CELEBRATING A 90TH WAYPOINT - AND A NEW BOOK

CELEBRATING his 90" waypoint on Monday is Arthur (“Chick”) Breetzke, a revered figure in local and international shipping.

- BRIAN INGPEN

Fresh from Selborne College and one of six brothers to excel at the East London school, Chick began his career in Union-Castle’s Dock Office in the Buffalo River port. As it was the premier shipping line serving South Africa at the time, he had secured a foothold in the prestigious company that was a sought-after place to work.

“Between the mailship’s call each Monday and again on the following Friday” he once told me, “there wasn't much to do.” While the occasional arrival of an intermediate vessel or a cargoship livened the pace a bit, once the dust had settled after the mailship had left, and preparations for the next caller had been completed, the industrious new recruit attended to mundane tasks, including polishing the heavy wooden reception desk.

“The boss from the town office arrived unexpectedly one day,’ Chick’s story continued. “Nothing to do, Breetzke?” he asked the new trainee. “Not at the moment, sir” “Well, Breetzke,’ the senior man responded, “in the corner is a fishing rod. Use it. The river does have some fish left.”

A transfer to Mombasa followed. The Kenyan port was a busy Union-Castle stronghold in those days, and a gateway for British colonial officials and business folks en route to Nairobi or Uganda, and it was the entrepot for cargo moving to or from the wider region.

Although many Union-Castle officials learnt the ways of shipping in Mombasa, the posting to that hot and humid place was unpopular, causing most employees to seek an early exit to an office in more temperate climes.