Lounge on the Captain Cook immigrant ship

I came to NZ on the Captain Cook in July 1956 as an assisted immigrant. On that trip we arrived on a sunny cold morning in Wellington.The dear old Captain Cook must have broken down just outside Panama and drifted around, quite a few times as this is what happened then. I was joining the then P & T in Invercargill, with an overnight trip to Lyttleton, then a steam train journey down to darkest Invercargill. There was a reception committee waiting to greet us and take us too our billets. One other friend and I were given a private house, which was a luxury.
It was freezing, I shivered in the bed all night, having only bought summer clothes.
This was all compensated for by the warm welcome we got from the citizens of Invercargill and we were all spoiled by their kindness. Such a difference to London! I have never returned to England.

I emigrated to NZ 1n 1954 as a 17 year old I had a 2 year contract as a farm worker on a dairy farm near Palmerston North.This was the voyage where there was trouble at Curacao.I must have been on the same voyage as Tony Briggs, it seems we were also same age and same vocation, what a pity we never met.

My family, Father, Mother and brother and myself sailed from Glasgow 5th Feb 1952. Docking in Wellington in March.
It was the Captain Cooks maiden voyage after a complete refit and refurbishment.
We were lucky and had a family deck cabin. Despite the refit we had an enforced stop over in Curacao as there were boiler problems with the ship. Although I was only 7years old I had a great time. We younger children were well catered for with plenty to keep us amused, leaving parents to enjoy the adults entertainments. Food was fabulous after still living on post war rations. My family have heard some horrific tales about the Captain Cook, but they are at complete odds to our experience.

I was one of about five hundred service personnel who came back from Christmas Island on the Cook in 1957. We sailed via Honolulu, Panama and Curacao. Sailed through the hurricane Carrie on our way to Liverpool. German sailing ship the Pamir with cadets on board went down about two hours infront of us. Rumour was a tanker picked up one or two survivors. Think we were going backwards with the storm lol. Made it safely to Liverpool. Saw the Cook on tv going to the scrapyard.

I emigrated to NZ with my mother and brother. I was 5 and brother was 3. Dad had joined the NZ army we came out in 1954 on the tss Captain Cook. My mother told me the ship's crew had some trouble with some curacoans and were told to ship out or end up in jail. Had good first time drinking pineapple juice in curacao and dressing up for for king neptune

I emigrated to NZ with my Dad & Mum brother and sister on the Tss Captain Cook on her second to last voyage to NZ before she was scrapped. As a 9 year old it was an adventure of a liftime. There were serveral times when the engines failed and the ship went in circles until repaired. Crossing the equator was a party on deck with King Neptune! Someone came on board with measels and that travelled through the ship from stem to stern, I didn't get it as I had already had it, The crew were all so kind and helpful and deck quoits were a great game. We arrived in Wellington about March 1960. New Zealand seemed like paradise to us kids, we even soon were running around in bare feet, this my mother was horrified to see when we first arrived, she said those poor, poor children they have'nt even got any shoes! There is an identicle cabin to ours at the Maritime Museum here in Auckland which brings back may memories.

As a seventeen year old I sailed from Glasgow in January 1954 arriving in Wellington in February 1954 with a two year work contract in the Dairy Industry near Tirau in the Waikato. I had a berth in a cabin of six with 5 Irish guys who were due to work in the Hotel and NZ Post Office jobs, but have long since lost contact details. I must have been on the same passage as Susie who also posted comments on the trip out to NZ

Emigrating to New Zealand on my own in June 1958 at the age of nineteen without any costs and the promise of a job upon arrival was too great an opotunity not to miss. My voyage on the SS Captain Cook started at Glasgow on Tuesday 17 June and finished at Wellington NZ via the Panama Canal.There were six of us sharing a cabin, some of them Danish. I joined the Entertainments Commitee and also played records on the ships PA system acting as a DJ. We arrived at Wellington on 24 July and I continued my elected journey to Auckland. Many friendships were made including a James Patrick Harland from Ireland. I would realy like to make contact with him again.

I came out when I was 14 on the Captain Cook in 1958 with my parents and young brother. We left Glasgow in the snow in February and arrived in sunny Wellington at Easter. I remember sitting in that port side lounge, praying the ship would stop rolling so I could move! I distinctly recall the smell of the ship, not that unpleasant but very memorable. The crew were Scottish and always gave me an extra orange at mealtimes. My mum and dad were separated at night during the journey and we were in Cabin B94 with 2 other women, one of whom I recall smelled of baby powder! Is there still a group of immigrants who get together in NZ?

My parents (Derek & Ethel Masters & daughter Elizabeth) came to New Zealand on the Captian Cook, Mum & Dad stayed in touch with a lot of the friends she made on that ship, they were on assisted passage and moved on to Christchurch after the ship arrived in Wellington. I have a few pieces of memorabilia that she kept from the trip,Menus with Autographs, a post card of the inside just like the picture on this page. There are also some lovely pictures that they took while they were stopped at Curacao. I believe that they arrived in February 1954.