YPRES RELIC IN LONDON

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 774, 21 September 1929, Page 33

YPRES RELIC IN LONDON

DISCOVERY OF 1728 BELL A 200-year-old relic of Ypres has jhst been found in London, says an exchange During the war a resident of New Cross, London, acted as host to a Canadian soldier, entertaining him when he came on leave. When returning to the front after one'of these visits, in 1917, the soldier left behind a parcel which he said he desired should be forwarded to him at an address he would make kuown later. For 12 years the parcel remained in the New Cross cellar, the host awaiting the recepit of the address to which it should be sent. A few weeks ago, when he was proposing to move, he discovered that his Canadian friend was dead. The parcel was unwrapped, and inside was found a bell, weighing over 561 b., on which was the inscription: “Cette cloche est donne a la Chapelle de St. Juon par nos Pietre de Conink et Marie Elizabeth Vostenoble, so femme, 1728.’-’ “This bell was given to the Chapel of St. Juon by Peter de Conink and Marie Elizabeth Vostenoble, his wife, 1725.”) The bell had apparently come from Belgium, and the New Cross man communicated with the Belgian Ambassador in London. He received a reply gratefully accepting the relic, with a view to having it returned to the owners, at a church near Ypres, where it is believed to have hung for nearly two centuries.

In the year ISB6 the firm decided to lay down a still larger vessel—the three-masted topsail-schooner Rainbow', of 320 tons —the largest vessel built by the firm at Totara North. While she was on the stocks a charter was arranged for her to run between Melbourne and the Clarence River wfith hardw'ood piles, for which special bow posts w r ere fitted to carry long lengths. Unfortunately, the history of the Rainbow' was cut short, when she was lost on her first voyage from Melbourne to Clarence River. Among other notable vessels built by the firm was the Whangaroa, a threemasted topsail schooner-rigged scow. She was a vessel of 175 tons and w r as the first scow in New Zealand w'ith a hold, to carry cargo below decks, and at the time there was much adverse criticism of this innovation. But the Whangaroa proved to all the sceptics that not only was she perfectly safe, but also a most profitable type of craft. She made many voyages betw r een Australia and New Zealand, and was the forerunner of many smaller hold scows built by the firm for Auckland and Australian owners. CHANGES OF TIME Besides the Ebenezer the firm also built the Minnie Hare, Warapu, Girbourne, Awanui and Aotea, schooners and scows for Captain Skinner’s East Coast trade. The Aotea was the first vessel in New Zealand to be Installed with an auxiliary internal combustion engine. For the late Mr. J. Subritsky the firm turned out the well-known schooners Medora No. 1 and No. 2, and the Greyhound. These were all smart vessels of the time, and commanded by Mr. Subritsky’s sons, they ran in the North Auckland trade for many years. For the Thursday Island pearling trade, to the order of Mr. Cork, of Cooktown, the firm built tw'elve pearlers, and sailed them all to their destinations. In 1897 Messrs. Lane and Brown built the mission schooner, Olive Branch, and the trader Suaw for the British and Foreign Bible Society. As the firm went on, and its business grew, its reputation grew also, and many orders came in from overseas, as well as from all parts of the Dominion. Messrs. T. M. Lane and Sons carried on the business after the old firm dissolved partnership in 1900, and they continued to turn out many fine vessels. Altogether 49 vessels were built at Totara North. Messrs. T. M. Lane and Sons transferred their yards to Auckland in 1905, where it has continued ever , since. About three years ago the name of the firm was changed to the Lane Motor Boat Company, and now controlled by Mr. M. W. Lane, it specialises in motor-boat construction. The passage of the years brings many changes. At Totara North, where once the wheels of industry whirred, today cattle graze peacefully on the grassy slopes. But the name of Lane and Brown will live on for years to come.