Category Archives: 1920’s

Wenna (Rangitira)

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Wenna (Rangitira)

This 32′ early 1920’s Collings & Bell classic launch would have to be one of the luckiest classics around – a few months ago I gave Rangitira, as she was named then, a big plug on ww as she was for sale on trademe at what was the buy of the year price. Then a few months ago she was ‘adopted’ by Pam Cundy at Whangateau Traditional Boats.

To use Pam’s own words she “pushed through a quick paint job and varnished hatch and mast, now for a new name board to come”. Pam will be reverting to her old name Wenna. She slipped back into the water last week. Looks pretty slick to me & Pam has a great eye for colours.

To read / view photos from her past click this link

Rangitira

Update from Pam Cundy

After several years of watching for a suitable motor boat this felt like an opportune time to purchase. After looking her over with the usual ‘check for …’ And with the usual ‘old boat’ problems the only thing that bothered me was this old girl had seemingly lost her real identity. Fortunately shortly after purchasing her and conducting a search Adrienne and Dave called by with some details and Harold contributed also.

Wenna ( Rangitira) – according to Dave Jackson
Dave identified her as being Wenna – 1940’s to1970’s he knew her to be Wenna.
His friends would say “when are you going to shout?”.
1967-68 Dave purchased her to tow his mullet boat down to the Ponsonby yacht club from Birkenhead.
She had a Morris Commodore petrol engine in her then.
1940’s owner was Mr O’Neil of Ring Terrace Ponsonby. He installed the raised cabin. When Mr O’Neil passed away he left the boat to William ( Bill ) McWhirter.
Bill sold it to Mr Wylie (Jacks father – Boat haulage).

Harold on Wenna
Eric Cathbart Fergus O’Neil of Ponsonby (b.1886,d.1957), engineer, owned Wenna from at least 1925.
“Unfortunately” Harold said, ” I can’t connect her back to Collings and Bell but if Dave J says Collings and Bell, that was good enough for me”.
O’Neil did a lot of game fishing with her in the mid 1920s and 1930s.
In March1930 she was attacked by a big mako off the Great Barrier, splintering some planks and then got free.

Wenna – ” maiden” or “white seas”

Thanks also to Tim Jackson, previous owner
See you at the Mahurangi Regatta!!!
Pam
An awesome blog Alan and Harold- Look what it turned up for me : )

Miss Brett

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MISS BRETT

Classic displacement launch Miss Brett, built for the famous cream trip at the Bay of Islands. 40′ loa, 10’9″ beam, 2’11” draft. Kauri carvel planked, launched 1924, powered by 100 hp 6 cyld Ford diesel.

Must be loads of history out there on this old girl. Designer / builder??

Sorry about the photos, ex trademe & very poor quality 😦

Valerie

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Valerie launch day 29 Aug 1929
Valerie 2007
Lady Dorothy (L) Valerie (R)

VALERIE

Photos from Alan H & Papers Past.
Details from Harold Kidd & Robin Elliott

Valerie was built by the Lane Motor Boat Company & launched on 29 August 1929. Her owner was Mr. M. G. King of Whangarei. She is 35′ with a 9′ beam. When launched she featured two cabins & had a 35hp St Lawrence engine.

These days Valerie is kept at Whangaroa Marina and currently owned by John Briers and Jackie Te Hore of Cable Bay. Valerie was for many years owned by the Reynolds family, close friends of the Pickmeres, who owned her up until the late 1960’s. Apart from a short period in Auckland during the 1960’s she has spent almost all her life in Whangarei and the Far North. It is believed Valerie was sometimes used by H. Pickmere when he was charting the far north

In the colour photo above Valerie (r) is anchored with Robin Elliott’s Logan 33 replica, Lady Dorothy (l), off Milford Island in Whangaroa Harbour, Jan 2013.

Sad News

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Whakari Sinks

Heard a rumour in the weekend that was confirmed last night that the stunning 1925 Sam Ford launch ‘Whakari’ has sunk on her moorings in the Weiti River. Do not know anymore at this stage.
Horrible news, our thoughts go out to CYA member Gordon Cashmore & I’m sure all classic wooden boat owners will be hoping Gordon & family bring the old girl back to life – if they need any inspiration they need look no further than the Nereides post below.

This is the 2nd oops she has had according to Papers Past , 69 years ago (Aug/Sept 1945) she broke away from her Hobson Bay mooring & went ashore on the Orakei reclamation embankment.

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Update from Gordon Cashmore (via Stephan Harris) 23/07/2014

Whakari is now safe and secure at the old Cashmore mill site in Silverdale. She is being repaired by Philip (blue) Holmes. The cause of the dilemma was a broken mooring line in one of the big blows a few weeks back that caused her to swing from the jetty and bang the keel on the papa bank springing the garboard and sinking. The 6.354 has been flushed and run up while at Gulf Harbour. This will be removed for access to the keel bolts etc so repairs/upgrades can be done.
Gordon wants her fixed for her 100th birthday. Stephen Harris, Gordons neighbour in Still Water.

Owaka – Find A Classic

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OWAKA
This ones a bit of a shot in the dark.
Stuart Lewis has contacted ww on behalf of his father who is looking for information on the launch Owaka, built by Collings and Bell c.1927.

Stuart’s fathers uncle, Jack Burdett of Whangarei, owned and carried out extensive work on her (in the 1970’s, he thinks) Jack used her as a work / pleasure boat servicing his farms on the Cavalli Islands and Limestone Island in Whangarei. Jack died in the 1980’s (unsure of exact date).

Any information any of you may have, or details on the later life of the Owaka would be appreciated.

Update from Harold Kidd

OWAKA was launched by Collings & Bell in November 1927 for Lyttelton Ferries Ltd. W E (Edmund) Lane of Russell had her in 1953, Lane”s Sea Services 1961, Bay Sea Services 1963. Fullers had her after (?) that time using her with the barge LORNA. She was advertised on TradeMe last year, moored at Great Barrier, asking price $49,500 ono with heaps of images which I have at home (now in South Island touring).

Update & photos below from Baden Pascoe
Baden tells us that Myra Larcombe, who is now in her late 80’s, father Edmund Lane owned Owaka in the l950’s. She was then powered by a Kelvin K 4, 88hp.
Baden also advised that Owaka is still based at Gt Barrier Island.
Stuart – I have emailed you Myra’s contact details, in case you want to follow up with her.

Baden Pascoe Update 16/07/2014
The photo of Owaka being craned was when she was returned to Auckland from Otago in 1953. For her new owner, Mr. Edmund Lane

16-07-2015 Update from Ray Morey ex Harold Kidd, edited by Alan H

I joined Fullers late 1962 and drove Owaka mostly but also Miss Doris and Miss Ida  and quite a few of the others.

I don’t know when she got the extended wheelhouse and standing top but it must have been in Lanes time.

“Bay Sea Services” was a shelf company set up by Fullers to finance a third person to purchase Owaka and the barge Lorna as there were bad feelings between Fullers and Edmund. Owaka got the Ford engine shortly after I left in late 1963 when the Marine Dept. started to frown on the petrol start engines in passenger vessels. Fullers also had several spare engines in storage. I think Jack Burdett may have put the accommodation and after cabin over the old cargo space in the former aft cockpit because he lived on it when mustering on the Cavalli islands. She was getting a bit nail-sick from the pounding of the Kelvin when I drove her.

A partner and I looked at the Lidgard built “Mairie” then lying at a jetty in the Tamaki River but the K4 put us off. She is a beautiful and well built workboat, would be nice with a Gardner down below. We wanted a workboat that could tow a barge, be hire-able to the W.H.B. for general work, carry a reasonable size party for fishing and have a fair turn of speed as its a long way out of Whangarei. We finally settled on a Picton built launch “Rata”, 4-71 GM powered. I think she went to Fiji as a village boat.

20-03-2017 Input ex Linda Wright
Owaka, was owned by my father, Colin Wright, from approx 1989 to some time in the 1990s after he purchased her from Jack Burdett.

He has given me some stories and info from his time aboard the Owaka, and I have some photos from our visits stored away.

Dad was living aboard Owaka for extended periods and ferrying material from Whangarei to the Barrier, where he was doing some work at the time. A lot of trips were made at night and alone, as Owaka was so easy to handle. Whenever possible, she was under sail or motorsailing.

He would keep marine band radio on all the time, and was sometimes called to assist others in the area by George Mason, who ran the Whangaparapara marine radio on Great Barrier.

When Dad bought Owaka she was painted white, and he did not make any structural modifications apart from installing an electric toilet, as the toilet was rather cranky.

UPDATE 15-01-2019 Photo of Owaka off Tapeka Point, taken by Nathan Herbert onboard Pacific – got to love the veggie garden 🙂

qwaka jan2019

 

Tasman / Little Tasman

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Tasman / Little Tasman (Mystery Launch 01/07)

Time for a little quiz – who can ID this launch.

The answer is Little Tasman

To quote Harold Kidd – it’s the first TASMAN, a 26 footer built by Colin Wild for Albert Spencer in December 1925.
She was later known as “Little Tasman” . In the photo she is honking along in 1927 with her Stearns bellowing.

An update on Little Tasman

CYA member Bruce Pullan (MV Ann Michelle) have sent me a later photo of Little Tasman, Bruce received this from the then owner when she was for sale a few years ago on trademe. She was at Kawau at time and not running. The owner advised that he was going to take it out of the water back at the mainland if it did not sell.
Bruce first came across Little Tasman on the Manukau during the 1970s (late he thinks) she was owned by Don Garner who was the Commodore of the Manukau Cruising Club at the time. The Manukau Cruising Club was still racing launches during the 1970s.

Here she is in Feb 2012 hauled out at Pt Wells. Photo by CYA member Mark Edmonds

Photo below from Ken Ricketts – Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island – Xmas 1948. Showing Little Tasman.

MANSION HOUS BAY CHRISTMAS CIRCA 1948

Yvonne

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At Mahurangi 2006
At Mahurangi 2006
Viaduct Harbour 2013

YVONNE
Where Is She Now?

Photo 2006 Mahurangi Regatta ex Jason Prew

All I know is that I saw her a couple of years ago hauled out at the Te Atatu Boat Club & last year I snapped a photo of her leaving the Viaduct Basin one afternoon.
Its claimed that she is possibly built by Lanes c.1924 – and I can hear Harold Kidd going “and weren’t  they all” when he reads this 🙂

She may have been a CYA boat in the mid / late 2000’s.

Harold Kidd Input

I can’t find the exact provenance for YVONNE but she was in existence in January 1924. Her long term owner (and possibly her first owner) was Andrew Ernest Graham of Browns Bay, later Takapuna. He was a painter and decorator by trade and kept YVONNE in Milford Creek. Later he moved to Te Aroha and sold YVONNE to H. Henderson in 1930. Henderson sold to B.G. Gribbon in 1936. In 2001 she was pretty derelict at Te Atatu but was nicely overhauled by Tony Broughton to her present state.
The story is that she was built by Lanes and that is entirely likely, but she could just as well have been built by any number of Auckland builders from, say, 1912 to to 1924 and may even have started life as a flushdecker under a different name.

PS However, I think she was brand new in January 1924 when she was scratch boat in the Anniversary Regatta launch race for launches under 7 knots, indicating probably that she had not raced before. The following year she was in the race for 7 to 9 knots but broke down..

ETHEL C (Ethel Clare)

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ETHEL C (Ethel Clare)

Some days ww rocks – yesterday was one of those days, the planets lined up & everything fell into place.

Last weekend Nathan Herbert was out & about nosing around the Whau Creek with Jason Prew in one of the classic picnic boats when they came across the very neglected tram topper, Ethel Clare,  sitting on a pile mooring. Ethel Claire (as spelt on the name board) became the ww posting on Wednesday.

Next thing I get an email from CYA member Neil Chalmers, SY Gleam, telling me a RYC member, Colin Clare, has been trying to track down his father’s old launch – ‘’Ethel C’’. Neil had spoken to Colin and described the launch in photos that appeared on ww. In Neil’s words “I think you may have struck gold !.”

Next I contacted Harold Kidd who confirmed that ETHEL C was built by Leon Warne in late 1922 for Billy Clare. HDK thinks she was in fact started by Leon and finished off by Dick Lang as Leon went to Russell at that time and Dick took over his premises.
Ethel C was 30’x8′ and HDK supplied two b/w images which leave no doubt that Ethel Claire is in fact Ethel C. The close up shows a young Colin Clare sitting on the salon top.
HDK commented – “that she has a provenance a couple of yards long!!!”

Next I contacted James Mobberley at Moon Engines & Transmissions who is a member at the Te Atatu Boating Club on the Whau Creek & a classic nutter. James advises that the boat is known around the club as Ethel C & is owned by a Te Atatu Boat Club member who has owned her for between 10 >12 years. The current owner bought her off a gent by the name of Jimmy Sands who had her sitting on his front lawn in Avondale for 20 years.

Now I want this to have a happy ending – wouldn’t it be great to see her rescued & back in the hands of the family of the original owner 🙂

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Thistle

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THISTLE
Todays post is a little left field in that it relates to a boat in Australia, with kiwi link. I was contacted by Greg Cash who has recently purchased the boat & is trying to find out more about her design & whether others similar were built & still exist today.Alan H

Some history – Cyril Griffiths was born in Devonport (Tasmania) in 1888. His Mother died when was 11 years old. He went to New Zealand to live with an Aunt and Uncle, Sir Thomas and Elsie Mackenzie nee Griffiths. Thomas Mackenzie was Prime Minister of New Zealand.
While he was in New Zealand he was an apprentice carpenter – boat builder.
He went from New Zealand to the 1914 -18 war.

After the war he returned to Tasmania and married Mary Frances Black.
He worked at Waratah as a carpenter in the mine for 10 years. He had 3 daughters.
He built 2 boats at Waratah, including the Thistle (c.1928) using a design he’d brought back from New Zealand -19’8″ in length, 6’9″ beam, huon pine with and inboard motor and sails.
Greg has been told it is a hard chined carvel hull, but knows nothing more than that and anything waitematawoody readers can add would be greatly appreciated.

The Thistle was used as one of the first tourist/fishing hire businesses on the Western side of Tasmania. It later became part of a ferry service across the Arthur River in North-west Tasmania for 20 years (see b/w ferry photo with boat attached), and was the Arthur River town boat until the 1980’s when it was retired to a farm dam and paddock. It was restored in 2011, and Greg bought it in 2014.

I have grouped the photos in two sections – old & as found + today.

As always with ww you can enlarge all the photos for viewing just by double clicking on one.

Winsome

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WINSOME

photos ex Dean Wright

Winsome was built by Bailey & Lowe in 1918. More details can be viewed by searching her name in the ww search box.
The other launch in the photo is Arethusa, built in 1927 by Bob Brown & now owned by Dean Wright , again view more via the ww search box.

Photo below ex Harold Kidd of Arethusa under sail – rather fine looking