40s and 50s Memories
37
Officer's instructions. Typical work included
holystoning wooden decks, washing down all
white paintwork round the accommodation,
chipping off rust from decks and bulwarks,
blacking down rigging, painting the masts, and
red leading over bare steel. Every part of the
ship was painted outward again and homeward
bound with the exception of the hull and the
funnel which were painted while the ship was in
port. One of my most memorable experiences
was being hoisted up to the truck of the mast in
a bosun's chair where I was able to look down
on the ship and see all round the much bigger
horizon.
Our indentures stated that we were not allowed to
frequent ale houses and taverns. Nevertheless,
as in NZ, bars were open all day until 6.00 pm
where schooners of beer were available for 1/-
and midis for sixpence. The serving bar was
often circular and during the "swill" from 5 -
6p.m. serious drinkers would gather round the
bar where beer was served through a plastic
hose so as to fill all the glasses in as short a time
as possible. One customer was reputed to buy
his beer, go out to the Gents, then come back
for a refill - again and again. When the barman
asked him what he was doing he replied, "I'm
fed up with being the middle man".
One of the apprentices went AWOL from
Adelaide, hitching a lift to Alice Springs and
sleeping under the stars. The surprising thing
to me is that no one in all my time at sea ever
mentioned that dreaded word "Ayres Rock"
which I swear never existed then.
I did six voyages of about 6 months, in all, on
Rakaia - ending up as Cadet Captain. This
was a rank which commanded the best jobs. I
played the piano for Divine Service on Sundays at sea. Thank goodness for my piano lessons
at King's.
Studying for certificates gave a welcome break
from the sea. Each certificate viz., 2nd Mates,
Mates and Masters was in three parts: written,
oral and signals.
Having passed my 2nd Mate's Certificate in
December 1954, I was appointed 4th Officer
on Rangitane, one of the Company's five
passenger/ cargo vessels and I remained on
one or other of these for most of my remaining
time at sea. This ship carried 450 passengers,
cabin class. Every effort was made to run to
schedule, sailing from the R.A. Docks in London
to Wellington or Auckland in NZ. Sometimes
there would only be one port of call in NZ, often
Wellington. Discharging and loading cargoes
took about eight weeks. Later, I joined R.M.S.
Rangitiki, a very fine old 1st class/tourist ship.
On one voyage we carried the new GovernorGeneral of
NZ, Lord Cobham, his family and
entourage. One of his aide's was Neil Durden
Smith who later married Judith Chalmers and
subsequently gained employment with the
BBC. Queen Salote of Tonga was another
famous passenger.
The master of Rangitiki, Captain Arthur Edward
Lettington was a man of distinction. He served
in the RNAS during the First World War as
acting sub-lieutenant, being awarded a DFC
for his bravery. He also had the distinction of
being Commodore RNR and able to fly the
Blue Ensign in his own right. He was however
somewhat of a character. He enjoyed his gin
and tonics with the result that one evening
when he was not in a good mood he sacked
all his senior Officers. The following morning
the Chief Officer went to see him early when he
was still in bed and asked, "Do you realise you
sacked all your Officers last night?" "Oh did I",
he replied, quite somberly, "I didn't mean to".
Unfortunately, he retired after I had completed
just one voyage with him.
I subsequently passed my Mate's and Master's
Certificates, studying for the latter in London
where an old shipmate whose family owned
Metcalf Motor Coasters had his office nearby.
He knew the City extremely well and by the time