small port shipping at Opua, July 1970

The Opua dock store, a 4-Square(?)

Akaroa at the Opua wharf

Refrigerated meat wagons on the Opua wharf.

Unloading frozen carcasses on the wharf.

Unloading frozen lamb at Opua wharf for reloading on the Akaroa.

The Akaroa's Load Master.

As those who have our books know, Opua in the Bay of Islands was the end of a railway line (and still is, now a museum operation) with a wharf for loading and unloading ships. The SS Akaroa was a 20,438 ton, Shaw Savill & Albion line, half passenger (under 1,000), half cargo ship.

Originally she was named the Amazon, built for Royal Mail Lines in 1959, and supposedly taken off the South American run because of an Argentinian corned beef blight. The ship had a shallow draught due to a flat bottom so she could enter the River Plate, but that did not help in Cape Town; there were outboard planes to compensate for roll but these were minimal. She carried frozen lamb as cargo and also did South Pacific cruises for 3 weeks or so out of Auckland.

She was sold to Shaw Savill in 1968 for the NZ and Australia to UK run, but that did not work out and was sold to a Norwegian Company in 1971 as a car carrier, the Akarita. The present whereabouts are unknown.

(thanks to Perry for sending these in)