There were thousands of planes. Yes, thousands of planes – as far as the eye could see.  All being assembled –  presumable for the scrap yard after the end of the battle for Japan.  This was the first sight we saw as the New Zealand cruiser Bellona sailed into Honolulu.

         I had helped decommission the cruiser Achilles and recommissioned the cruiser Bellona as her replacement at the Chatham Naval Base in October 1946.

         The Bellona was built in Glasgow for the Russian convoys. It was built for cold water. and unsuitable for the Pacific.  Most likely it was cheap.  It was the eighteenth vessel to bear that name in the British Navy. The first was a 36-gun privateer,  captured from the French in 1747.  At the end of the war, she had carried a load of gold bullion to Russia.    An autographed portrait of Winston Churchill hung in the wardroom – a memento of the occasion when Churchill traveled on the Bellona from Belgium back to England.

         When I first joined her, we had most of the crews from the New Zealand cruisers the Gambia and the Achilles on board – both bigger ships.

         Our living conditions were disgusting – we were very congested on board. It was only the fact we were heading home for Christmas that prevented a mutiny.

         There was not a place to sling all the hammocks.  Sailors were sleeping on mess tables and on the floor. The smell of diesel fuel and bodies was foul.  

         I had a stretcher so I slept behind the funnel on the upper deck. It was clean sweet air but I often got wet as we passed through a rain shower.

         When we arrived in Pearl Harbour there were still signs of the damage from the Japanese attack that brought America into the war. We received great publicity and hospitality from the American forces.  Tours and dances were organised for our crew.

         One night dance had been organised for us at the Army Enlisted Men’s Club at Maluhia.  I was not great at dancing so I decided to go window shopping instead.

         A man came up to me and said. “I see you are a a New Zealander. I was given a wonderful time when I was in New Zealand, I am off visiting. Would you like to join me?”

         He seemed respectable so I thanked him and joined him. He introduced himself as Kennett Dawson, Attorney at Law.

         We ended up in a cool spot under some trees where he introduced me to the leading judges of Hawaii. We had a most enjoyable and informal chat drinking Scotch-on -the rocks.

         The next day he invited me to join him for lunch and offered to show me around Oahu, He said, “I don’t suppose you could get me a few cigars, could you.”

         I managed to buy a box of White Owl cigars from our shop on board. I wrapped them in a towel and made out I was going swimming. It was a high-risk business smuggling goods ashore. But I made it safely.

         At his office in the Stangenwald building, his secretary tried to turn me away as I didn’t have an appointment. He spotted me and ordered his secretary to cancel all his appointments for that afternoon. He invited me into his office and phoned his friend Peter Buck at the Bishop Museum to see if he would join us, but he had another appointment.

         I was disappointed as I would have liked to have met this distinguished New Zealander.   However, we ended up lunching with Mr. Dole Snr. – the pineapple king.

         After touring the island, he invited some friends home for the evening.

         I remembered seeing and admiring some of his carvings. He had two magnificently carved, life-sized Balinese heads. I have never seen better before, or since – even in Bali.

         We wined and dined well. He took me back to the ship. It was getting late.

         Before he left he asked me to deliver a small gift and a note to two old ladies in Auckland. He said they owned the Auckland Ferry Company.

         As usual, I took my stretcher to sleep on the deck behind the funnel. I slept in, was arrested, and brought before the duty officer. My punishment was extra duties.

         When I arrived back in Auckland I phoned and made an appointment. The ladies lived in a cottage handy to the Naval Base. I had an exciting afternoon tea chatting with these two charming ladies.

         From then on, every Christmas, I would get a card from Kennett B. Dawson. One day I had a note to say he had died and to my surprise, I found he had been an American Senator.

         The Navy taught me many valuable lessons. The art of discipline. The ability to live in a mess in close proximity to people from all walks of life.  How to cater to large numbers of people.  

         It also gave me the confidence to chat with distinguished people. This was a great help when I was traveling America in 1968.

Geoffrey Moss(mossassociates.co.nz)

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