TOKATEA
Tokatea was built by WG Lowe & Sons in approx 1958 for the Fisheries & based at Coromandel & partially sank there when her skipper (Neil McDonald* possibly) clipped the black rocks in the dark while seeking to chase a trawler sneaking out to do a “burglar shot” as they called them in those days. Proof of the incident was that just forward of the engine room bulkhead, port side, she had 2 or 3 short planks & a couple of tingles where she had been repaired.
Rodger Edwards & Ian McDonald tendered for her when Fisheries bought in the big Steber boats c.1987/88 & took her to Tauranga.
Prior to Tokatea Roger & Ian also owned another ex fisheries boat, Hubert Levy (named after a man who worked for Lowes) & if you look at the step-down from the foredeck on both vessels, you will definitely see the similarity in both vessels. Ian was told that Hubert had a hand in both designs.
The Hubert Levy (photo below) pre dated Tokatea by about a year and was built with a very shallow draft, with twin bilge keels, as she was based for a while on the Manukau harbour. Ian & Roger tendered for her successfully when she retired from service in Tauranga. She had a Gardner 4LW in her – last seen by Ian at Great Barrier Island and powered by a 6cyl Ford, the owner couldn’t afford to fix the 2UC Gardner gearbox – a sacrilege Ian reckons.
*Neil McDonald – was nicknamed in Coromandel the ‘Black Mac’, Ian believes he became the Harbour Master there after he retired from M Fish.
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Re Tokatea. I recently purchased her and am refurbishing… new classic furniture and consol etc. She’s in Waikawa Marina..
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Re . Tokatea. Bill King was skipper when Tokatea hit the Black Rocks, much to Neil Macdonald s dismay, it being his pet. I think Dicky Williams may have been decky at the time. Neil was Regional Fisheries Officer Auckland at the time.
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I spent 5 years as Deckie on MV Tokatea MAF Patrol vessel her Capt was Dave Collins from Putiki Bay Waiheke. We would often do 5 day trips anywhere from Tauranga to North Cape conducting “patrols”. Dave went on to buy and run the MV Galliee (Ex Trawler) as a dive Fishing charter boat after leaving MAF.
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Hi peter , email the photo to waitematawoodys@gmail.com & I’ll add it to the story.
Cheers Alan
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Great to see the picture of the Hubert Levy. She was initially assigned to my grandfather Norm Jones, a Marine Department Fisheries Inspector whose patrol area included Manukau, Kawhia and Raglan Harbours, Port Waikato and the Murawai Beach and later on the Tamaki area. I remember getting the day off school to go to its launching at a shipyard in Hamer Street. I have a picture of her at Weymouth where my grandfather was stationed if anyone is interested.
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This TOKATEA replaced an earlier Coromandel fishery inspector’s vessel also named TOKATEA formerly OLIVE, previously featured here on WW. Neil McDonald was in charge of this one for a number of years until she was latterly based at Putiki Bay at Waiheke Island. Neil was the Coromandel harbourmaster for quite a spell, sadly he crossed the bar not so long ago.
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