The Workboat – Hauraki

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Work boat Hauraki

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HAURAKI

The above photos show the work boat – Hauraki, in the top photo dated 1947, she is tied up at the ‘Auckland Wharves’ & sandwiched between two other work boats – challenge to Baden Pascoe – name the other vessels?
This photo come to us from Lew Redwood’s fb page, where David Balderston commented that Hauraki was Captain Day’s first ferry & he ran her to the bottom end of Waiheke Island, before he purchased the Baroona.
In the 2nd photo, I suspect she is anchored somewhere around Waiheke Island. The photo comes to us from Sally Churchs family album via fb, it is captioned ‘O.L. Hauraki’ &  written on the back of the photo are the words – Hauraki, 40hp Johnston diesel. 8 knot. Licensed 25’
Do we know what became of her post her ‘ferry’ days?

Input from David Balderston

I am very much afraid those pictures of the HAURAKI are two different boats. The stern on the first is square and the other one is counter. The sheer on the first is non existent while that on the lower certainly is. 
I believe the bottom one is the real Waiheke ferry launch HAURAKI. 
The thing is with research, as I have found, its like looking through a key hole and then you see something. Like the above launch HAURAKI, I thought, at last! there she is as a fishing boat… Anyway a positive outcome is that it moved Sally Church to look through her family album to produce the second photo – this time the real boat. 
Input from Harold Kidd – There were several HAURAKIs. The pic below is of an old HAURAKI fishing boat being relaunched in 1932 as AK119. There was another fishing boat HAURAKI AK46 owned by Waitemata Fisheries in 1942, considered for war work, possibly the same boat as the AK numbers were re-shuffled during the 1930s for some reason. Another (or the same) HAURAKI was reckoned by Andy Turnwald to have been built by Merv Strongman. Then you’ve got the ex REHUTAI steamer and another on the Kaipara owned by G. Constable!
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Input from Dave Stanaway –  The photo below is Chris Rabey’s photo of Miss Hauraki c1980 at the Hokianga. Looks to me as if O L Hauraki in your second photo is the same vessel. I think Ray Morey will agree. I sailed on the vessel 1963.
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16 thoughts on “The Workboat – Hauraki”

  2. just wondering if anyone could help me with what happen to the launch aranui the last I knew she was owned by a A MR Fisher in Whitianga Our family owned her in the 1960s and previous to that I believe it was owned by the Yeats family of yeats seeds

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  3. Well this has been interesting. Capt Day’s Waiheke ferry HAURAKI is clearly the Seagar brothers’ 45 footer ex-steam launch REHUTAI built by Chas. Bailey Jr in April 1905 and sold to the Government Lands Department and renamed HAURAKI in 1909 when the Seagars’ third REHUTAI was built by Bailey. Sounds as if MISS HAURAKI is the same boat.

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  4. The little scow is either Owhiti or Ethel Wells, she had the dunny up close to the box and the other bigger scow hull is prob. Hazel Repton during one of her many rebuilds. Just can’t make out what the boats are against Julian’s wall. Dave, when and where was that pic taken??

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  5. The boat closest to the wharf is Choice II, built by Miller & Tonnage in 1931 for an Auckland owner? Later traded to Lidgard Bros as part payment for a larger new boat.

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  7. Miss Hauraki caught fire in 1950’s so that explains her different appearance. I agree with Ray that tug in the first photo is Odin

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  10. And don’t forget the Hauraki plains drainage board steam launch “Hauraki” that became the tug “Miss Hauraki” when owned by Harry Julian and now lying derelict up at Pangaru She had a counter stern and raised forecastle

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  11. I would agree with Paul’s comment re name on stern. Union Co ships on outside of viaduct. Scow at top right of photo I’m pretty sure is A W Bryant’s OWHITI.

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  12. There were several HAURAKIs. I’ve sent Alan a pic of an old HAURAKI fishing boat being relaunched in 1932 as AK119. There was another fishing boat HAURAKI AK46 owned by Waitemata Fisheries in 1942, considered for war work, possibly the same boat as the AK numbers were re-shuffled during the 1930s for some reason. Another (or the same) HAURAKI was reckoned by Andy Turnwald to have been built by Merv Strongman. Then you’ve got the ex REHUTAI steamer and another on the Kaipara owned by G. Constable!

    Photo added to ww story. AH

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  13. Yes, indeed, they are two different boats.

    When researching ferries you are only too happy to believe the evidence. It was quite possible the HAURAKI became a fishing boat, other ferry launches did so, thus I reckoned this was the long lost HAURAKI. She was unregistered and there was no files in the Marine Department Archives

    The positive outcome is that it moved Sally Church of Waiheke to look through her family album and here is the real Waiheke ferry launch HAURAKI.
    Another on Harbour Ferries facebook suggested that the Sally Church launch is the old private steam launch REHUTAI, later the Ministry of Works launch HAURAKI. Barry Davis kindly pointed out that her counter stern and sheer show she is certainly a pre WW1 boat.

    If only this photo had been about when I was putting my Waiheke ferries book together in the late 1980s. Its a wonderful thing that places like Waitemata Woodies and facebook now exist where all this material surfaces like long forgotten submarines.

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  14. There was a boat that looked similar with the same name on a small slip across the river from the Herald Island Boat Club a few weeks back.

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  15. Im sure they are two different boats, the first picture seems to have HAURAKI.II or HAURAKI.III on the stern..

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