Lounge on the Captain Cook immigrant ship

Lounge on the Captain Cook immigrant ship

The corridor lounge on the port side of the Captain Cook. 

The Captain Cook brought assisted immigrants to New Zealand via the Panama Canal from 1952 to 1960.  See Wikipedia entry and community contributions below for more information.

Community contributions

166 comments have been posted about Lounge on the Captain Cook immigrant ship

What do you know?

Brendan Hegerty

Posted: 01 Aug 2012

My Mum and Dad brought me to NZ as Immigrants on the TSS Captain Cook in October 1954. I was 6 years old at the time. I can vividly remember leaving Glasgow and arriving in Wellington before being transhipped to Christchurch and onto Milton where we stayed in a specially built transit camp. Later on Dad gained work as a Carpenter in Dunedin and then onto Christchurch where they lived to the day they died, my Mum in 2008 aged 90 and my Dad in 2009 aged 89. The voyage was exciting for a 6 year old and some memories stick- Panama Canal, flying fish etc. There was a lad in my Dad and My cabin who was a great knitter! never did know where he went.

Nanny Nieraeth

Posted: 11 Jul 2012

Dear Admin, Thanks so much for your information. Do you know if there is a company now having photo's from this ship.

H.Welsh

Posted: 17 Jun 2012

I travelled to NZ on the Captain Cook leaving Glasgow in December 1952. I travelled with two friends on a free passage. We came out to Nurse.
There was an outbreak of, I think, Chickenpox amongst the children and the nurses on board were roped in to help. I do remember the quarantine flag was flown as we came into Wellington. We aslso had "A man overboard" on this voyage.

admin

Posted: 17 Jun 2012

Nanny, here is some more information about the ship - looks like it was scrapped in 1960: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~crossroads/letitia/

Nanny Nieraeth

Posted: 16 Jun 2012

I lived in Jakarta (Indonesia) and we had to go to Holland in December 1957 by the Captain Cook. In January 1958 we arrived in Amsterdam.
I'm very interested now in this ship bringing us to the Netherlands because of politcal reasons. Is there anybody who can tell me where I can find this ship. That would be very nice.

Colin Gladman

Posted: 02 Feb 2012

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.

Paul Hollin

Posted: 08 Dec 2011

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.

Margaret Millar

Posted: 11 Oct 2011

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.

George

Posted: 05 Sep 2011

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.

rory hennessy

Posted: 25 Aug 2011

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

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