This is the second instalment in our blog series about the non-conformist reverend James McClune Uffen and the diary he kept of his Journey from Dorchester to New Zealand in 1911. You can read the first part here.
This blog will look at the ship’s first stop, animal sightings and how they celebrated Coronation day.
On the 11th June, James McClune Uffen woke up early and found himself in the Bay of Biscay, an inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean. He found it was
‘as smooth as Weymouth Bay in fine weather’
James held his first service at 8-o’clock in the second saloon – ‘I have had a good time at the service. The people were much interested and I trust blessed.’
12th June – The journey did not get off to a good start, James reports the solemn news that an elderly lady who was travelling with her two daughters and son in law died of ‘a sudden attack of bronchitis’ which caused heart failure. Her funeral was held early in the morning to avoid a crowd, James did not attend as he had a cold.
The Ruahine’s first stop
On the 15th June, the Ruahine arrived in Tenerife, casting anchor in the Bay of Santa Cruz to take in coal. James describes the island as ‘the largest of the Canary Islands and is about 1720 miles from England’.
The passengers were allowed off the ship for the first time, as it would take 8-9 hours to refuel. It seems that James’ was not impressed by the ‘horde of natives’ and swarm of children ‘clamouring for pennies’ that met them when they got to land.
James records how as soon as they landed, they
‘took a carriage and drove through the town. We visited the bull-ring the Cathedral where there was a large alter of pure silver and the market where there is an abundant fruit.’
When they left Tenerife that evening, they began their journey towards the Cape of Good Hope.
June 19th – The weather is beginning to get hotter, as James and his fellow passengers find themselves in the middle of the tropics. James reports that there has only been one night were the sea has been rough, otherwise the ship presses on steadily.
James makes sure to record some of the animals that they spotted on the journey, not only did they see a large shoal of porpoises known as sea-pigs and flying fish, but also the occasional shark. He comments that
‘None of us are eager to fall over board to provide him with a meal.’
Coronation Day
James starts June 22nd’s entry by titling it ‘Coronation Day’. It was the Coronation of George V and Mary at Westminster Abbey. James records how the weather is glorious and that he hopes the weather in England is equally as fine. The passengers of the Ruahine celebrated the Coronation by having a procession through the ship, performed a mock wedding ceremony, played sports and other amusements.
The day was not all jolly for James though. There was a recital by an actor that made him ‘furious’, as he did not agree with the way that it portrayed ‘English Labour men’. He went as far as to cause a row as he could not help but utter his protest.
He finishes off this day’s entry by poetically writing about how the previous night they had crossed the equator and were now in the Southern Hemisphere.
‘We have left behind the half of the world in which we have hitherto lived. We come to the opposite of what we have known. Day becomes night, Summer becomes Winter. There is no twilight. No sooner is the sun down than it is dark. We shall see strange people, plants, animals’.