August 10, 1905
In a significant leg of her maiden voyage, the twin-screw steamship (TSS) Arahura circled the rocky headland long known as the Cape of Good Hope on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula. (At the time, this section of the present-day Republic of South Africa was the part of the British Empire called the Cape Colony.) This rounding of the Cape of Good Hope would mark the approximate halfway point of the ship’s voyage between Scotland and New Zealand.
TSS Arahura was constructed by the Scottish shipbuilding company William Denny and Brothers Limited for the shipping line Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand. (TSS is the designation for a steamship that is powered by two screw propellers.) Arahura was named for a river on the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island. It was Richard Seddon, prime minister of New Zealand, who suggested that name for the new addition to Union Steam Ship’s fleet. At the time of Arahura’s debut, New Zealand was a British colony; it became a dominion of the British Empire in 1907 and achieved full autonomy in 1947.
The voyage of Arahura to New Zealand began on July 13, 1905, when she sailed from the Scottish town of Greenock. The vessel’s captain for this long-distance journey was George Lambert, a London-born mariner who had worked for Union Steam Ship since 1885. Lambert remained captain of Arahura until his retirement in 1914, returning to serve as the steamship’s commander on an interim basis for a couple of months the following year. After he died at the age of 70 in 1919, the New Zealand Herald emphasized his sterling reputation. This obituary noted, “The late captain Lambert was one of the most popular skipper in the Union Company’s employ, having an unbroken record of 53 years without a mark on his certificate.”
After departing from Greenock, Lambert and his crew sailed to London. They left London on July 19, and the 320-foot (98-meter)-long Ahahura eventually made her way to the central Atlantic island of St Vincent within the present-day archipelago and island country known as the Republic of Cabo Verde. The vessel arrived at the island on July 23 and left there the following day. The weather throughout this time was pleasant, and it remained so as Lambert and his crew guided the Ahahura across both the equator on July 29 and the often stormy and perilous but now calm waters along the Cape of Good Hope on August 10.
They soon encountered turbulent weather in the southern region of the Indian Ocean, especially in the vicinity of the Kerguelen Islands. The weather eventually became more placid again, with Arahura arriving at the city of the Albany in the Australian state of Western Australia on August 28. The steamship’s crew secured more coal there, and Arahura resumed her trip the following day. During the leg of the voyage from the vicinity of the Australian state of Tasmania to their final destination at the city of Dunedin on New Zealand’s South Island, Lambert and his crew had to deal with everything from heavy gales to strong easterly winds. They finally made it to Dunedin safe and sound on September 10.
As a Union Steam Ship vessel, Arahura was used to provide both passenger and cargo services to and from several New Zealand cities. These cities included Wellington, Nelson, Napier, Gisborne, and Auckland. Arahura was owned and operated by Union Steam Ship until 1925, when she was acquired by the Anchor Shipping Company. She served on Anchor Shipping’s line between Wellington and Nelson until being pulled from regular duties in 1949 due to needed extensive repairs.
The following year, Arahura was purchased by the Wellington-based marine engineering company B.T. Daniel Limited and partially dismantled. In 1952, the hull of Arahura was towed to Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand and — as a part of target practice exercises — sunk by DH.98 Mosquito bombers piloted by members of No. 75 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Photo Credit: Public Domain
For more information on TSS Arahura, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arahura_(twin_screw_ship) and https://www.poheritage.com/Upload/Mimsy/Media/factsheet/95408ARAHURA-1905pdf.pdf
Transportation History 
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