_Otaki_ is famous for her wonderful run home in 1877. She left Port Chalmers with Captain J. F. Millman in command at 4 p.m. on 11th March; was becalmed for four days off the New Zealand Coast; was then 22 days to the Horn; reached the Lizard 63 days out from her departure, and docked in London 69 days out. During this passage she only had eight hours of head winds. _Otaki_ was nothing special in the way of sailing and never made more than 10 knots, so her passage must really be put down to amazing good luck. She was bought by the Germans and renamed _Dr. Siegert_, being wrecked in 1896. _Waipa_ went to the Norwegians in her old age, and I believe she is still afloat under the name of _Munter_. _Wairoa_ was bought by the Russians and renamed _Winnipeg_. She went missing in 1907 whilst bound from Pensacola to Buenos Ayres. _Opawa_ and _Piako_ were two beautiful little ships. In 1877 _Opawa_ went from the London Docks to New Zealand and home again with wool in 6 months 9 days. And in 1893 she made the passage New Zealand to Liverpool in 83 days. She was still afloat in quite recent years under the name of _Aquila_ and Norwegian colours. The sister ship _Piako_ went missing in 1900 on a passage from Melbourne to the Cape, being then German owned. The _Wanganui_, last ship built for the firm, was still afloat when the war started as the Norwegian barque _Blenheim_. “Turakina” ex-“City of Perth.” I have left the _Turakina_ to the last, as she deserves a longer notice, being one of the most beautiful little iron ships that ever left the ways. She was built of extra thick plates and launched in May, 1868, for Smith’s famous City Line to Calcutta. The following interesting account of her in her early days appeared in the _Nautical Magazine_ in 1917:— I sailed in this vessel when she was three years old, under Captain Beckett, a native of Saltcoats, Firth of Clyde. Captain Beckett would have no foreigners or negroes sail with him, either as officers or sailors, and he was one of the most upright and good-living men I ever sailed under, and I went to sea first in 1858. His policy was the same for the men as for the cabin, with plenty of good food, no allowance, sufficient without waste, and plenty of work to keep the scurvy out of the bones, as the sailors said. We left the Clyde at latter end of September, 1871, with a general cargo for Calcutta. We soon got out of the St. George’s Channel, and got all the studding sail gear rigged ready for the first favourable wind, and that occurred in lat. 43° N., long. 14° 15′ W. We then set topgallant, royal, topmast, and square lower stunsails, watersails, ringtail and ringtail watersail, Jamie Green and save-alls every place where a sail could be set; wind N.W. but gradually increasing to a gale.