Tuarangi

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TUARANGI  
photo & details ex Robert Brooke

The above photo is one from the Jack Brooke collection & shows Tuarangi  out at the Barrier in the early 1950’s. The Brooke family in ‘Judith’ was cruising in company with Tuarangi which was owned by Bruce Winstone who was with his wife and three children. Robert Brooke remembers Bruce rowing across one evening to tell Jack that as the weather forecast was good, they would be off to Whitianga first thing in the morning. The next thing they heard was that Tuarangi had blown up while refueling at Whitianga. Luckily the family had gone shopping for provisions, and Bruce was the only person on board. He was quite badly injured and was not well for a long time.

So folks todays questions are:
1. Does anyone know what happened to Tuarangi & where she is today?
2. Who designed & built her?

Update
I had an early morning txt from Nathan Herbert, saying that he thought there had been a oops in the boat name. I placed all the blame on Robert 🙂 ,  who supplied the photo tagged as Wairangi. Given the comments today we can safely assume it is Tuarangi. Post headline has been changed. See details below from Harold Kidd.
TUARANGI was built by Lidgard Bros for H.S. White and launched on 25 November 1950. She was 42’x40’x12’x4’3″ and originally had twin 90hp 6 cylinder Redwing petrol engines. White sold her to Bruce Winstone in 1951.
By 1959 she was renamed SILVER FIN and owned by Dr. R.L. Kennedy at Tauranga. George N. Hale owned her in Auckland in 1964 by when she had been re-engined with twin Ford Lees Marine 4 cylinder 64.8 bhp diesels.
Barbara Cooke had this to add –  Bruce Winstone had a Frostbite which was carried on the cabin top, the name being Wairangi. Both Bruce and his son Jeff were injured in the blast. After re fueling someone lit the stove to boil the kettle causing the explosion. Judy Salthouse (nee Brooke) recalls the event well.

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12 thoughts on “Tuarangi”

  2. Pingback: Tuarangi > Silver Fin – Update | waitematawoodys.com #1 for classic wooden boat stories, info, advice & news

  3. Pingback: Lidgard 42′ – Tuarangi >Silver Fin | waitematawoodys.com #1 for classic wooden boat stories, info, advice & news

  6. Paul B(Winstone) reckons it was a cigarette 😛

    Apparently Bruce and son sunk to the bottom and were dived in and fetched up. Mrs. Winstone is still alive, they heard the blast from town and knew what it would be

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  7. Thank you for the memory jog on the original ownership Harold — I’d forgotten about Horry White as he only owned her for a short time until the NGARO also built by Roy Lidgard, was launched for him in 1953.
    I was always amazed that the entire cabin top blew of in one piece & that there was no fire afterwards.
    Recall is that Mrs Winstone was also seriously burnt but recovered, from the blast, as she was right over the top of the blast in the galley which was just forward of the main saloon. TUARANGI had just finished fuelling when the accident occurred. — KEN R

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  8. This may help; Bruce Winstone had a frostbite which was carried on the cabin top, the name being Wairangi. Both Bruce and his son Jeff were injured in the blast. After refuelling someone lit the stove to boil the kettle causing the explosion. Judy (nee Brooke) recalls the event well.

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  10. I think Ken is right that the above boat is TUARANGI.
    TUARANGI was built by Lidgard Bros for H.S. White and launched on 25 November 1950. She was 42’x40’x12’x4’3″ and originally had twin 90hp 6 cylinder Redwing petrol engines. White sold her to Bruce Winstone in 1951.
    By 1959 she was renamed SILVER FIN and owned by Dr. R.L. Kennedy at Tauranga. George N. Hale owned her in Auckland in 1964 by when she had been re-engined with twin Ford Lees Marine 4 cylinder 64.8 bhp diesels.

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  11. TUARANGI also belonged to Bruce Winstone & was built for him by Roy R. in the very late 1940s or 1950s

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  12. My recall is that the boat that blew up at the Whitianga wharf was the TUARANGI, was built by Roy Lidgard & had 2 Redwing petrol engines. I knew her well. The boat in the pic looks like the TUARANGI all right but it’s the wrong name. — KEN R

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