One of the great names of Southampton's maritime past is to be seen once again in the docks marking the start of a new era in 21st century shipping.

Over the decades P&O ships bearing the name Arcadia have figured largely in the history of the port and now it has re-emerged again, this time as part of one of the biggest shake-ups of British shipping in recent times.

Next April, a gleaming new 85,000 ton vessel, with the name Arcadia emblazoned on her bow, will sail up Southampton Water to start her life wandering the oceans of the world.

With P&O's distinctive buff coloured funnel and sparkling white superstructure, Arcadia will be named in Southampton during a quayside ceremony before joining the other ships, Oriana, Aurora, Oceana and Artemis, that make up the company's 2005 city based fleet.

This Arcadia, the fourth ship with the name, was originally destined for Southampton's other major cruising operation, Cunard, but earlier this week it was announced by parent company, Carnival Corporation, that the vessel will swap over to the P&O fleet. Behind the name is a long history that can be traced back as far as 1887 when the first vessel to be christened Arcadia entered service. Built by Harland and Wolff, she was operated as a two class ship on the UK to India route, with a maximum speed of 16 knots, until withdrawn from service in 1915. The name then made a reappearance in May, 1953 when the next Arcadia was launched at the shipyard of John Brown & Co. on Clydebank.

This Arcadia cost nearly £7million and at that time she was the most expensive merchant ship ever to be built on the Clyde. The record was broken only when Cunard ordered the liner, Queen Elizabeth 2 in a £30m deal with the constructors.

In addition Arcadia was P&O's biggest passenger ship until the arrival of the 44,000 ton Canberra in the early 1960s.

During her 25 years service the 29,000-ton ship carried 430,000 passengers and steamed 2,650,000 miles, equivalent to 100 times around the world.

With a white hull, a buff funnel and two masts, Arcadia was a fine looking ship with a rounded, streamlined bridge and her name shone out in lights at the base of the funnel, in red on the port side and green on starboard.

She had been designed for line voyaging and cruising, and her first programme from Southampton began in June 1954.

It was a great success and it was decided that Arcadia should regularly sail to Australia in the winter and cruise from Southampton in the summer. Later in her career Arcadia became a more permanent cruise ship, operating not only from Southampton, but also from Australia and around Alaska.

For the Alaska cruises the liner lost her main mast and 30 foot of her foremast to enable her to pass beneath power lines.

From 1976 the liner was based in Sydney and her last cruise took place in February, 1979 and once it was over the splendid old ship headed for the breakers yard in Taiwan.

A gap of 18 years then went by before the next Arcadia, one of the first of the new generation of superliners, joined the P&O fleet after being transferred from the sister company, Princess Cruises.

At 63,500 tons, 811 feet long, 150 feet high and based in Southampton, this third Arcadia went on to become a firm favourite with UK passengers until May last year when she left the port to begin a another career, this time re-named as Ocean Village operating in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.

THE name Arcadia has its origins in Greek mythology where it was a mountainous region that was the birthplace of the gods.

Fables claimed that the Arcadian mountains were frequented by centaurs and a stag with antlers of gold and hooves of bronze.

The Roman poet Virgil wrote about a place called Arcadia as being the home of pastoral simplicity and happiness and as a result the name has become synonymous with an idyllic lifestyle.