Skinning Out on the Australia and New Zealand coast

[Les Woodard]

Peter think the coppers name was D Bird and known as Dicky Bird and did not like seaman much when transporting them to a ship to get rid of them. Always remembered to make sure that they new his name for future reference. As for the prison in Christchurch Addington well the screws there remarked that they where only short of a captain to have a full crew locked up. Yep plenty of us doing it and usually a spur of the moment thing with a gut full of grog and our brains in the sack. Port Melbourne one only had to make their way to the Pier Hotel to meet up with ex seamen though a few loud mouths did not last long as no one wanted to help them. The rules where simple? We will buy your drinks for you and might even find a place to kip but would never purchase a meal for you. Reason being that hunger forced you to get of your back side and find work. That place was nearly my undoing. Lived at the pub and worked at United Distillery so was always hissed before knocking of work only to spend my time in the pub on beer for the rest of the night. What a dream come true hey.

[Neil Morton]

I have posted a few short stories on this subject and I hope you find them of interest. Les is correct re keeping your christian name, however I changed my surname to Collier with dire results. I was working as a general dogsbody in the maintenance crew up at the Kinleith Mills in Tokaroa and whilst on a smoko break the fore man called me Collier and I completely ignored him. He called several times before I remembered it was me he wanted. Red faced I claimed to have been day dreaming. This of course fooled nobody and left me very embarrased. No action was taken so I guess this was a not uncommon.

Les is perfectly correct re Dicky Bird. I jumped in Napier and went straight to Auckland where I had a girl friend who put me up. Dicky was very perplexed when I was caught by a copper who was visiting from Napier. There was no warrant for my arrest in Auckland, so had this alert , eagle eyed young constable not spotted me I would most likely be a Kiwi now and not an Aussie.

Shaw Saville's Dominion Monarch was famous for it's jumpers', and I heard that on her final voyage streaming the long red pennant she lost six of her compliment.

Cheers lads Neil.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

HI Neil.
A mate of mine on the Kiwi coast had jumped in Auckland; after Dicky bird caught him he asked to go and get his gear from his digs, Dicky said right and no funny tricks, my mate went down to the post office and sent this message to him "The Bird has flown" then he got a ring-bolt on the Monawai to Sydney.
Twelve months later may mate got another Ring-bolt back to Auckland and walking up Queen's street the Bird caught him, saying "I never forget a face".
Cheers Des

[happy daze john in oz]

Got close to jumping once in Cape Town. A big night with a bottle of brandy and a pair of frilly knicers, nothing could get you into more trouble than that, and woke up to the sound of the mid day gun. Got back onboard around 1400 hours, two hours before sailing. Met on the gang way by my favorite, his words not mine, second steward who informed me a police warrant had been put out for me! 'No worries mate I am back now' was not the answer he wanted. That little night out cost me 7 days pay.

[Frank Appleford]

I skinned out in Darwin, Australia. Me and a mate. Went home but been living in Australia now for 42 years, love the place!

[Dennis McGuckin]

Was going to jump on my return trip to Christchurch.While home on leave re met my wife to be.
Missed sailing day.
Never did make it back to KIWI land.

[Charlie Hannah]

After i jumped I made my way to Wellington through a couple of mates i got on the Kiwi coast kept my name,when i payed off my last Kiwi ship i had a phone call off our union rep telling me to keep my head down as i walked down the gangway apparently the fuzz walked up a few minutes later. Jumped on a plane next day to Sydney.Took me three weeks to get on Aussie coast in Port Kembla, had to get clearance off immigration, which i did no problem, just produced my plane ticket Went to the pick up every day finally Snowy Webster gave me a job on first ship South Esk..I still have the clearance ticket they gave me..

[Robert T. Bush]

In the immediate post WW2 period ship jumping in Australia was prevalent on British tankers and it was encouraged by we apprentices for Deck people because it meant that the mate had to put us on wheel watches, no auto helmsmen then.

The agent went with the Mate and 2nd Engineer to the local jail to spring a few likely lads to make up our safe working number. They found some beauties and fights were numerous. One was a wild Irishman who proudly proclaimed to be a member of the IRA. He shut off the steam to our steering gear going down the Elbe bound for Curacao, causing us to go aground. The Master contacted the head office and two armed Soldiers took him off at Dover. One of his Aussie mates called out "Lucky bastard" as he went down the gangway.

[Rodney Mills]

In 1951 I won first prize in the "Evening Star" or "Evening Standard" photo contest. I snapped a photo outside Buckingham Palace of a policeman doing up a shoelace of a guard. It paid me £100 plus another £35 or so residual prize money. I looked it up on the computer and today that's worth £4,150.

My mother-in-law tobe expected me to throw a big knees-up and because I wouldn't she told me I had to pay for the wedding and it had to be a white wedding...bitch! We were both underage and needed parental consent.

With money I'd saved, I could pull it off, plus pay two one way tourist class on the "Sylvania" to Montreal, two one way train tickets to Toronto and arrive at Union Station with about £50 (£1,700 todays money). For rent for a couple of weeks and food, local transportation, look for jobs, etc..

Anyway, what has this to do with skinning out down-under? I was 20 and if you remember, you had to stay in the Merch. until you were 27 or it was in the army for two years.

My mother later told me that three months after I split for Canada there was a knock on the front door and an officer and two M.Ps. asked for me. She said she told them, "Rodney emigrated to New Zealand."

[Rodney Mills]

Oops! I screwed up on the dates. It should have been 1958 and the value of the prize money was about £800 less in todays money. And the other numbers would be adjusted too.