New Zealand - The Aupouri makes a brave sight leaving Auckland on a day excursion. #603338 Servants of the North - Servants of the North will have a wide appeal for those to whom ships and the people who sail in them have a special attraction, and to the many people who have a hankering to know more of the past. The book sets out to record the heyday of the coastal steamers, when the little ships of the Northern SteamShip Company carried passengers and cargo to isolated settlements scattered around the small bays and up the tidal creeks of North Auckland and further south as well, to Wanganui, Whakatane and the Coromandel. From a store of personal memories, and the spare time study of a life-time, Cliff Furniss recreates scenes from Auckland's colourful past: of the days when skippers listened for the bark of a well-known dog to guide their ships into a fog-bound estuary; when steamers raced neck-to-neck to the only available berth; of the days when ships struck snags and foundered up the far reaches of rivers. - We read of those weekend excursions when Auckland's tram-cars brought thousands of excited holiday-makers into town to board the steamers for a happy day at Kawau or Waiheke. There are tales of accidents and breakdowns at sea, the inevitable shipwrecks, and the gradual decline in passenger services in the face of road and rail competitors, and, giving the whole a special flavour, are the author's reminiscences of his own experiences on the coastal ships, including his first impressions as a very small boy. - For the old reader, Servants of the North will bring back many memories; and for those too young to have experienced the trials and pleasures of travel by coastal ships, here is a chance to sample them in comfort. Here is the chance to sniff the coal smoke, and to go down in memory to the Northern or Kings Wharf, carrying your bags along the narrow gangway in the flickering light of a kerosene lantern, to board the Gael or the Hauti for a trip to Warkworth, Patetonga or Coromandel. - Author: Furniss, Cliff - ISBN: 058901031X Click the link provided at the top to purchase the book through the MAD on New Zealand Shop - Supporting New Zealand Authors and Artists