[pompeyfan]

Northern Star Voyage 26 Part One


On Monday 28th October 1968, I left Southampton for a new life in Auckland New Zealand aboard the Shaw Savill liner Northern Star. I paid my own fare, a single passage. I could not afford the return in case I did not like it, but did not want to be tied down either by the £10 passage, which many on board were taking.

Northern Star went out via South Africa, stopping at Las Palmas, Cape Town, Durban, Fremantle, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington and Auckland. The only snag was that she did not call at Auckland due to engine trouble, so I disembarked at Wellington flying to Auckland with baggage going by train, but more about that later. Her homeward voyage was via Fiji, Tahiti, Acapulco, Panama, Curacao, Trinidad, Barbados, Lisbon and Southampton where she arrived back on January 13th 1969 leaving on 1st February 1969 for another round 'line voyage'.

518 passengers boarded in Southampton, some going to Cape Town where 96 disembarked, and 55 embarked in Cape Town some heading for Fremantle, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington and Auckland. 12 were going all the way to Southampton. 55 disembarked in Durban, and 120 embarked heading for same places, one going to Barbados, and 8 to Southampton. 38 were aboard for the entire round voyage from Southampton to Southampton.

Northern Star was a true ocean liner, not a cruise ship. The majority of her passengers like me were emigrating others embarked and disembarked en-route like getting on and off of a train or bus in true liner style. These voyages were known as 'line voyages'. Northern Star like all other passenger liners of her era were plying a specific trade, transporting people from A to B, but some, usually the wealthy used the round voyage as a cruise staying aboard for the outward and homeward leg making it into a world cruise. Others stayed in Australia or New Zealand for examle, before travelling home on another company ship.

Northern Star had a very large luggage hold many passengers taking all their belongings everything including the kitchen sink sometimes! I had a number of suitcases, a trunk and T Chest.. It was amazing really because Northern Star was close on 24,000gt but had large baggage holds. The hold with bigger stuff in it was only opened a few times for us to check it. Monster cruise ships of today are six or seven times bigger in some cases, but no baggage or cargo holds like the liners. Some Shaw Savill ships carried more cargo than passengers such as Akaroa. Aranda and Arawa. These passenger/cargo liners were even smaller at 18,565gt

I was in Cabin B99, a six berth cabin. The trip cost me £249 one way. A return would have been from £418 in a six berth to £665 per person Sun or Prom Deck the most expensive with shower and toilet. We had no shower or toilet. Some cabins, even the more expensive ones only had a toilet. Some three berth cabins did, but not four or six berths. We just had a sink. No tea or coffee making either. The steward brought tea every morning. Each deck had a pantry where the cabin stewards made tea and washed up.

I was told that emigrating alone was a very courageous thing to do, although I did not see it that way. I was young, adventurous, and could not understand why some people thought that going to a new country and new life on my own was courageous. I took it all in my stride loving every moment.

As a five year old I had always wanted to go to sea. We lived on the south coast of the Isle of Wight seeing all the big passenger liners go in and out off St Catherine’s Point to and from Southampton. Queen Mary, Elizabeth, Union Castle liners, P&O, the lot. At age 15 in 1961, I went across to Southampton to join my beloved merchant navy, the only thing I ever wanted to do. It was the day Canberra made her maiden voyage. I failed to join the merchant nave as a cadet, too thick and scrawny. My father was delighted, but I was devastated. We came back home on the Red Funnel steamer Balmoral behind Canberra as she made her way down Southampton Water bound for Sydney and New Zealand. Tears rolled down my face, my dream over, but I still daydreamed I was aboard her, and even steering her. I went back to farm jobs, which I hated. In early 1968 my father died. I was working for a farmer who urged me to go to New Zealand to work on farms out there, something he had always wanted to do, but never got around to. He knew some people from our village who had emigrated out there, and had kept in tough. I knew them, but only slightly.

I started to save up getting very excited because I knew I could be going on a passenger liner for the very first time. Okay, not as crew, but I didn’t care. I wanted to go out on Canberra, but P&O was too expensive, so I chose Northern Star. Also, Shaw Savill passenger liners Northern Star and Southern Cross were One Class, but P&O passenger liners First Class and Tourist.

Northern Star left Southampton on 28th October 1968. Our departure was covered by the BBC Radio 2 programme Roundabout Afloat 1630 to 1830 presented by Brian Matthew, who recently passed away. Microphones were placed in the Lounge Deck to pick up our singing. I still have the piece of paper given to us by the BBC. It was fantastic for me, but not so good for my family at home listening on Radio 2. Although I must say I had a tear in my eye as we sang the last song, live on radio, “NOW IS THE HOUR”. I did not know then, but is also known as the Maori Farewell. But the tears were not there for long, I was off on a new adventure, and I was aboard a passenger liner. Sheer excitement took over rather than sadness of leaving home. It had never dawned on me that I had no idea where I was going, and no idea what I was going to do. Would I get a job on a farm, or what? I had no job to go to but would be staying with the friends of the farmer in Auckland until I could find digs, and a job.

For now however, I had 6 weeks to enjoy on board Northern Star, and I was determined to enjoy every minute. I made a daily diary, which I will now share with you, the things I did, the people I met who like me were emigrating, although one, a lovely man from Scotland was going all the way around.

This story will be in episodes as Northern Star heads south with a very excited Isle of Wighter on board.

I had a very broad island accent, few could understand me. And I was not too familiar with posh restaurants, my limit being a cafe in Pyle Street Newport IOW called Jacks Snacks. There were woman on my table who could not understand me. The waiter called Johnny must have wondered where I came from. He asked me if I wanted an entrée. I had not idea what he was talking about. He then said something which sounded like Horses Doofers! Well, that is what I repeated asking what Horses Doofers were, and we all fell about laughing when he explained it was hors d'oeuvres, a starter. I used all the wrong cutlery on the first night, ending up with my soup spoon for the sweet. I told my table mates that the spoon looked like a gurt spudgel. They looked at me in amazement having no idea what I meant. A spudgel on the Isle of Wight at least is large shovel or bucket, and gurt is IOW lingo for great.

That first night out was an eye opener for me how to wine and dine properly, and entertaining for others on my table. But I was alone for a few days after that, my table mates not coming to breakfast lunch or dinner. It was a bit rough in the Bay of Biscay, but not that bad. I did not intend to miss a single meal having paid so much. It would take more than a rough sea to put me off all that superb food. My table mates came up for lunch one day, and asked what was on the menu. I told them pork chops that would slide down nicely without chewing. They didn’t come back for a few days!

All my cabin mates were very nice, and we all got on. I had never washed clothes or ironed in my life, so when I went to the laundrette, the ladies showed me how to do it. That was the beginning of a wonderful trip, and many new friends.

The next episode will be a day to day diary of what I did, and who I met, but to give you a taster, this is what I wrote the day we left.

Monday 28th October 1968 left Southampton 1900(7pm) having dinner at that time went out Ryde way, saw Nab Tower and St Catherine’s lighthouse after dinner. I sorted out my cabin case putting the clothes into wardrobe, then went to bed. I chose a top bunk.

Tuesday 29th October Now entering the Bay of Biscay, a very heavy swell lots of people sea sick very windy and cloudy. I spent the day looking around the ship, and in the evening saw a film called the Odd Couple with Jack Lemon taking a girl named Diane who I had just met to see it.