Category Archives: 1910’s

Waiata & her builder

Posted on by
2

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

WAIATA & HER BUILDER

details & photos (b/w) by Harold Kidd, colour photo ex Rob Uivel

Waiata is featured else where on several ww posts but Harold’s below brings every together.

Rob Uivel owns the neat little launch WAIATA which is a remarkable survivor from the pre-WW1 period, 101 years old and going strong still. WAIATA was built by David Reid at his yard in Drake Street, Freeman’s Bay and launched in November 1913 for Devonport enthusiasts Edward Percy Earle and Alfred George Lunn who were keen competitors in the highly popular NZ Power Boat Association races in the “under 9 knots” category. Her first engine was a 14hp (rated) Britt engine but that was changed in 1921 for a 14hp Westman engine, for which W.R. Twigg was the local agent.

She held the NZPBA championship pennant several times during WW1. She also took part in the search for Count von Luckner when he and several other German prisoners of war escaped from Motuihe in the launch PEARL in December 1917. Earle dropped out of ownership in late 1919. Lunn became Commodore of the NZPBA in 1920 but sold WAIATA around 1922. She pretty much drops out of sight except for being recorded as being used as mark boat for Devonport Yacht Club and other clubs’ yacht races right through the 1930s. It would be interesting if WW people could fill in the gap between then and now.

David Reid was a very good boat builder indeed and had the agency for the very fine Buffalo marine engine. He had a prodigious output of launches culminating in the very fast Cascade in early 1916. David was the son of Robert Reid whose business he had taken over in 1904, and the brother of James Reid who was equally important as a launch builder. However, David suffered from asthma so badly that he sold his business, machinery and moulds to T.M. Lane & Sons and left for Queensland in late 1916.  It was a very great loss to this country.

photo below of 1st owner – Alfred Lunn

Miss Kathleen

Image

2

Miss Kathleen

P1120645

MISS KATHLEEN

A 1902 Logan, 27’6″, kauri planked. Built by Logans for a wealthy Whangarei family. She was used as a please boat & spent most of her life in the Bay of Islands. Subsequently used for long-line fishing. She resides on Lake Rotoiti.

Powered by a 50 year old David Brown 50h.p.

Miss Kathleen was rebuilt in 1989 & purchased by her current owner, Barry Green, in 1997 from Captain Richens, an old sea captain.

Harold Kidd Update

Yet another mythological “Logan”. Looking at her hull, she’s obviously neither Logan nor 1902. A 1992 “Northern Advocate” article on her provenance talks about her 1989 rebuild by Colin Richens and infers her original build date at around 1925, which is more like it.
However, I suspect she’s a bit earlier than that and possibly one of several launches of her type built for Whangarei by David Reid of Drake Street, Auckland, around 1914-16.

Ronaki (MV Manukau)

Posted on by
5

RONAKI (MV Manukau)

Classic displacement launch designed and built in triple skin heart kauri by Charles Bailey Jnr in 1914 and known as m.v. Manukau, she plied the Manukau Harbour as a pilot boat and was also used for barge work and buoyage. Rebuilt to survey in 1961, she had a new Gardner LW4 diesel installed and for many years was used sounding work in the Waitemata. She is now in private hands and has been lovingly cared for and used as a pleasure boat by her present owner. For sale now on trademe.

The 56 hp Gardner 4 LW drives her along at 7.5-8.5 knots using only an astonishing 4 litres of diesel per hour
Transmission Details: Inboard
Engine Details: 1961 Gardner 4 LW
Displacement: 9900 kg
Length:12m (39.4Ft)
Beam: 3.16 metres (10 Ft 4 In)
Draft: 1.00 metres (3 Ft 3 In)
Fuel Capacity: 455 litres
Water Capacity: 136 litres

Harold Kidd update 30/03/2014

The info on this launch as set out above is 100% accurate. The first RONAKI was designed and built by Collings & Bell for the Auckland Harbour Board in February 1913 (see “Vintage NZ Launches” for a good image and history). She was converted to a bridgedecker after AHB disposed of her to G Hyauiason and probably got the V8 during RNZN service in WW2.
Since contributors are continually (and drearily) name-dropping on this site, let me join in. It was probably my uncle, Lou Wilson, MD of Watson Steele & Ganley, who allegedly attempted to borrow the set of points, because he owned RONAKI at the time. Quite how, with his huge trade knowledge, Lou Wilson would come to ask such a bloody stupid question beggars belief! Good story……………………….
This boat was, as is accurately detailed above, designed and built by Chas. Bailey Jr. Why should there be a trace of doubt in that? Does olivene2013 consider him incapable of that?
AHB commissioned her for use on the Manukau and called her MANUKAU. When the new MANUKAU was built by Scholten & Brijs to replace her, she was brought back to the Waitemata by AHB in February 1967 and renamed RONAKI (sometimes rendered as RONAKI II).

PS OOPS, If I’m descending to name-drop spraying too, I should get it right!
Lou Wilson was MD of Morris, Black & Matheson, and later a director of Tappenden Motors, not WASGA.
Something deeply wrong with that story! Lou would have been tickled with the absurdity of it.

Pacific

Posted on by
13

PACIFIC

photos ex Shane Anderson 

My ‘eyes’ at Gulf Harbour marina sent me a few photos of one of my favorite launches, the 1917 Joe Slattery designed & built Pacific, undergoing a wee make over.

Each to their own but I have always liked the mint green topsides on Pacific, well as of yesterday thats all changed. Appears that the topsides have been taken back to bare timber & have been repainted with a wood tone paint, this used to be very common on launches. In fact if you enter Pacific in the ww search box & hit enter, you will see some old movie footage of her when she had this finish before. Photo add also from the mid 1980’s ex Nathan Herbert.

Will be very interested to see the finished job, in the flesh.

20-01-2016 Pacific hauled out at Gulf Harbour for some maintenance (photo ex Ken Ricketts)

08-02-2016 Ready for re-launching (photos ex Ken Ricketts)

10-09-2018 Update

Pacific is now in the ownership of Nathan Herbert & getting a major dose of TLC.

The photo below shows a change to her appearance – as you will see from the above gallery, she has sported several looks. The new ‘white on white’ makes her look a lot bigger.

41456114_10156923111987176_6327853429767012352_n

 

Glyn Bird

Posted on by
13
Mahurangi Regatta 2006
Off Devonport Wharf
Mahurangi Regatta 2007 – Glyn Bird (L) & Romo (Traveler,Jean Gordon) built by Joe Fell 1904
Oct 2005 – thru wreck of Rewa

GLYN BIRD

photos from Russell Ward, Dean Wright,Baden Pascoe,trademe

details from Russell Ward,Baden Pascoe,Ken Ricketts

Built 1909 by Ernie Lane, 54ft long.

Was owned by Parry Bros the tug & scoria people for many years, from the 1930s through till at least the 1972-73.

She is most likely still powered by a 1956, 150h.p., 8 cyl in line, 8L3 Gardner diesel.

She was originally used for a good number of years as the “rubbish boat” by Parrys, collecting & disposing at sea of rubbish from visiting overseas & coastal ships to the Port of Auckland. She was later converted to a tug in the 1950s & used extensively for towing shingle barges from Kaiawa to Auckland, ferrying shingle from the quarry there.

She was converted to a tug by R Lidgard,  who also replaced the original little wheelhouse with a larger replacement in the 1950s, now missing (refer below).

She was eventually laid up at Herald Island for quite a period & eventually sold by Parrys, & was sold either by them, or by others in-between, to Russell Ward, who used her for pleasure use.

In Russell’s words “I salvaged her from Herald Island on a stormy night and got her to Westpark where she was slipped and major hull repairs done. I then did a walking refurbishment over about 8 years but it was not a restoration”. Russell had a long love affair with her that ended about three years ago  (2010) when he sold her to a Nelson fisherman. During this period she caught fire (wheelhouse) on the hard at Tarakohe.

Glyn Bird has now ended up in the B.O.I. & is for sale on trademe.

Jessica

Image

3

Jessica

Jessica

JESSICA

photos ex Baden Pascoe

The name plaque says built by Bailey & Lowe in 1912, I’m sure if this is correct, Harold will be able to shed some light on Jessica. HDK has rather a soft spot for B&L craft. Jessica was photographed at Thames over the xmas/ny period.

Harold Kidd Update

1. “JESSICA” is a re-name. I know she’s been that since at least 2006.
2. Although foliate scrollwork on the bow was a feature of Bailey & Lowe work up until say 1920 (by when it was considered “old hat”), their scrollwork was much more free-form than this symmetrical work. Maybe the first owner wanted a symmetrical job, but I’ve not seen another and therefore have mild doubts about the “Bailey & Lowe” tag.
3. She was obviously built as a raised foredeck flushdecker.
4. It would be nice to know her previous name(s) so that we can establish some real provenance for her.
5. I do wish launch owners didn’t so readily change their boats’ names, seemingly often to butter up the female members of the family who had dark thoughts about hubby buying a boat. My father did exactly that in 1934.

WANT TO SEE MORE?

To view more WW stories & photos on any subject, just key in the ‘subject name*’ in the search box, click your computers enter key & related posts will appear. Scroll down to view & click on each post to view details. 

 

*designer,builder,type of vessel e.g. launch or yacht,CYA only vessel,period launched e.g. 1920 etc

Lady Jane

Image

27

LADY JANE

 

I spotted the above leaving Man-O-War Bay early on New Years day, apologies for the poor photo but I was in the dinghy doing the rubbish barge drop (post NYE).

Anyone able to ID her?

WANT TO SEE MORE?

To view more WW stories & photos on any subject, just key in the ‘subject name*’ in the search box, click your computers enter key & related posts will appear. Scroll down to view & click on each post to view details. 

*designer,builder,type of vessel e.g. launch or yacht,CYA only vessel,period launched e.g. 1920 etc

Buffalo Bull & Waiata

Image

Reply

Buffalo Bull & Waiata

BUFFALO BILL & WAIATA

Photo ex Harold Kidd of Buffalo Bill (nearer the camera) & Waiata. Both were built by David Reid of Drake St Freemans Bay.

Note the boy on the cabin top of Buffalo Bill with a .22 to ward off orcs (or seagulls).

Enter Buffalo Bill in the waitematawoodys search box to learn more.

Jeunesse

Posted on by
8

JEUNESSE

b/w photos ex Keith Munro

Built & launched by Dick Lang in 1919, LOA 39′, Beam 11′, Draft 3′. Powered by a 180hp Hino, she is rather quick 🙂

Currently owned by John Wright

Colour photo was taken in November 2013 during the CYA Launch Cruise to the Riverhead Hotel.

Severn

Posted on by
Reply
SEVERN

SEVERN

photo from  Paul Drake, details ex Harold Kidd

Severn (actually in the Register of British Ships and RNZYS records as The Severn), shown in the above photo at Three Mile Bay, Taupo where she resides,  was built by Logan Bros for Colonel G. Arnold Ward of Tauranga and launched in March 1910 when she steamed down to Tauranga. The event was reported in the Bay of Plenty Times of 18/3/1910. She originally had an 8hp (rated) 2 cylinder Union engine, a make much favoured by the Logans because of its simplicity and reliability. Ward sold her to H J Day of Tauranga in 1922. Day sold her to B. Sladden of Tauranga in 1925; Sladden had her until 1947 when a half share was bought by P D Simmonds.

Harold has pics of her at Tauranga in the 30s when Charlie Millett worked on her.

In 1964 she was still in Tauranga owned by D W Reid and fitted with a 4 cylinder Graymarine.

Mike Leonard owned her at Whangamata in 1994 when I had extensive correspondence with him. I photographed her on Taupo in 2008.

This launch is super-easy to track as she was a British Registered Ship until relatively recently plus most of the owners were Squadron members and reported any changes of ownership and engine.