Bulolo

Aorangi And

Resume Pacific Schedules After Seven Years

IT was an interesting and pleasing co incidence that within a period of 24 hours two of the liners which have been most missed by Pacific Islands residents should have sailed out of Syd ney on the resumption of their service after a wartime break of more than seven years.

On Wednesday, August 18, the motor ship “Bulolo,” restored to the control of Burns Philp & Co., Ltd., left Sydney Harbour en-route to Papua and New Guinea. She has been efficiently recon ditioned, and she carried a full comple ment of pleased and happy passengers.

Australia’s sulky Socialist Government hates to see ships running under the con trol of private enterprise, and something untoward yet may happen to the “Bulolo”; but it is hoped that she will be able to maintain a regular service be tween Sydney and the principal ports of the Australian Territories for a long time to come.

On Thursday, August 19, the Canadian- Australian liner Aorangi completely re conditioned and looking magnificent in a coat of new, white paint, sailed out of Sydney for Auckland, Suva, Honolulu and Vancouver. The Company, naturally, is concentrating on trans-Pacific traffic; but there still seems to be some berths available for travellers between South Pacific ports. The Aorangi will provide a service that is desperately needed in the Pacific.

It was announced in August that the Company is likely to charter another liner, to run in this service with the “Aorangi,” thus restoring something like the prewar time-table. The hired ship will be replaced eventually by another liner of 20,000 tons, which the Canadian- Australian people announced they will build in England.

The main trouble, from the shipowner’s viewpoint, is the slow turn-around of ships in the New Zealand and Australian ports under present “go-slow” conditions.

In prewar days, the Aorangi could be turned around in Sydney within four days. Under present conditions, the turn around is expected to extend over at least 10 days—possibly 12. That sort of thing is general in Australia and New Zealand, where the whole national economy is at the mercy of muddle-minded Socialist politicians.

The “Marine Phoenix” (Matson), which carried on a trans-Pacific service for two years, has now been withdrawn.