This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Story & ‘newer’ photo ex Baden Pascoe

I have just received a heap of scanned photos from Barbara Weatherley (nee
Walling, yes the famous little Barbara W is named after her). In the album
they say this launch is “Virginia” at Mayor Is. Looks a lot like Rongo
before she was lengthened. I have a hunch the Owens Family (Bob Owens the
Tauranga freight mogul had something to do with her).Very nice looking boat.

Update & ‘as launched’ photo from Harold Kidd

Charlie Millett was a boatbuilder and launch skipper in Tauranga in the 1930s. He specialised in “modernising” launches by building up the foredecks on old low hulls. VIRGINIA started life being built by Tyler & Harvey in Auckland in November 1909 as a 35ft cruiser for the well-known sporting shop proprietor W.H. Hazard. Hazard often took her to the Bay of Islands and was one of the pioneers of big game fishing there. VIRGINIA made the headlines when she was attacked by a swordfish in 1918 and had to be beached for temporary repairs.
In 1925 Hazard sold her to U S citizens (Zane Grey & co?). John Mowlem of Tauranga  had her in 1930 and kept her in service taking out game fishing parties, with Charlie Millett as skipper. It was found that the bash out to Mayor Island made her very wet so Charlie was employed to rebuild her. He did the same to many other launches including the Logan Bros SEVERN.

We have have some confusion – 

After reviewing the photos above HK thinks there may have been a mix up in the caption on the photo/s. Harold has sent in a photo of Virginia taken by Charlie Millett on his slip at Tauranga in 1929. All he’s done by then is to extend the decks with hardwood beltings and install washboards to hold 2 swordfish.

Harold thinks she’d grown the tramtop under Hazard’s ownership and possibly the low bulwarks forward. There’s talk in NZY of Ernie Harvey modifying the cabintop in June 1910.

Baden’s image is very much later and shows that there appear to have been truly major changes since the 1929 pic, not the least of which is that her canoe stern has become a transom stern!

Now that’s all entirely possible, but I don’t have the photo I thought I had of her after Charlie raised the foredeck.

Therefore, logically,

1. Millett very substantially rebuilt VIRGINIA as above or
2. The caption in the Barbara Weatherley album is wrong and Baden’s image is of another boat.

Can anyone shed some light on this ??