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With Reuben Goossens
Maritime Historian,
Cruise‘n’Ship Reviewer & Author
Please Note: Images on this page are from the author’s private
collection, unless stated otherwise.
Some of my photographs were badly damaged when I came to Australia in
the 1960’s, when the box that transported them by sea was dropped and
many were badly damaged. However, I have given many of these some Photoshop
attention and restored them as much as is possible, and they look quite good
again. I hope you will agree!
Introduction.
One of the most beautifully designed compact
liners to be built in the mid thirties was without doubt a ship that became
known as the most famous Trans-Tasman Express Liners, being the Union Steam
Ship Company (USSCo) TSS Awatea (Maori for “Eye of the Dawn”).
There was something special about this ship, for she had something in common
with one of the great liners of her day, being the famed Holland America (HAL)
Liner that was launched just a year after the Awatea. This HAL ship became
known not only as being a revolutionary ship, but also as “The most
beautiful passenger liner ever to be built”, and some may ask “What
was that ships name?” Many ship lovers will know it well, for it was the
36,287 GRT, SS Nieuw Amsterdam. Although the Nieuw
Amsterdam was very much larger, what was the connection between these two
ships?
Original
postcard of the SS Nieuw Amsterdam
The connection was very much in the ships
design, for there were certain similarities. There is no doubt that Awatea’s USSCo’s designers had done a unique
job and they had managed to design a ship that was pure maritime perfection!
Her 545 ft long green hull, red boot topping with a thin gold band surrounding
her slender and perfectly balanced hull was designed for speed and superior
stability. In addition she had a rolled bow, which was gently raked (rather than the knife edge bows such as the
Monowai). Awatea’s hull
was in total balance with her elegant low slung long superstructure, topped
with two perfectly raked red and black funnels, as well as her two tall raked
masts, which made her look very much like a grand “Ocean Liner,” be
it on a smaller scale!
Another factor was that her public rooms
certainly matched the perfection of her exterior. Awatea featured some of the
finest lounges imaginable and many of these were built on a grand scale indeed,
especially considering she was designed to operate a two and a half day
Trans-Tasman Express service from New Zealand
to Australia
and return, a voyage that would be at least one day shorter than any of her
competitors! The truth is Awatea would have been perfect as a Trans-Atlantic
Liner. During her far too short commercial life the TSS Awatea operated all her
services with great dignity, as well as being known for a ship that broke a few
nautical records!
Reuben Goossens.
*************************************
Her Beginnings.
The Union Steam Ship Company (USSCo) canvassed
idea of building a new super fast ship for the Trans-Tasman Express service in
July 1930, mostly due to the fact that the American Oceanic Steam Ship Co,
better known today as Matson Lines, had already ordered several grand 22 knot
ships, being the 18,000 GRT, SS Mariposa (1931) and her sister the Monterey
(1932) to operate on the South Pacific, and thus the Tasman service.
The Matson liner SS Monterey
In addition there was the soon arrival of the
Australian Huddart Parker luxury liner, TSS Wanganella that would be competing
with the USSCo liner that was already operating on the Tasman, the 11,000 GRT,
SS Monowai. But the Monowai could hardly compete with ships of such a high
calibre and thus a new superior ship was obviously in the minds of the
executives of the USSCo. However, due financial restraints at the time the
project was shelved until a year later when it gathered speed again, for the
company realised there was an urgent need for a new vastly superior liner or
they would simply loose the market, but their new ship would need to have a
great deal of new thinking and technology behind it.
The
Huddart Parker TSS Wanganella looking superb as she is seen here fully dressed
with flags
Note:
This ship has a “knife edge” bow
Union Steam Ship’s own designers had
commenced working on a new design whilst taking on board new and advanced
influences from around the world. By now they had already decided that their
new ship would be equipped with steam turbine engines as they needed a ship
that was capable of high speeds and the more economical motor ships were just
not up to the job at that time. What they conceived with was one of the most
beautiful compact sized liners imaginable, and as I said earlier, she was very
much in the style of a mini Nieuw Amsterdam.
A painting of the Awatea
Artist unknown - *See Photo notes at the bottom of the page
Then in December 1933, USSCo officially
announced that they had decided to build their new Trans-Tasman Express Liner
and that this new ship would not only be their flagship, but that she would
also be capable to make the Tasman crossing in just in two and a half days.
Thus, combined with tight turnarounds at each port, the ship could do a
complete round voyage to and from Australia each week. This would
mean that she would require a minimum speed of 20 knots however she would end
up with a greater speed available to her.
In November 1934, USSCo officially announced
that their new ship would be named Awatea, being a Maori word meaning
“Eye of the Dawn.” Towards the end of the very next month a
contract was handed to Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness for them to build
the turbine steam ship and her keel was laid down at yard number 707 and
building progressed until 1936.
Then came the big day for USSCo, for on a
thick foggy morning on February 25, 1936, just after 11 AM, the Awatea was
launched by the wife of the New Zealand Governor-General, Lady Elaine Bledisloe, and the ship was then moved to her fitting out
berth at the Buccleuch Dock where her interiors and
other fixtures would be worked on.
We
see the Awatea going down the slips on a foggy morning, just after 11 AM
On July 22, 1936 with work as required
finished the Awatea departed Barrow in Furness and sailed for the Mersey River
where she would be dry docked at the Liverpool Cammell Laird shipyards at
Birkenhead where her hull would be cleaned to be made ready for her voyage to New Zealand. On
July 25, 1936, Awatea departed for the Firth of Clyde and undertook her sea
trials. Two days later she reached 22.5 knots using only four of her boilers,
thus the builders knew that she could do very much better. On July 28 she was
officially handed over to her owners.
TSS Awatea seen here during her sea trails
Awatea departed Greenock on August 5, 1936,
for her voyage to her new home and sailed via the Panama Canal to Wellington
New Zealand. Amazingly during her this voyage
the Awatea broke the all official records for a voyage from the United Kingdom to New
Zealand sailing via the Panama Canal.
It took her just 28 days, six hours and 33 minutes to be precise, and we need
to note that this was achieved with her using only three of her six boilers
throughout the voyage, making this an amazing record indeed! Awatea arrived in Wellington exactly to the
minute as what Awatea’s most famous Captain,
Captain A.H. Davey’s had predicted upon departure, on September 3, 1936.
Her arrival in Wellington proved to be a huge event with
great fanfare, and soon enough this new liner became a much loved and a popular
ship. The very first sight of her made a big impression on the people; as one
of my readers (Geoff) wrote me:
“The Awatea was a sight to behold, for I
had never seen a ship of such great beauty before. My wife and I had seen many
fine overseas liners visiting Wellington
before and we had sailed on several, and they were marvellous. But now the
Awatea, as soon as we saw her, we knew that she was sheer perfection, and her
design was in perfect harmony. I recall saying in the excitement to a person
standing next to me, ‘She is like the perfect woman, having all the
shapes in all the right places!’ Then I realised that person was my wife,
but that is OK for she is beautiful and had a good laugh! Also we said,
‘We can’t wait to go to Australia.’”
Geoff and his dear lady did go, and he continued …
“It was the experience of a lifetime, my
wife and I had a spacious two bedded cabin with a bathroom on the portside on A
deck two located just forward from the Pursers office, and it was simply superb
having all the mod cons. The Lounges were wondrous and the Main lounge was two
decks high and had a gallery on both sides. We loved the promenades, both the
enclosed and the one above where we strolled under the lifeboats. The service
and the meals could not be faulted, and we soon discovered that New Zealand
finally had a ship that we could be proud off and could match the rest of the
world! We intended to do a voyage across the Pacific, but, this became
impossible as tragedy struck, for we all know that the war had come upon us and
the Awatea had to become a troop ship and she would not ever come home and
return to active duties. We finally had the ship we deserved, and we lost her
to the German and Italian warplanes, a tragedy! But at least, we managed to
spend two crossings on her to and from Sydney!”
Geoff Spencer - Palmerston North, NZ.
On September 13, 1936, Awatea departed
Wellington and sailed north to Auckland, and she departed in the afternoon of
September 15 for her maiden Tasman crossing to Sydney, arriving there on the
morning of September 18 and came in passing the Sydney Harbour Bridge as she
headed for her berthed at a sundrenched berth at Circular Quay to yet another
great fanfare as her arrival had been well publicised in the Newspapers and on
radio.
The
sleek new liner TSS Awatea is seen arriving in Sydney on September 18, 1936
TSS Awatea accommodated a relatively small
number of passengers, with 377 in First Class, 151 in Tourist Class and just 38
in the budget 3rd Class section; a total of 566 passengers in all, who were
attended to by a crew of 242, Thus although not a large ship at 13,482 GRT, she
was certainly a spacious ship and she offered fine meals and her reputation for
service on board was of a very high standard!
*************************************
Engines, Tasman
Crossings & Specifications.
Originally USSCo had thought build a modern
motor ship, for at that time this seemed was the trend of many of the
competitors, and it was common knowledge that motor ships were certainly far
more economical.
However, USSCo realised that they could corner
the market if they made their new ship a fast ship, and to accomplish this they
needed her to have powerful engines, and thus they chose Vickers-Armstrong to
build geared turbine steam engines, with twin screws operating at 22,500 SHP.
A view of the engine room looking towards the control
section
During her trails she operated around 23
knots, but her service speed was generally 21 knots. Her local competitors were
the two superb fast American liners as well as the new Huddart Parker TSMV
Wanganella, which operated at 15 knots and the USSCo own ship, SS Monowai
operating at a good 18 knots, they both operated a three and a half day
crossing of the Tasman. Thus, the Awatea would cut a full day from their
sailing time and save considerable time, whilst still providing a superb mini
vacation on a luxury ship!
A bright and colourful USSCo brochure promoting the TSS
Awatea
Combined with the ships fast crossings
of the Tasman and the high standard of service and cuisine on board, this made
her a popular very ship. During the summer of 1937 the Awatea made 11 Tasman
crossings in just 41 days in addition she was able to bring the times for the
Auckland to Sydney and Sydney to Wellington voyages to just under 56 hours.
According to her record’s, her best day’s run was 576 miles, being
an average speed of 23.35 knots.
This was the heart and soul of the Awatea, where good men of
the sea guided her on a good course
Captain Davey was a remarkable seaman
and he made the Awatea a name to be remembered and she became a ship to be well
known to the entire maritime world. The reason for this was not just due to her
excellent speed, but for the fact that he was able to manoeuvre the ship to her
berth without the aid of any tugs in all ports, and did so with amazing
accuracy! We need to consider that this was achieved long before side thrusters
had come on the scene, but then again, those were the days when there was great
some really seamanship around! Today, it is all
automated and even computerised.
Looking geand as she is seen at full steam ahead at sea
There was no doubt that the Awatea was had
become much loved and by this time she became known on both sides of the
Tasman; “Queen of the Tasman Sea.”
Having been in operation for just six months
her engineers realised that there was a need to rectify her turbine gearing,
and under the builders guarantee she was withdrawn from service between May and
July 1937 and the work was undertaken at the Cockatoo Dockyards Sydney, whilst
the company’s older ship the SS Monowai took over her service on the
Tasman.
Union Steam Ships older liner, SS Monowai
Whilst at the Cockatoo Dockyards, her accommodations
we also upgraded, and atop the ship her funnels were heightened by some nine
feet. The reason for this was an obvious one; it would assist to better
disperse the smoke away from her aft decks. She was completed and departed for
her sea trails July 27, and during this trail she reached a remarkable speed of
26 knots.
The Awatea is seen here leaving Sydney after her refit and the heightening of
her funnels mid 1937
To this date the large Matson liners still
were still the fastest ships on the Tasman by a small margin, however that was
about to change very soon!
When the TSS Awatea arrived in Sydney on October 4, 1937, she had finally set a new
Trans-Tasman record between Auckland
and Sydney (1,281 Miles) of just 55 hours, 28 minutes, having sailed at an
average speed of 23.1 knots, beating the SS Monterey by 2 hours and 44 minutes.
In addition during this voyage, she again had not used all her boilers, making
it even more remarkable!
For this special occasion Paramount Film
Corporation presented the ship with a special framed certificate which was
placed in Captain Davey's cabin, as well as an especially created 45-ft long
blue pennant, representing the “Tasman Blue Riband.” This pennant
was flown from the main mast just above the Company House Flag.
In addition, USSCo commissioned a polished
stainless steel greyhound shown in racing mode. It was 5ft, 7 inches long.
After it was presented to the Captain, it was mounted high atop on the ships
foremast as a symbol of the ship’s new status as the “Greyhound of
the Tasman Sea.” When Captain Davey
retired in 1941 due to health reasons, the greyhound was taken down and the
USSCo presented it to him in appreciation of his long service with the company,
and not just for establishing this ship on the Tasman, but also having achieved
greatness for this superb liner! Captain Davey installed the greyhound above
the door of his home in Auckland.
In addition the pennant was given to the Captain as a memento. After his death
in 1966, both the pennant and the greyhound were presented to the
“Auckland Institute and Museum” but it was relocated to the new
“National
Maritime Museum”
in 1993, when the new museum opened. Today you can visit it these precious
memories and be reminded that the TSS Awatea was indeed - “The fastest
ship in the Antipodes.”
PS: Awatea’s Trans-Tasman record was not be broken for
another 21 years, but finally in 1960 the great and very last “Orient
Line” liner ever to be built, the SS Oriana, sailed from Auckland to
Sydney in a mere 47.5 hours, averaging at an incredible speed of 27 knots.
TSS Awatea operated a single cruise during her
entire commercial career. She departed Auckland
on January 19, 1937, for a four day cruise visiting Whangaroa,
the Bay of Islands,
Port Fitzroy and Great
Barrier Island.
TSS Awatea –Specifications.
Built: Vickers-Armstrong
at Barrow-in-Furness 1936.
Yard: 707.
Launched: February 25, 1936.
Completed: July 1936.
Tonnage: 13,492
GRT.
Length: 161.1.3m
/ 545ft.
Width: 22.5m
/ 74ft.
Draft: 7.9m
/ 26ft.
Engines: Six
Steam Reduced Geared Turbines - by the builder.
Screws: Twin
screws -
Speed: 22
knots, Max 26 knots
Passenger Decks: Six,
all lift accessible.
Passengers: 151 First Class, 151 Tourist Class & 38 Third Class.
Crew: 242
*************************************
Awatea’s Facilities.
First Class
Public Rooms & Sports Deck
The Awatea had six passenger decks,
with First Class having two lifts, one forward and amidships, these serviced
all passenger decks. Her public rooms were certainly the ultimate for the day.
On Promenade Deck forward was the Glass enclosed Observation Deck that
surrounded the elegant Music Room that had its walls panelled in superb timber
veneers, fine furnishings and a grand mirror on the aft wall, luxuriant carpets
and a grand piano, as well as subdued hidden lighting with one lighting fixture
that was a central feature.
This
is officially called the Observation Deck, but is also known as the Wintergarden forward on Promenade
The
Music Room forward on Promenade deck, followed by the Library and reading &
Writing Room
The
Music Room was followed by the combined Library and Writing Room, followed by
the Main Lobby and then amidships one would read the Grandest venue on the
ship, the towering two deck high Main Lounge. One of the features of this room
was a large movie screen on her aft wall, which was covered by a series of
decorative sliding panels, and up on the upper level on her two sides were
Galleries with seating that had decorative stainless steel railings and rounded
ends, that looked more like theatre balconies. The furnishings and fittings in
this venue were of an international standard and would have been at home on the
Queen Mary.
The
Main Lounge looking down from the upper level with the lights dimmed to reveal
a more demure feel
The
Main Lounge furnishings were in rich floral tapestries, as well as a less bold
style covering on the seating, which gave the room a sense of traditional
style. Whilst the coffee tables in the room were in a light colour there were
some dark timbers used in the lounge to embellish this room in a small way,
such as the surround of the large forward mirror, the massive movie screen, the
door surrounds, as well as the lower balcony edge surrounds. The rest of the
room was much lighter than any of the other lounges in First Class and thus
upon entering this room looked rather grand in every sense of the word, it was
huge for a ship of this size! However, with all of its grandeur, this
room’s elegance was combined with a remarkable casual and a joyful
ambience!
The
two decks high Main Lounge had a Gallery on each side of the ship, this was a
stunning venue indeed
And
well befitting any great Trans Atlantic liner of her time
The
Main Lounge was followed by two Club Rooms, one for Men (port) and the other
for Ladies (starboard). Then came the superb and heavily timbered, very traditional
Smoke Room and Bar, a venue that had the traditional English Fire place that
was heated by electricity. Although not a big room it had that cosy and a very
nautical feel, as in the window there were even portholes for effect!
The
Smoke Room with its Bar and a traditional - ever so British fireplace that was
electric
The
last room on Promenade Deck was the ever popular and delightful Verandah Café,
also being the main dance venue and nightclub on board.
The room was light and bright with large windows overlooking the aft decks and
modern style murals on the forward walls. The flooring was teak decking, thus
perfect for dancing, this combined with wicker chairs and small round tables
the venue offered that casual and relaxed feel.
The
Verandah Café and Night Club
Image source unknown (sent in by supporter) - *See photo
notes at bottom of the page
Amidships on
B Deck was the location of the large First Class Dinning Room that stretched
the full width of the ship and was 80 ft in length. The middle section of the
room was raised somewhat giving the Dinning Room a somewhat grander look, which
worked well with the art deco style décor found around the room with silver
metal finishing touches on the forward and aft walls, as well as the frosted
glazed windows covering the portholes, which were also back-lit. The walls were
covered in dark timbers, which was said to be Nigerian cherry wood. The middle
raised section had a balcony (the stairs can be seen in this photo) on the
forward wall where the ships orchestra would play. Although a very formal
looking room, it had rather modern style furnishings as this photograph also
shows.
The
magnificently panelled dinning Room had delightfully subdued lighting and at
the main entrance
there were elegant silver metal polished
steel and glass doors
This
is a 1936 menu containing a programme of music to be played by the ships
orchestra up in the balcony
Image source unknown (sent in by supporter) - *See
photo/image notes at bottom of the page
An
Awatea Dinner Menu cover from 1939
Sports
Deck
Awatea’s First Class passengers were
accommodated in luxury cabins, and all were equipped with telephones, hot and
cold running water, heating and fan forced ventilation, dressing table, Table
and chair, wardrobes, and many having private facilities.
A
twin bedded cabin - As can been seen these cabins were superbly appointed and
richly panelled
Image source unknown (sent in by supporter) - *See photo
notes at bottom of the page
A
singled bed cabin – Note the electric heater o the left wall
Image source unknown (sent in by supporter) - *See
photo notes at bottom of the page
*************************************
Tourist Class Facilities
Awatea’s Tourist Class public rooms were all located on A Deck aft. The most
forward one was the delightfully decorated Smoke Room that had all the
traditional features of a room such as this with timber panelling and a bar.
Next came the Writing room and the Library, followed by the elegant, but low
key Main Lounge, which features a light colour scheme with dark oak timber
columns, fire place surrounds panels next to the windows and the entrance
doors, all giving this room a touch of elegance.
The
Tourist Class Lounge was without doubt an elegant room and would have suited
first class on many ships
The Tourist Class Dinning Room was
located aft on B Deck as the large galley separated the two. This room was
heavily panelled with dark timbers and it offered a variety of table sizes.
Although not as grand as the one just forward, it still was quite elegant and
it had a warm atmosphere.
The
Tourist Class Dinning room although quite elegant, but obviously more low key
than first class
.
This
was a special menu for the Jamboree voyage
Tourist Class offered comfortable
accommodations, all having hot and cold water, heating and ample fan forced
ventilation and ample wardrobes, seating and storage space, etc.
I have no photographs available of Tourist Class accommodations.
Tourist had ample open and covered deck spaces
as well as sports facilities, for both the Tasman crossings and the longer
Pacific voyages.
*************************************
Third
Class
Facilities
Third Class was relatively small for
just 38 budget passengers, and there was a main public facility, and dinning
room on C Deck aft. Third Class had their open Promenade Deck aft on A Deck.
Their cabins comprised of just three dormitories having 20, 10, and 8 bunks
each.
I am sorry, but there are no images available
for this class.
This
id a beautiful postcard of the Awatea, which was badly damaged when the author
moved from NZ to Australia
in
the 60’s, however it has received
some love and it looks great again, as do some of my other images
*************************************
Awatea’s AWA Radio.
Prior to World War II, there were only two ships
in Australasian waters that were well known in the international radio scene.
One was the McIlwraith McEachern Ltd, TSMV Kanimbla,
a famed and the very last Australian coastal liner, with its radio station
“VK9MI.” Whilst the other liner being the TSS Awatea, which had
electronic equipment on board that had been made by AWA in Australia.
This system had been installed during the time of her construction by
Vickers-Armstrong. Transmitters on Awatea were licensed by the New Zealand
authorities as “ZMBJ” and for long distance communication it
operated with 400 watts on 8840 kHz. Yet Awatea did not have a Radio Studio as
such and when the station was on the air with programme broadcasting, the
communication equipment was diverted for this purpose.
Awatea’s Radio Room
The Australian Prime Minister, Mr Joseph Lyons
was on board Awatea in September 1936, and he made a broadcast to the
Australian public on “ZMBJ.” This
broadcast was relayed Australia-wide on the Australian “ABC”
network by the medium wave station 3LO in Melbourne.
Although with the outbreak of World War II broadcasting of general programmes
from the Awatea came at an end.
The
sleek looking TSS Awatea is seen here at full speed ahead
Image Provided by Stan Evans
*************************************
World War II & the Pacific Service.
World
War II commenced in September 1939 whilst the Awatea was under going a refit in
Sydney. Whilst
undergoing her annual refit it had been decided that a 4 inch gun would be
placed on her aft deckhouse.
Above
and below: We can clearly see that after the 1939
refit the Awatea had her 4 inch gun fitted up on her deckhouse far aft.
In addition we can see that many of her promenade windows had been covered
in. Obviously this photograph was taken prior Captain Davey’s retirement
for the Greyhound can still be seen atop the forward mast. The story regarding the captain
and the greyhound is located below under the heading “Trans-Pacific
Details.”
Note
the gun aft
When
completed she first returned to her regular Trans-Tasman services. Then with the
loss of the USSCo Trans-Pacific liner SS Niagara on June 19, 1940, it was
decided for the Awatea take over her Pacific service, sailing from Sydney, via Auckland and Hawaii to Vancouver Canada. However, before she headed for Canada she was first sent to Manila
to transport a 1,000 women and children who had been evacuated from Hong Kong.
Trans-Pacific details: She finally departed on her first Trans-Pacific Voyage
from Auckland on September 10, 1940, with
Australian and New Zealand
airmen all bound for Vancouver.
The TSS Awatea is seen passing under the relatively new Vancouver Gate Bridge
However,
soon after commencing the Pacific service Captain Davey decided to retire,
which was mostly due to health problems as he was suffering badly from
arthritis in his legs. USSCo decided that the famed Greyhound would be
presented to him at his farewell, and he placed it above his door of his home.
Awatea made two more
return Pacific voyages, after which she made a voyage transporting with troops
to Ceylon (today’s Sri Lanka).
This voyage was in a convoy that included a good number of famous ships, such
as the grandest of all the “Grey Ghost”, being the Cunard Liner,
now the troopship Queen Mary, as well as the ultra luxury Shaw Savill liner
Dominion Monarch and the superb Aquitania,
thus the Awatea was in good company. Having completed this voyage she made two
further voyages to Vancouver, with the last
being a one way to Vancouver
for she would remain there being requisitioned into the war officially.
The Awatea (middle) is seen here in Honolulu
in the shadow of Aloha
Tower – but berthed at Pier 8
Note her aft gun
Whilst in Vancouver
on September 1941, the TSS Awatea was officially requisitioned by the British
Ministry of War & Transport and she was ordered to sail for Britain where
she would be converted to become a troopship. Before departure she was repainted
in the traditional wartime grey.
Having departed Vancouver on September 11, and only six hours
after departure, she had the misfortune to suffer considerable damage to her
portside when she was rammed very early in the morning by the 5,000-ton
American tanker Lombardi just off the Victoria British Columbia.
This collision cased three long gashes on her portside, one of which had quite
a large hole, but all were thankfully above the waterline.
The
American tanker Lombardi
Photographer
unknown - *See photo notes at bottom of the page
Damage
can be seen along her portside after the collision
Photographer
unknown - *See photo notes at bottom of the page
Awatea headed back to Vancouver
in order to make repairs and it was decided by the Ministry of War to complete
her conversion into a troopship in Vancouver
in order to save time and obviously cost.
Her New Zealand
crew had already decided to remain on board their much loved ship for the war
effort.
It was announce that her first task would be
to take two battalions of Canadian troops to join the British and Indian
garrison which was based in Hong Kong, and with her conversion completed she
departed Vancouver bound for Hong
Kong on October 27, 1941, with troops of the Winnipeg Grenadiers
and the Royal Rifles of Canada. For this voyage the Awatea was
accompanied by another former liner that had been converted as an Armed
Merchant Cruiser, the HMCS Prince Robert that in addition to other duties also
transported a company of the “Royal Rifles.” Both ships arrived
safely, but sadly out of the 1,975 Canadian troops that disembarked in Hong
Kong on November 16, 1941, some 250 would die in a horrific two week battle for
the city, and another 300 more would lose their lives in the prisoner of war
caps due to the extreme brutally that was experienced by the hands of the
Japanese in the time of their captivity.
Awatea continued on a number of voyages, most
of which were in convoy and considered unremarkable.
Sergeant
Ronald Leslie Barton.
I received an email from Clive Barton who
lives in Hertford in the UK, who told me that his late Father, Sergeant Ronald
Leslie Barton from Wivenhoe in Essex, sailed on the
HMNZS Awatea, which departed from the in UK in March 1942 and sailed via Cape
Town and Durban to Bombay as he was to be stationed in Palam
India for the next few years as a Military Policeman in the RAF.
This (crumpled) postcard was sent home by Sergeant Ronald
Leslie Barton on his
way from the UK to Bombay in April 1942
Provided by his son Clive Barton
Whilst on the way to India, he sent home a colour postcard of the
Awatea whilst the ship was in Durban.
Written on the back of the card is “Awatea Durban, April 1942.”
Although when Clive discovered the card, it was terribly faded and very crumpled.
Therefore upon receipt of the faded image I used Photoshop and restored some of
the original colour, but left the crumpled effect, but I did remove some badly
damaged sections at the bottom right corner of the card.
This is Sergeant Ronald Leslie Barton
cabin trunk, which has been retained by the family to this day!
Provided by his son Clive Barton
Sergeant Ronald Leslie Barton
having glass of cool lemonade made with limes
On the back of the photo it reads “Taken in my bunk
(room) at Palam (India) Sept, 1944”
Provided by his son Clive Barton
Collisions
at Sea.
On August 22, 1942, the Awatea was on her way
to Greenock, Scotland
from Halifax, Nova Scotia as part of Troop Convoy AT-20, when she was
involved in a terrible accident. The convoy was proceeding in thick fog, when
one of her escorts, the American destroyer the USS Buck, accidently crossed too
closely in front of the Awatea, causing the USS Buck to be almost sliced in
two. The American destroyer USS Ingraham was sought
to come and assist and investigate, however, believe it or not, this ship also
crossed in front of yet another ship, being the navy fleet fuel ship, USS Chemung causing her to be rammed and this accident cost
hundreds of lives. All this certainly does not say much for US Navy efficiency,
does it? God help us if we have to
rely on the USA
in a war situation?
The USS Ingraham
capsized and exploded and tragically 250 of her crew were lost, with only 11
men surviving. Another 7 men died from the USS Buck died. Both the Awatea and
the Chemung were damaged in the collisions, and the
USS Chemung had also caught on fire, however her crew
fought the fire valiantly during night and were able to control it.
The next morning, USS Chemung
took the helpless USS Buck in tow and they headed back to Halifax in the company of two escorts, being
the USS Bristol and the USS Edison. The New Zealand liner Awatea, although
being damaged and with a hole in her side, the crew first emptied fresh water
from their tanks to make her ride higher in the water, and she had to leave the
scene as directed by the US Navy as Awatea had over 5,000 troops on board.
However this meant that left the safety of the convoy in order to head back to Halifax, thus during the first
stage of her voyage, Awatea was left completely alone, unlike the American
ships, which were given escorts. Thus the Awatea became a “sitting
duck” for any German U-boat that patrolled the Pacific. Thankfully, in
due course the Royal Canadian Navy corvette, the HMCS Kamsack
became the first escort to come to escort the Awatea, thank God for the
Canadians! But even then Awatea’s situation was
still dangerous. All on board were very relieved when further escorts arrived
and escorted this great New
Zealand liner safely into port to be
repaired, after her second collision at sea!
Awatea Final Days.
In November 1942, the Awatea was one of the
troopships that took part in one of the most dangerous operations that was
named: “Operation Torch.” This would include landings in North Africa. The first two days of these extensive
landing operations would be extremely risky for all the merchant ships
involved, and this was due to insufficient Allied air cover to protect them.
And this fact became very obvious when it came to the New Zealand
liner Awatea, which received little to NO protection whatsoever!
Tragically this once great liner Awatea was about to become one of Operation
Torch’s victims at sea on November 11 1942, being the first day of the
landings at Bougie Algeria.
This story and photographs will cover her
final days.
The
final voyage of the Awatea
Photographer/source
unknown - *See photo notes at bottom of the page
This is the very last photograph ever to be
taken of the Awatea. It was taken three days
before the tragic day, when she was bombed and torpedoed by the
Germans and Italians
Photographer/source
unknown - *See photo notes at bottom of the page
Regarding the photograph above: In front of the Awatea we see the HMS Wilson, which is a “Hunt Class”
type 2 Escort Destroyer. Behind Awatea we see the Orient Lines 20,000-ton RMS Oranto. Other ships that were close to her that day by
were: HMS Keren, and the much loved Australian liner,
TSMV Bulolo, which by then had become the Royal Navy’s first Landing
Ship’s Headquarters. All of these ships thankfully survived the war.
Map
showing the port of Bougie in Algiers
On November 8, 1942 the Awatea
took part in Operation Torch, which was according to the war records, a
successful Allied invasion of French North Africa. After landing some 3,000
commandoes near Algiers,
the Awatea ferried more troops further east.
Then on the night of November 11, just off Bougie, the troops had disembarked and stores and equipment
were being discharged when enemy aircraft attacked and dropped two bombs close
by the Awatea. The attack was driven off by concentrated fire from the ships,
but soon afterwards four bombers came in from seaward at low level. One
aircraft was definitely shot down by gunners from the Awatea, and another was
badly damaged by other ships. Having completed discharging, the Awatea was
under heading for the sea when an attack by an unknown number of aircraft
developed. With all her anti-aircraft armament firing the ship had proceeded
about a mile when she was hit in Nos. 1 and 2 hatches by number of bombs which
set the fore end of the ship ablaze.
The helm was ordered hard-to-port with the
object of beaching the ship should it be necessary. But then came two hits by
torpedoes on the port side caused damage and flooding to the after engine room
and put the fire fighting appliances out of action. One bomb, thought to be a
dud, went through the officers' dining room and another struck into the fire
raging in No. 2 hatch. One bomber hit by the ship's gunners crashed into the
face of a cliff and theft fell into the sea. Other aircraft were seen to have
been hit, but did not crash. All guns continued in action till the attack
ceased. By this time the flooding of the
engine-room had caused a list of nearly 40 degrees. The ship carried her way
for a considerable time, but not sufficiently long to reach shoal water. Before
she finally stopped an explosion in the ship was felt. It was thought to have
been caused by the believed dud bomb detonating. The Awatea was now well ablaze
from under the bridge to the bows. When the first bombs hit the ship both the
steel lids of Nos. 1 and 2 hatches were blown into the air, one landing on the
starboard side of the bridge and. the other close to No. 4 hatch on the after
deck. When this hatch lid was in flight one gunner mistook it for a dive-bomber
and opened fire on it. Several near misses by bombs were observed, two of which
shattered much of the forward first class passenger accommodation. The Awatea
was stopped and blazing furiously when she was abandoned. The ship's medical
staff evacuated the sick men from the hospital aft and the crew carried them and
injured men to the boats.
The ship's company were taken off in the five
remaining serviceable lifeboats, and a destroyer which placed herself alongside
the starboard quarter. There was no sign next morning of the ship, as she had
sunk in deep water. Everything possible for the comfort of the Awatea's personnel was done by the companies of several
ships, but especially by those on board the Dutch liner MS Marnix
van St Aldegonda that had been in the convoy.
The Netherland Line - MS Marnix
van St. Aldegonde, sister ship to the
MS Johan van Oldenbarnevelt
The survivors taken aboard the Dutch ship who
had been witnesses of another air attack which shook their ship with a number
of near misses. The attack was beaten off by gunners. During the passage to
England Captain G. B. Morgan, D.S.O., D.S.C., master of the Awatea, presented
the master of the Netherlands ship with an illuminated address recording the
appreciation of himself and his crew of the many courtesies and the great
kindness shown them by the Dutch seamen in this the tercentenary year of the
discovery of New Zealand by Abel Tasman.
Later Captain Morgan and a good number of his
officers and crew were awarded decorations for their bravery and services,
whilst others were mentioned in dispatches. It was certainly remarkable that
all on board the Awatea managed to get off the ship safely, however, as the
story is told by those who came home, the ships cat was killed by a bomb blast.
For all New Zealander’s and
Australian’s alike it was a tragic end for a ship that so has often had
been described as the finest liner ever to fly the New Zealand flag, and to
this day, we can and will attest to this as being a fact!
Memories
of the TSS Awatea
An excellent postcard of the TSS Awatea prior
to 1937 and the heightening of her funnels
In Conclusion.
In all, I can honestly say that the TSS Awatea
was indeed the finest New
Zealand liner ever to be built. The Awatea
successfully delivered countless New Zealand
and Australian air trainees to Canada,
as well as shipping some 2,000 Canadian troops to Hong Kong, and evacuated
civilians from the Philippines
and Singapore.
In addition, she transported British airmen from the UK
to India and carried several
thousand Free Polish troops from India
to South Africa and during
these various missions the ship narrowly escaped German U-boat attacks in the North Atlantic. In addition she was involved in several
collisions with other ships. Then finally came that dreaded air attack on
November 11, 1942, when she was hit by four bombs, with one bomb causing a fire in
holds No. 1 & 2, and other bombs and torpedoes that followed hit and
flooding the engine-room, causing a list of 40 degrees that finally sunk her. But thankfully, there was no loss of life!
During her short of life at sea the Awatea
steamed 576,132 miles, slightly more than half during peacetime, including 225
Tasman crossings. In her day the Awatea provided the “Acme of maritime
speed and comfort” and she will always be remembered with these two quotations:
“Queen of the Tasman”
& “The Greyhound of the Tasman Sea.”
Awatea seen arriving in Auckland
From
an unknown source - *See photo notes at bottom of the page
*************************************
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Who is the Author of ssMaritime?
Commenced
in the passenger Shipping Industry in May 1960
ssMaritime.com & ssMaritime.net
Where
the ships of the past make history & the 1914
built MV Doulos Story
Also
visit my …
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Voyages” pages
Photographs on ssmaritime and associate pages are by the author
or from the author’s private collection. In addition there are some images that have been
provided by Shipping Companies and private photographers or collectors. Credit
is given to all contributors. However, there are some photographs provided to
me without details regarding the photographer/owner concerned. I hereby invite
if owners of these images would be so kind to make them-selves known to me (my
email address may be found on www.ssmaritime.com only), in order that due credit may be given. I
know what it is like, I have seen a multitude of my own photographs on other
sites, yet these individuals either refuse to provide credit or remove them
when asked, knowing full well that there is no legal comeback when it comes to
the net. However, let us show these charlatans up and do the right thing at all
times and give credit where credit is due!
This
notice covers all pages, although, and I have done my best to ensure that all
photographs are duly credited and that this notice is displaced on each page,
that is, when a page is updated!
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