TUHUA

words & photo ex Baden Pascoe

Tuhua formally Port Whakatane, built by W.G Lowe in 1937. Bruce Donaldson owns her but when they rebuilt her, whoever did it, must have been blind towards her shear line and other atributes. Hard to tell she is the same ship because she looked a honey when launched.

Harold Kidd Update:

She was indeed a neat little vessel. She had a 60hp Gardner diesel when first launched. I lived in Whakatane briefly in 1946-7 and had a trip to Whale Island on her. All I really remember was her very pleasant exhaust note and that the floor of the bay we anchored in was covered with a massive squadron of stingrays that flew in just as we were going to dive in after anchoring. I went on the annual trip taking Maori muttonbirders to the island in the season (November).