KOANUI

I was contacted during the week by Bob Phillips about the 1948 launch – Koanui. One of Bob’s customers in Orewa has a photo of Koanui on his garage wall and enquired if Bob knew what happened to Koanui. His Grandfather was Noel Meldrum and he built Koanui, with the help of a boat builder (name forgotten) in the paddock behind their current home in Puriri Ave, Orewa beside the old hall.

Bob found a recent photo ( see below) of Koanui in WW’s photo archives and emailed it to him. Bob commented that they, Pat and Terry Houghton, were very pleased to receive the photos and kindly sent back the above photos.

Koanui, to Bob’s eye, has a very Royal Falcon (original) look about her superstructure windows in the original photos. She is and was a good-looking bridge-decker.

Interestingly, she was launched (29^th August 1948) in the Orewa estuary, which you would think today was barely possible. Terry told Bob they blasted the reef at the entrance just after WW2.

Previous WW story with more details, read the comments section 😉 https://waitematawoodys.com/2021/12/23/kohanui/