New Zealand! 'Pentakota' comes!

According to my diary Brian Davies and I have spent months painting Safe Working Loads on blocks and derricks, painting cabins and wheelhouses, the Engineers' toilet, fan blades and suchlike.

'Friday 7th April, Brisbane-Auckland; Turned to at 0700, took hold temperatures, & continuesd painting in S.W.L.'s until prevented, by the amount of spray flying over both fore and after decks, from proceeding any further. Also painted the fan bodies in the Dining Saloon, glossy white. Weather much worse today, v/l reduced speed to about 5 knots. The wind was E'ly, the swell running from the same direction. Studied during the afternoon, & Davies took steering practice from 1630 to 1730.

We arrived in Auckland on the 11th April, and we remained at anchor until the 22nd. with a ferry that came and went four times a day. Then we went alongside Export East Wharf and were there until the 29th and that included Anzac Day on the 25th April.

In New Zealand the Stevedores would not discharge drums with drum hooks; rope slings were used, three drums to a sling. Great! More time alongside!

Export East wharf must be one of the best wharves I have been to, close to the bottom of the main street, ablaze with lights at night, cinemas only a few yards away.

At that time New Zealand had a peculiar law about pub closing times. I think they had to stop serving drink at 6pm. This caused some dockers (and other members of the community) to run to the nearest pub when they knocked off at 5pm. There was one pub near the dock gate with a huge counter, and I remember seeing some clients with a line of five or six pints in front of them, purchased before the 6pm deadline.

I forgot all about diaries, and became much more interested in spending spare time ashore.

The usual habit was to go into town, which wasn't far, just a good walk, have a malted vanilla milk shake for seven pence (used to be sixpence, but it went up) in one of the many Milk Bars up Queen Street, ( the main street), go to the pictures (stalls 1/6, circle 2/3, dress circle 2/9, lounge 3/3) for 1/6, or 2/3 for a treat, and back to the ship, picking up a Hot Dog (6d) on the way. It made a nice evening, all for about four bob, although I usually paid one night & Brian Davies the next, except for when one of us was broke was broke. This was our theme (with variations) all the way up and down the NZ coast.

From Auckland we made our way to Wellington, arriving at Fryatt's wharf on the 2nd May. Then on to Lyttelton, arriving on the 6th May and remaining there until the 17th, partly because we didn't start discharging bitumen until the 10th, and partly because of rain. I see that we spent Tuesday 16th painting the names and port of registry overside. We particularly enjoyed the climb up Mount Pleasant, which lies between Lyttelton and Christchurch. There was a triangulation point at the top.

Brian Davies, Purser Graham Taylor and I, Mt. Pleasant

Second visit up Mr. Pleasant, this time with a B.I. flag

The Harbour Master Mr. Champion piloted us out of Lyttelton at noon, Wednesday 17th May, and 24 hours later Mr. Church piloted us into the dry dock, Port Chalmers, for our Hull Survey, bow first, and using the hulk of a five masted barque as a fender.

Port Chalmers, 'Pentakota' in dry dock on right, barque hulk in foreground