| Built in 1935 for the Union Steam Ship Company by A. Stephen & Sons Ltd, Linthouse, Glasgow. KARU was designed to operate around the New Zealand coast and was the first motorship built by the Union Company to operate on a coastal service. Her design was considered to be ahead of its time when compared to other vessels being built in the same period. She served the company well for 29 years and is seen here on the patent slip in Evans Bay , Wellington during the early 1960s - (unfortunately not the best of photos). In 1964 she was sold to Hong Kong interests but was wrecked on a reef while on a voyage from Sydney - Guam on 11 July 1964 as the KARU as her new owners did not have her long enough to rename her DOROTHIE as had been intended. |
Emmanuel Makarios
