There is much to do before the Union Company’s new liner Aorangi is ready to take to the open seas. It is anticipated she will be ready to hand over to the owners at the end of the year. In the meantime the work is sufficiently advanced to give a very fair idea of what the interior of the palatial vessel will be. With two tall masts and two funnels, she will have the stateliness of a steam yacht, coupled with the spaciousness of a West End hotel. Practically no expense has been spared in the design and furnishings. The first-class dining saloon is designed after Louis XVI, with its sideboard of veneered walnut, its period chairs, stylish curtains, wall mirrors, rubber-tiled floor and handsome ceiling. The remainder of the first-class public rooms are on the promenade deck. One of the largest is the first-class lounge hall, 64 feet by 43ft 6in, and of unusually dignified height. The Georgian decoration has been artistically carried out with panelling in green with gilded relief. A stair ascends to the gallery above, where there are recessed settees, iron balustrading and a beautiful skylight. An oil painting of the Aorangi, or Mt Cook, is to be incorporated in this stair. The first-class smoke room, 34ft by 25ft, is designed after the Jacobean period, with a central skylight. The stone fireplace is placed in an inglenook at the fore end, and the antique furnished oak furniture harmonises with the wall panelling, chairs and tables modelled after the period and appropriate pieces of armour. A quiet Louis XVI style is adopted for the music-room or ladies’ room, 42 feet by 21 feet. A mantelpiece of marble is one of the chief features, while furniture of French walnut, silk curtains, carpet, skylight and a selection of French prints on the walls complete the effect. There is a nursery equipped in every respect for the amusement of the younger generation. A well-lit writing room, together with a ladies’ dressing room, and a gymnasium equipped with a very complete assortment of mechanical gymnastic machines and hand exercisers for the benefit of the passengers generally and, particularly, for professional sportsmen travelling on this route, complete the public rooms for first class. The second-class rooms consist of a dining-saloon, smoking-room, general lounge and separate ladies’ room, with unusual luxury for the second-class traveller. The third-class public rooms, consisting of dining saloon, smoking room and lounge, are very much in advance of anything previously allotted on superliners to third class. Eight cabines-de-luxe each with marble-lined bathroom are situated on the promenade deck, panelled and luxuriously furnished in different period styles.
No less than 11 percent of the first class passengers will be accommodated in single cabins and 76 percent in two-berth cabins. The convenience of family parties has been respected by the introduction of communicating doors. The second-class cabins, which are all superior to the large majority of first class cabins of many present ocean liners, provide accommodation principally in single and two-berth cabins. Some four-berth cabins are provided for family parties. Even in the third class greater privacy than hitherto has been obtained. The lavatories and bathrooms of the vessel have been designed upon very generous and hygienic lines, with tiles, porcelain baths and constant hot water, while a number of spray and needle baths have been introduced for the comfort of first and second-class passengers. A large deck has been equipped for open-air dancing when in tropical waters, while arrangements have been made for a cinema programme in the lounge. Barbers’ shops are provided, while a darkroom is arranged for passengers wishing to pursue photography.Two electric passenger lifts are fitted, communicating with all decks including the boat deck. All departments are connected with a telephone system, and the wireless station is installed with instruments to cope with passenger telegraph traffic and the receipt of press news and broadcast programmes from shore. The kitchens have been designed on the most up-to-date lines, embodying ranges fired by oil and a large number of electrical appliances, including dish-washing machines and silver plate cleaning machinery. An extensive bakery is provided. The whole of the vessel has steam heating, under the control of the individual passenger. — by ODT London correspondent — ODT, 2.8.1924
- Compiled by Peter Dowden
