S.S.S. Willochra (1)
Wellington, NZ
c/o Union S. S. Co. of N. Zealand
George St, Sydney, Australia
My Dear, Dear Bob,
I wrote you from Durban, SA & I really can't remember whether I have written to you from Antipodes or not, but I guess it doesn't matter it is always another one. All the news I have had as yet was about 3 pages from Joe 2 wks ago. So you can imagine how I am & how I feel. Well! I really think I am losing my reason, can't enter into any conversation with a soul & glad to get into a corner all by myself. I am either home sick or love sick, perhaps both. I would give something to be lying at Pier 64 & anxiously awaiting "Bob" popping in. This is a lovely country sure enough, but I never got such a starving with cold as I have since I came here. They transferred me (at my own desire) to their inter‑colonial run i.e. from Sydney to Wellington, Lyttelton, Dunedin, The Bluff (most southerly point of land in the world), thence across to Hobart (Tasmania) & then to Melbourne, where we stay 3 days, then retrace our "footsteps" to Melbourne, Hobart, The Bluff, Dunedin, Lyttleton & Wellington then across to Sydney. A 5 wks trip. Well! I am not stuck on this Co [company] as yet, & don't think ever will. Have very little to do, & not any beds to make in any port, only when at sea. Got a kind & courteous Chf Srd [chief steward] & we can go out at any port -- sailing day [or not,] it doesn't matter. Don't turn out before 4 o/c morning & set up with Chf & 2nd Srd at table in Saloon in port & at sea. All the same I am very, very unhappy more ways than one. Don't say a word to a soul, Bob, but I have the chance to get into Blue Funnel Line (Holt's) (2) running from Glasgow to Australia & I am going down to "Auslines" when I am in Melbourne June 3rd to interview Chf Srd to see if I can get a position there. Manager in Sydney thot of me & told me I had to see all Chf Srds as they came in until I got back to Glasgow & then I would be taken on there. I would like it better & would have 2 or 3 wks at home & see boys every 4 months & get them out with me when they were ready. I would like that better Bob & would be a bit happier & the fact is ‑ There isn't any nobility travelling here. Best people are between Britain & here or America & here. I won't say to anyone what I have said to you. Believe me, Bob I have cried myself to a skeleton almost & will never settle until I am crossing the Line again. Fancy I've never heard a word from Miss D. I have met a lot of Anchor Line boys here & met 3 or 4 Srds from Glasgow & all are anxious to get home, but I've never said I'm trying to get back. I do not regret leaving Anchor Line not for one moment, but I would have liked to have met you occasionally. This Coy[company] has chartered this boat for 2 yrs from Adelaide S.S. Coy [Adelaide Steamship Co]. I haven't seen a parrot like "Lauretta" here, nor half so pretty. She looked lovely on her stand & boys have her beside them on the table whether eating or reading & both had a good weep when they saw her. I hope you are making lots of money Bob & taking care of it too. It is a wise plan & now is your time. Chf 3rds in this Coy are mere boys & run the bars (both Chf & 2nd) They are much more refined than Anchor Line. Now Bob write me a letter a mile long & tell me exactly what you think about me running between Britain & Colonies. They change you around here very much, & I might be sent to San Francisco when we get to Sydney as she is taking up Aorango's sailing for a trip for survey & then perhaps another ones. However if I do I will write you from Frisco. You might see in shipping news I guess you will. I would like one of your new sailing lists. Now I will get my photo taken when I can keep my face straight & I don't know when that will be. I'm sure. I have some very wealthy cousins in Melbourne, & Councillor J Samuel Johnson (last year mayor of Footscray, Melbourne) came to see me on Niagara & to take me home with him & says he will see to the boys when they are ready to come, so my mind is easy on that score. The Electrical Engineer on this boat was a John Campbell (late of Anchor Line) & he is in jail now for stealing one of 2nd cabin passengers bag & jewellry to the value of L 19 ‑ 10. I knew him well. Isn't that a scandal, so they have sacked every man (Scotch or English) I am only man left on. Now Bob take care of yourself & think how I would love to be beside you when you are sitting in a theatre. I've never been to one since I left you & I don't think I will ever again until I see you. Now with all my best wishes & every thing that is good & write soon, soon to your loving old pal,
Mary J Scott
'Tis hard to say "Goodbye"
'Tis A word that causes pain,
But as the years go by,
Perhaps we'll meet again.
And if we never meet again,
I hope you won't forget
To often cast one little thought
To one who loves you yet.
MJS
Envelope postmarked WELLINGTON MY 21 6:15P 1913
Stationary has flag with CSA Co. insignia
Addressee: Mr Robt Noble (2nd Steward)
c/o W Bawdley, Terminal Suptd
SS "Panama"
Panama Railroad S/S Co
Pier 67 Ft of 27st
New York City
USA
North River
via San Francisco
Business card inside letter: MARGARET E PRENOT, LOUISVILLE, OHIO
On reverse of card, in pencil: Care Temple Tour, Margaret Prenot, Hotel Metropole, Rome, Italy, July 30 ‑ Aug 5
- The SS Willochra was built in Scotland for the Adelaide Steamship Co of Australia in 1913. It was designed to carry 430 passengers, but an economic downturn in the local market forced the company to idle its new ship. The Union Steamship Co of New Zealand chartered it for a year for the trans-Pacific runs described in the letter, then the ship was requisitioned by New Zealand as a troop ship during World War I. (Australian Steamship SS Willochra Model is Aboard At Our New Home. The Semaphore, Mar 2007, Vol XXI, No 1, published quarterly by the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum)
- The Ocean Steamship Co became known as the Blue Funnel Line, due to its characteristic blue funnels, or Holt's, in honor of the company's founding brothers named Holt.
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