship of Babel

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 627, 2 April 1929, Page 16

Ship of Babel

Mixture of Languages on Steamer Mariston PERFECT HARMONY REIGNS Fifteen different nationalities are represented on the Mariston Steamship Company’s steamer Mariston, now discharging at King’s Wharf. This vessel, for its size, 4,557 tons, surely holds the record for a cosmopolitan crew. The great variety of colourings, facial lineaments and languages of members of the crew is particularly noticeable. The crew was picked up at Rotterdam on the Mariston’s last trip, and at Antwerp, -where she loaded for New Zealand this trip. Despite the variety of nationalities and temperaments that are thrown into close contact with each other on this ship, perfect harmony reigns. In some cases incessant quarrelling and fighting would be the outcome of such a mixture. The officers on the Mariston are either English or Scots, and the engineers are, of course, Scots. In the crew Esthonia leads the way with five stalwart sons—two seamen, a fireman, the donkeyman and the ship’s carpenter. Next in order come Holland and Sweden, with three apiece. The bo’sun is Dutch, and there are two Dutch seaman, one Swedish seaman and two Swedish firemen. Then there are two Greeks, an Arab, a Finn, two Poles, a Belgian, a Norwegian, two Lithuanians, a Russian, and a Hindu second steward. The cook is a West Indian negro, and his assistant an Englishman, and, with one exception, the mosaic is complete. The ship’s mystery is the first steward. He looks like a Mexican, talks like a New Yorker from the

“Bowery,” dresses like' a Paris apache, and says he is an Englishman. With only one exception these men all know sufficient English to understand and make themselves understood before joining the vessel. English is the language of the sea, and foreign seamen must master it. The bo’sun, as the link between officers and crew, must, of course, have a good knowledge of the language. The best speakers of English on the Mariston are Scandinavians. “Strangely enough the men indulge in very little gambling,” said Mr. R. L. Good. the fourth engineer. “What gambling is done is very mild. They spend most of their spare time playing cards, chatting, and listening to a gramophone belonging to a Polish deck-hand. This man also has a camera, and is an accomplished photographer.” The Esthonian donkeyman s chief pastime is reading English books with the aid of a dictionary—he borrows them from the captain and officers.