SS Maheno
(Saturday) 2 November 1912
My darling Dolly
I have been trying for three days to get to the writing desks but as there are only two on the boat they have been pretty well occupied & so now I have come to the smoke room & am writing midst a whole babel of sounds. In the corner opposite there are six men playing poker. They did their best to inveigle me into it but as the stakes were & are rather high I refused. In another corner three men are playing dummy bridge & dotted about in various attitudes of laziness are other men sleeping & reading.
There is nothing at all to write about but now I remember I have to tell you about Monday & Tuesday.
On Monday I went out to Manley – a small seaside resort in Sydney Harbour. You take the ferry right from the centre of the city & have half an hours run & then you walk for about 20 minutes & then you come to one of the nicest little places you would wish to see.
I arrived back at my hotel in good time & on Tuesday I had a busy time. At night I went out to Watsons Bay again & admired the stars & the lighthouse. Wednesday I packed up & said good bye to your uncle & sailed for Auckland with one of Mr Todd’s travellers.
It was a glorious day but the boat rolled horribly. In spite of that we contrived to enjoy ourselves somewhat & four or five of us had a nice quiet conversation.
Thursday was a rotten day & I felt groggy but got over it in an hour.
This is only a comparatively small boat – 5000 tons I should say yet the smoke & music rooms are far noicer than those on the other boats I have travelled on. The cabins are not as nice but I am fortunate in only having one man in mine. He is a very nice chap & has travelled extensively.
Thursday afternoon & evening was spent in much the same manner as Wednesday. There is not room to play many games & furthermore the weather has been too bad. I played the piano a little at night but the weather has played havoc with it & I could not get any decent results.
Friday morning I stayed in bed & had a good sleep. In the afternoon I spotted rather a nice girl but she was having a mild flirtation with a Maori. I was rather surprised that Maoris are treated as equal with whites. I thought it a pity she should waste her conversation on him & decided I would cut him out. I did easily & have had a nice time with her. She is the only decent girl on the boat & I have my work cut out to prevent other men from encroaching. So far I have held them all off.
I am getting rather tired of it & we ought to land tomorrow so under the circumstances I fell pleased as I should not have had the interest to continue it. Anyway today I have done nothing except read & doze. After dinner I talked to her for a few minutes & I got weary & I felt I must come & talk to you which is of far greater interest to me. I notice that another chap has got hold of her & I presume he is telling the tale.
It is doubtful whether we shall land tomorrow. The weather has been so bad & there are rotten firemen on board so that everything has been against a quick passage. Still it has been a rest to me & I am looking forward to a rattling good time in New Zealand. If I was on my own I should easily get through in 3 / 4 weeks but as I am with Orr it will take me six weeks.
I am not going to Townsville or Rockhampton & you can lay any money you like I shall be home by the 1st Saturday in April at the latest – possibly before – provided everything is right at home.
I shall not have a letter from you until a week next Thursday which makes 6 weeks exactly since I last read your letters. I have read & reread all your letters since leaving the Cape & I am simply longing with all my heart to hear from you again. Of course it is not your fault – but simply that the mails have run awkwardly for me. I left Africa a week before I intended & that has made all the difference.
Meeting all the girls I have met makes me realise more & more what a lucky man I am to possess your love. Never yet have I met even your equal nor one to approach you in anything. Dolly sweetest I wish I could marry you tomorrow & in my present frame of mind I would chance it. I feel I must have you with me always & never again must we be parted.
Whether we shall or not is the sport of the gods but if it can possibly be managed I shall not come away again without you – certainly not for any length of time.
Anyway here we are again full of vim & fire & ready to do anything. I feel particularly perky & lively this afternoon. Why it is so I don’t know but I have the feeling I could pull you up the hill for miles & miles & never feel tired.
Much to our surprise we landed on Sunday night about 6 o’clock & after dinner Mr Orr & I went for a walk in the park. It was raining but we scorned it & after taking full measure of the town & docks we returned to our hotel & retired early. Monday morning we got our samples through the customs & went round to make appointments, We were very well received except in one place & Orr told me I should have the most difficult man to deal with in NZ. He was difficult & wouldn’t come to look at our samples but I got a huge amount of information out of him which I don’t think he realised he was giving me. Towards the end of the conversation he shut up like an oyster & seemed as if he had made a fool of himself but I was very sweet & said goodbye nicely. The information was worth more than the order.
In the afternoon we feasted on Strawberries & cream & tea & later unpacked. It took us four hours good solid hard work. We didn’t get our room till 5.30 & had only a short interval for dinner. We retired to bed feeling at peace with all the world, tired out & not even energy to swear.
Tuesday we had customers in & I strongly opine we shall get good orders but that remains to be seen. In the afternoon I continued this epistle & wrote other letters. Later I saw Mrs Heap – an old friend of the family. She knew me at once in spite of not having seen me for 14 years. We conversed over tea & I promised to visit them on Friday evening.
At night Orr & I took a walk to a large park & admired the view & the fireworks & arrived home by 10.15. After a little music on a rotten piano we retired. This morning have been busy again & am just finishing your letter in time for the mail.
There is not time to write any more. I am sending a post card for the old ladies. How did they receive the others.
I don’t know whether you will receive a letter next mail as I have another long journey down to Dunedin & it takes 5 days. In addition I want to do a little sight seeing in Rotorua & shall take 3 days at least for that.
Business can easily wait as it is extremely unlikely I shall have another chance of seeing such magnificent scenery.
I am always counting how many weeks to the time I shall sail. You will come down to Plymouth & meet me won’t you dearest, but it is a chance though very remote indeed I may have to go back to Africa & spend another 10 weeks there. If it can be avoided you may be sure I shall do so.
With all my dearest love sweetheart.
Yours for all time
Harry
Via Tahiti & Frisco
Personal
Miss Darlington
Suffrage Office
Grosvenor Chbs
16 Deansgate
Manchester