Remembering the Blue Funnel Line

[Brian Probetts (Site Admin)]

From up north in Canada, our good friend Dave Towson sent the message below, a link to my recent talk on combination passenger-cargo ships.
Dave had a long career aboard the great Empress liners of Canadian Pacific and later, but changing uniforms, with Canadian Pacific Airlines.

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I wish I could have attended that talk, Bill. Those Blue Funnel ships were some of my favourite sights on the Mersey.
While some of them would dock at Birkenhead, others would share Liverpool's Gladstone Dock with my Canadian Pacific Empresses, and I would sometimes take
a stroll beside the 'Blue Flue' liners, savouring the exotic scents of their cargoes as they offloaded, and imagining what a romantic route they traveled.

Their dignified profiles and classical names gave them an alluring mystique.
You probably know that because her name partly resembled Roman numerals, the Ixion was known to dockers far and wide as the Nine to one on.

This Article submitted by John Strange.

[Lewis McColl]

http://www.ssmaritime.com/centaur-ship0.jpg Blue funnels Centaur, I was never on her sadly. She was famous for three things, Sheep, Sheilas & Shagging lol.

[Richard Quartermaine]

This is a very attractive vessel. The one I frequently saw in WA was the predecessor, as all BF but neat and practical for the purpose.
Richard

[Richard Quartermaine]

Cappy, the 'Roads' was the view from my office window later in my time there with Batam Island, Indonesia on the horizon. Rotterdam and Singapore were the worlds busiest ports in those days and indeed the the UK ships were most dominant.
Regards, Richard

[j.sabourn]

Batam sounds a bell Richard, joined a ship in Indonesia once and got a ferry from Singapore to what I thought was Batan, shades of John Wayne fighting in the Movies Back to Batan, I suppose I must have subconsciously misspelt in my mind, and you mentioning it has brought it back. From stepping ashore in Batam (n) was a bus ride to the ship and remember the housing there virtually hovels alongside palaces. Although sailing or standing by ships with Indonesian crews and being invited to their homes when and if over there, have never had the urge to go to Bali and the likes after seeing that small glimpse of the discrepancy of the housing. I also spent quite some time in Jurong as that was the seabase for most offshore vessels and rigs. At that time in the 90's that eastern end of Singapore Island was undergoing big land reclaimation and building something along the lines of the much argued Chinese island being built in the South China Sea, only this was joined to Singapore Island. That part must be long finished by now, so maybe they have started elsewhere. Jurong was where Lou was held captive for a long time by the japs, and managed to have a yarn with him about before he died. Cheers JWS

[happy daze john in oz]

http://www.ssmaritime.com/centaur-ship0.jpg Blue funnels Centaur, I was never on her sadly. She was famous for three things, Sheep, Sheilas & Shagging lol.

Now Lewis, just where did she sail as Sheilas in Oz and Sheep in NZ would both fit the shagging bill.

[Lewis McColl]

Just think about it she carried 196 same class passengers to Singapore from Australia, so a few Sheila's & Bruce's on her + 4700 live sheep and Blue funnel was always known as the Welsh navy so go figure!!!!! no offence intended to our friends from Wales.

[Richard Quartermaine]

Yes, John. Batam was developed in the late seventies when the Indo Government decided they would create a clone of Singapore. The ferry you got from Singapore would have no doubt been a cigar shaped rocket with seats down each side like an aircraft and just like being in a tin can. I had to do an inspection of prospects there so took Margaret along. Pres. S* hart* had a very nice pad there and as he wasn't 'in residence' we had a look around. I've got a photo somewhere of M stretched out on his enormous bed to test it's comfort. No! They'd have had my guts for garters and maybe more frightening afterthoughts. At that time the whole business area was a quagmire with heavy machinery everywhere. It goes without saying that any local residents would be shunted off poste haste. That is one aspect of the Singapore dream that was not considered important.

Jurong was more or less a wasteland before the frantic industrial development following British prime minister Harold Wilson's withdrawal of the British Garrison back in 1965 I think it was. The reclamation has been going on since the seventies and with shallow waters and open seas I reckon that as it is an extension to existing land all's fair, unlike the goings on further north. I also had the privilege of spending some time with Lou when he was so well looked after by Vernon and Irene. He, as well as quite a few of my friends who were residents before and after the occupation were reticent about their experiences that were so cruel.
Cheers Richard

[Leonard Friend]

Hi I came back home on the Peleus as a dbs from Hong Kong at christmas time what a great crew mixture of scouses and a couple of scottish ab,s I did some daywork and some lookouts and helped in the galley to give the lads a break over the christmas period. To my surprise I was given a free tab in the bar, and a envelope when we arrived in Liverpool with 200 quid in it from the deck crew and the cook once again thanks lads.