Mariposa And Monterey

Us Government May Buy

IT was suggested in Washington in early August that the United States Govern ment was considering the purchasing of the Matson liners “Mariposa” and “Monterey.”

Those two luxury liners were on the Svdney-San Francisco run before the war and were well-known to Pacific travellers.

After war service they were put into dock on the American Pacific coast but recon version work stopped suddenly in 1947 when wages and costs indicated to the Company that they would make the ships an uneconomical proposition for the Pacific trade.

Later, the Mateon Company announced that the ships would be sold and that the “Marine Phoenix” would be withdrawn from the Pacific run after the Union Steamship Company’s “Aorangi” was back in operation.

“Aorangi,” after refitting in Sydney, had her ocean trials in early August and was due to leave Sydney for Vancouver on August 19.

In early August, officials of the US Maritime Commis»3ion were in San Francisco inspecting “Mariposa” and “Monterey.”