William Matson was born in Lysekil Sweden in 1849 an area known for his fishing and sailing
he was orphaned at an early age and began his career at sea when he was 10 years old working
as a handy boy on Swedish coastal ships by 1863 at the age of 14 he arrived in New York City
already an experienced seaman and in 1867 when he was only 18 Matson made his way to San Francisco
over the next decade, Matson sailed on numerous vessels on the San Francisco Bay and surrounding
rivers during that time Matson struck up a friendship with sugar tycoon Clous Spreckels
while working on his family yacht the Lurline the name was derived from a variation of Lorelai a
Rhine River siren from german folklore and if you like the name Lurline matson is the guy for you
with help and mentorship from Spreckels Matson purchased a one-fourth share ownership
of the Emma Claudina a three-masted schooner Matson would captain the vessel on its first
voyage to Hawaii in 1882 the venture was immensely successful transporting
plantation stores to the Hawaiian islands and returning with cargos of sugar in 1887
matson sold the Emma Claudina and purchased a brigantine which he would name Lurline this is
the second Lurline not to be confused with the 80 million other Lurlines you'll hear in this story
this new ship doubled the former vessel's carrying capacity and over the next three decades Matson
would continue to grow the business building a vital commercial lifeline between Hawaii and
the mainland Matson would marry three times it was said that he met his third wife Lily Lowe
on a voyage on the second Lurline where she was traveling to Hilo to teach in a missionary school
they had a daughter in September 1890 and you'll never guess what they named her it was Lurline
as the Hawaiian economy began to thrive tourists took notice and Matson would soon
operate ships that could carry both cargo and passengers in 1908 they would launch a freight
ship that could carry 51 passengers the ship would be named Lurline after Matson's daughter
Lurline we'll call this one the Lurline 3 if we ever mention her again but
we won't on October 11th 1917 at the age of 67 Captain William Matson died
he left behind a thriving fleet of 14 of the fastest and most modern passenger and freight
ships operating on the pacific after his death his son from his first marriage Walter Matson
would take over the now extensive Matson business and continue the company's booming freight service
and would greatly expand their growing passenger service with the purchase of
the oceanic steamship company in 1926 which gave them three modest passenger vessels
the following year Lurline Bernice Roth's husband William P Roth would
become president of Matson Lines that year they commissioned their largest passenger vessel yet
the new ship was designed by William Francis Gibbs and built by William Cramp and Sons in
philadelphia the SS Malala was fast modern and designed with the latest safety innovations
during her sea trials she would survive a major collision with a Norwegian freighter
greatly impressing everyone including the United States Navy Matson Lines would further increase
their passenger service with two more ships the Mariposa and the Monterey both launched in 1931.
in the following year, they would round out their great white fleet
of passenger liners with the Lurline the Lurline that this video is actually about
Lurline would cement Matson line's dominance over the Hawaiian passenger trade she was the
last of the four white Matson and liners designed by William Francis Gibbs the Malolo Mariposa
Monterey and Lurline were similar in design each slightly larger than the last the four ships were
built to a high standard of luxury and safety designed to cater primarily to wealthy tourists
Mason Lines quickly became known for offering top quality service and the grand manor Matson
became a common slogan Lurline was built by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
at the four river shipyard in Quincy Massachusetts she was launched on July 12th 1932 and christened
by Lurline Matson Roth the new ship was 18 163 tons 632 feet long and had a beam of 79 feet
she was powered by twin geared steam turbines that could produce 28 450 shaft horsepower and
powered twin screws she had a service speed of 20.5 knots and could reach a maximum of 22 knots
her initial configuration could accommodate 715 passengers with 475 in first class and
240 in tourists she had a crew of 359. her original interiors were fairly traditional
reminiscent of the grand hotel-style common on Atlantic liners of the time on January 12 1933 the
Lurline left New York City on her maiden voyage bound for San Francisco after her maiden voyage
she began operating in express San Francisco to Honolulu service along with her sistership the
Malolo Lurline was immediately popular and quickly became a household name synonymous with Hawaii
she was known as the most glamorous and exclusive way to travel to the island
and carried celebrities like Betty Davis and Clark Gable and probably a few dozen more of their liens
give or take in December of 1934 the aviator Amelia Earhart traveled on the
Lurline along with her Lockheed vega which was secured to the deck the trip positioned
Earhart for her record-breaking solo flight from Honolulu to Oakland in January 1935.
Lurline operated without major incident until December 7th 1941. she was halfway from Honolulu
to San Francisco when she received word of the attack on Pearl Harbor she raced through
the remainder of her voyage at her maximum speed arriving safely in San Francisco she would soon
return to Hawaii in a convoy alongside her sisters the Mariposa and the Monterey carrying troops and
supplies to the island Lurline would prove a vital asset to the war effort transporting troops and
supplies and often traveling to australia she even carried the Australian Prime Minister John Curtin
to the United States for a meeting with President Roosevelt on one voyage a Royal Australian Air
Force trainee Arthur Harrison was put on watch without adequate training he spotted a line of
bubbles off the ship's starboard bow not realizing what he was looking at he pointed out the sight to
other nearby trainees when the ship took a hard 90 degree turn to port fortunately the torpedo ended
up missing by a long shot and Harrison and his fellow trainees were reprimanded for failing to
call out the dangerous sighting but it ended up a good story the Lurline ultimately survived the war
and was finally returned to Matson Lines in mid-1946 she had been pushed hard and
performed heroically during her war years now it was time to restore her to her pre-war luxury
in 1947 Lurline underwent a significant refit at the Bethlehem Alameda shipyard in Alameda
California the Matson line didn't just want to restore her to a pre-war configuration
they would seize the opportunity to modernize the vessel and make her even more luxurious
at a cost of 20 million dollars a huge price tag at the time her updated design was an attractive
mix of mid-century modern and tasteful tropical accents designed by Raymond Loewy of new york
these improvements included updates to her passenger cabins and would introduce luxurious
new lanai suites these suites feature large floor-to-ceiling windows that prove deeply popular
with passengers and don't feel too terribly different from the balcony cabins found on
contemporary cruise ships berlin's first post-war voyage from San Francisco to Honolulu took place
on April 15th 1948. her arrival in Honolulu was met with huge fanfare by the local community
as she signaled a triumphant shift from wartime anxiety back to a tropical vacation paradise
the 1950s were undoubtedly Lurline's heyday Matson Line's innovation focus on luxury and
service and keen marketing efforts made the Matson name and Lurline synonymous with Hawaiian culture
they did everything they could to make a voyage on their liners a part of the vacation experience
they featured popular hula and ukulele classes and were one of the first lines to hire entertainment
directors Lurline became a pop-culture staple appearing in countless songs books magazines
television appearances and films Matson Line's PR clearly knew what they were doing but as the
1950s came to a close passenger numbers began to fall as jetliners between the mainland and
Hawaii gave serious competition to the five-day voyages offered by Lurline and her sisters
somewhat ironically Matson Lines briefly operated their own airline after World War II
using a set of Douglas DC-4s but the short-lived airline was ultimately forced to cease operation
when political pressure from Pan Am made it difficult for the line to obtain federal operating
authority but I guess Matson got the last laugh since Matson is still operating and Pan Am is
well you know Lurline's service with Matson Lines came to an abrupt end in 1963 when she
limped into Los Angeles with serious mechanical issues in her port turbine the repairs for the
aging liner were deemed too expensive she was put up for sale and her sister Matsonia was brought
out of retirement and renamed you guessed it Lurline Matson would continue to offer passenger
services until the 1970s but as passenger numbers fell they gradually shifted focus back to their
more lucrative cargo operations they continue to operate today and even have a brand spanking new Lurline
this video's Lurline served a long and prosperous career with mats and mines
dominating both the 1930s and the 1950s but her passenger carrying days were far from over
Lurline was purchased by the Greek-owned Chandris Lines in 1963 and re-christened RHMS Ellinis
not as good of a name as Lurline she was the line's third passenger ship purchased to replace
their second the Brittany which caught fire and became a total loss in April 1963 while in dry
dock Ellinis' engines were repaired and she was transported to Smith's Dock North Shields in the
United Kingdom where she underwent a major refit for her new purpose of transporting immigrants
from the UK to Australia she emerged with a new more modern streamlined look complete with
tapered funnels her passenger accommodations were expanded to 1668 in a single class configuration
she sailed her maiden voyage on december 30 1963 kicking off a decade of 50 voyages between
Southampton and Australia these included several round-the-world voyages and occasional cruises
she proved very successful for the Chandris lines but by the mid-1970s with the introduction
of long-haul flights demand for the UK to Australia immigration routes began to dwindle
it's always planes her final immigration voyage took place on August 30th 1977 after that she
spent the next six months cruising out of Sydney before leaving Australia for good
she returned to Europe where she would spend the next few years offering cruises on the
Mediterranean but the liner was showing her age and in 1980 she was pulled from service and laid
up in Perema Bay where she would remain for several years with her fate in limbo
ultimately several of her parts were used to restore her sister ship the Brittanis formerly one
of Lurline's original matson sisters the monterey finally in 1987 Ellinis was scrapped in taiwan
bringing her nearly 60-year life to an end Lurline and her mats and sisters were groundbreaking ships
that paved the way for modern-day cruising they played a major role in building Hawaii's tourism
industry and their advertising and onboard experiences shaped the American perception
of Hawaiian culture from the moment you stepped on board to the moment you arrived in Hawaii
Matson carefully orchestrated an experience that went far beyond mere transportation
from hula dancers and lays to unique menu designs just like modern day cruising Matson
made the voyage a key part of the destination for decades Lurline was Hawaii her name mentioned so
many times in this video was synonymous with the island paradise she helped share with the world
Thank you, everyone, for watching I really should have just named this too many Lurline if you
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leave a comment telling me which Lurline is your favorite human shipper yaw and if you want more
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