The American Flag
p. 151 · Read in the full issue
[?]iposa comed
Matson Hits The Pacific With
In November-December the Matson Line’s new luxurv I iner ariposa was on her maiden voyage and being feted all across the icihc. PIM was privileged to visit her while she was in Sydnev and r young reporter-a Sydneysider-true who refuses to be impressed [the might of America—came back with this commentary: P
E Matson Line’s new luxury iner Mariposia with a load if wealthy American tourists rd. berthed at the new inger terminal at Wooloomooloo [ Sydney, on November 21.
I riposa and her sister ship l erey, built at a total cost of K),000, reopen the Matson s White Ship Service from IS to Australia via the Pacific Is. riposa came west via Honolulu, li and NZ and returned via kla n d, Suva, Pago Pago, lulu, arriving San Francisco, hber 11. h the new liners were designed ffew York architect, Harry l> who aimed at giving the an “atmosphere of Polynesia.” prding to the company’s I Relations Office, “once d, the passengers will be made [that they have shed the hustle tarries of the Western world Mitered the most halcyon of existences, that of the
fonal South Sea Islander. . .
hspite of that Mariposa is b nice ship, above and below [ interior decor is lavish and k:es you begin to see where afty million went. [Polynesian Club has a dance [ and orchestra stand set f ferns, flowers and totem the same deck is the Southern I Lounge, where a mosaic pve art on one wall dominates Indscape. ihe for’ard entrance foyer of is a huge totem pole painted to resemble taod), that goes through the tell for three decks. lof the “Polynesian works of were produced by skilled lan artists. .of the features of Monterey is scheduled to berth in h on January 29, 1957), will be lection of sea-shells from
[ areas.
[-again according to the PRO Mariposa has hydraulically -a hatch covers that open >se at the touch of a button;
30 attractive waitresses for dining room service—a job usually done by men; a selective temperature air conditioning system to enable passengers to select their own climate”; and 55 miles of electrical cable in an intricate network of safety equipment.
Mariposa is the first US ship to be fitted with electronically-operated stabilisers that reduce sea roll bv as much as 90 per cent.
She is 564 feet long with a 76-ft beam, has five passenger decks, a speed of 20 knots and carries 365 passengers and 267 crew.
Noticed at the Mariposa Sydney berthing was the gentleman (he was maybe from the Rocky Mountains) who, when told that Katoo-00-oomba,” in the Blue Mountains, was 3,000 feet above sea level, exclaimed; “Wahl, that’s only foothills!”
But the choicest comment of the morning came from the amply built guy who ran around heartily back slapping his fellow-voyagers and bellowing: “Don’t ferget, fellas, when ya get ashore . . , hit ’em with the American fia-a-ag . . .”!