A life-long association with port

Jim Somerville 1928-2016 Jim Somerville was involved with the Port of Timaru for most of his life. His recent death inspired fond memories for his surviving family, and much nostalgia concerning the history of the town and its port in general.

Mr Somerville was managing director of HJR Somerville and Sons, a shipping agency founded at the port by his father in 1930.

Throughout the years he saw radical changes in the handling of cargo, the loading of ships and new exports, including the early development of shipping containers, the squid fishing industry, and the export of raw logs.

Jim had a wealth of amusing stories about characters who worked on the wharves, and the many hair-raising incidents which happened over the decades – including the time a lucerne silo exploded, propelling its 20-foot diameter steel lid into the air, over a line of moored fishing boats, and into the water by No.1 wharf. Miraculously, no-one was hurt.

Another year was much darker for the agency. In May 1959, one of the Holm Shipping Company’s coasters, the Holmburn, caught fire at Lyttelton killing two men, including its Captain Derek Crabtree, a close friend of Jim and his father. Six months later, Holmburn’s sister ship, the Holmglen, a regular visitor to Timaru, foundered and sank 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) off the South Canterbury coast with the loss of her crew of 15.

The Holmglen claimed another life in November 2008 when 63-year-old master diving instructor Kevin Bailey drowned exploring the wreck. Bailey’s body was recovered from the sea floor days later when a commercial fishing vessel raised it in a fishing net.

In the late 1960s, Jim’s wife, Dawn, remembered dining aboard a vessel whose Captain was Jim’s friend. Ships tying up at Timaru in those days were frequented by ‘ladies of the night’, and a policeman clearing the ship mistook Dawn – then a shy newlywed – for a prostitute. When she tried to explain who she was, the policeman said, ‘‘a likely story – come along, now, miss’’.

Another memorable event was the running aground of the Treneglos in November 1964. Jim Somerville When the pilot took the ship out, it abruptly turned starboard and crashed into the Patiti Reef a mile (about 1.9km) south of Timaru. People watched from the foreshore and the windows of the hospital as repeated attempts to free the vessel failed. The cargo of wool had to be jettisoned to lighten the ship, and the wool adversely affected fishing for days after.

In the early 1970s, Jim’s son, Todd, remembered witnessing an attempt by Auckland entrepreneurs to begin competing with coastal shipping. The Aucklanders bought a steel barge and had it towed to Timaru. The barge had just passed the North Mole when strong wind blew it off course. Two tugs could not prevent it from damaging two moored yachts and smashing a third to matchwood. The destroyed yacht belonged to a red-bearded Scotsman, a local character who ran back and fore along the quay shouting and swearing in helpless fury.

In the late 1970s, Jim was the agent for Chandris Lines, and was responsible for the laying up of the passenger liner, the SS Australis, at one of Timaru’s wharves. For many months the huge ship lay empty, dominating the skyline of Timaru, until she was bought by a consortium of US business people and relocated to New York. A huge crowd gathered to farewell the ship.

Jim served many years on the Timaru Harbour Board, the board of the South Canterbury Savings Bank (including as Chairman), and was also an Honorary Life Member of the SPCA. He was an avid traveller, and through his long association with the shipping industry, Jim and his family travelled by ship around the world extensively, never happier than when at sea.

Jim is survived by his wife, Dawn, and sons, James and Todd.