Category Archives: 1950’s

Yasawa

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YASAWA

Currently for sale on trademe, this bridgedecker could be a good buy for someone wanting to get into classic boating.

She appears to be very well presented & excellent value for money.

The listing says she is a 1952 Collings & Bell but HDK advised this is incorrect & she was built by Charlie Filmer. She sleeps 6-8, 10m (32.8′) long, with a 2002 90hp motor. While Picton based, thats not a big issue, ‘Boat Haulage’ are not that expensive, if you are prepared to wait for a return trip.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/motorboats/auction-680775450.htm

Harold Kidd Update

Stuart Findlay of Paunui Road, St. Heliers owned her in 1957 and may well have been her first owner. He was followed by Solicitor Arthur Bourke of First Ave, Stanley Point in 1959. Her original engine was a 100hp Scripps-marinised Ford Mercury V8. 

I can’t fathom why she is now claimed to be a Collings & Bell boat. The APYMBA records show her as built by Charlie Filmer. She doesn’t look Collings & Bell to me anyway. 

Probably some oracular shellback advised an owner that she was C&B. That’s the process that has given us today more Logan, Sam Ford and Lane Motor Boat Co launches than they ever built.

Photo below hauled out at Motueka marina, Jan 2018, photo ex John Burland

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Update 26-09-2021 Photos (ex Grant Stone) below when owned by a Tom Wilcox in the late 1950’s

Arohanui (McGeady)

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Arohanui

Screen Shot 2014-01-08 at 9.11.41 AMArohanui fishing off WaihekeArohanui @ Pah Farm Jetty Kawau 1998

AROHANUI

photo & details ex Ken Ricketts

In Kens eyes, she was one of the best sedan top examples that McGeady ever built, having the forward section & forward deck longer than usual & giving a further aft helm position, which means a smoother ride for the helmsman & crew in rough weather being further aft than usual & a sort of more sleek laid back concept to her & excellent balance of line.

She was built for Tucker Brothers food product manufacturers (Sunshine Jellies etc) in Khyber Pass Aucland., circa 1952, in McGeady’s Summer St Ponsonby premises & had the usual Ford 6 cyl Diesel fitted by Tracey Nelson. She was the second boat built by McGeady for Tuckers, the first being a bridgedecker built circa 1939 called Lady Sunshine, which was owned just after WWII by Com Hardley, M.D. of Hardleys Plumbing Merchants, of Morrow St Newmarket, who renamed her Varlene, the name as far as Ken knows she still has today.

Varlene was sold to H.T. Morton, a lawyer of Cliff Ave Belmont & Auck Hospital board Member in the later 1940’s. If anyone has a photo of Varlene, Ken can do a post on her, as he knows quite a bit about her early days.

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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

05/03/2105 – New photo ex Karen Moren – sent in by Ken Ricketts

Photo ex Ken Rickett’s – Tauranga Harbour

09/04/2015 more photos ex trademe

13-07-2015 Update sent in by Paul Newell ex Sea Spray ex NZ Classic Game Boat

Waihape – Johnny Wray?

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WAIHAPE

WAIHAPE

colour photos ex Dean Wright – info ex Ken Ricketts

b/w photo ex Harold Kidd ex Keith Munro

Ken thinks Waihape was the last boat Johnny Wray built in the later 1940s > early 1950s. He lived on her for many years, based at Surfdale, Waiheke, although he did sail around NZ & the Pacific in her fairly extensively. She had a fairly distinctive aft wheelhouse/doghouse which instantly “clicked” when he saw Dean’s photo.

Ken is certain he recalls seeing her in the mud at Surfdale on the L.H.S side of the bay coming in from the sea. There is even a mention of her in a write up “fun map” of Waiheke on a website Ken discovered.

Can anyone confirm this was in fact Johnny Wray’s last boat?

Harold Kidd Update

She certainly looks like the 44 footer WAIHAPE which Johnny Wray launched in December 1948, the last big boat he built. He put some unusual features into her. From his RNZAF experience she was fitted out with an aircraft-type control panel and had twin engines, small Kelvins I think. She took him to Tonga and back a couple of times and had a fair spread of sail.

14-05-2016 – A message from Helen Lee
My name is Helen Lee and as a teenager I had several cruises on Waihape with Johnny Wray, my parents Cynthia and Jerry Wilcox, my brother Michael Wilcox and once with my cousin Mike Lambert.
I have wonderful memories of these trips [early1960’s] and a few treasured photos. I realized when i saw the ww photos of Waihape that mine are all taken on the boat, not ‘of ‘ the boat. However you may like to see them.
Johnny was a long time friend of my Dad’s as they were both living in Lucerne Road as young men and Dad had worked with Johnny when he was building his first boat, Ngataki.
The photo below taken at Mansion House, Kawau Island, is Johnny trying to look like the coconut he is holding.

Johanny Wray @ Mansion House

A Brief history of the Kawau ferry transport 1946 -1990

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KAWAU ISLE NORTH HARBOUR KAWAU ISLAND 1970s
MAIRIE 1954 MANSION HOUSE FERRY Builder Roy Lidgard
KAWAU ISLE MANSION HOUSE BAY WHARF 1962
KAWAU ISLE SANDSPIT 19.9.90
Ken Ricketts sculling towards Kororo
FRED LADD MANSION HOUSE BAY 1950’s
Kawau Isle berthed at Maritime Museum
Kawau Isle 60th Anniversary Skippers
Kawau Isle 60th Anniversary at Bon Accord
Kawau Isle
Kawau Isle at Riverhead Hotel

A Brief history of the Kawau ferry transport 1946 -1990

photos & details ex Ken Ricketts

MAIRIE

Purpose built in the early 1950’s by Roy Lidgard, in his boatbuilding shed in Smelting House Bay Kawau Island, for Alan Horsfall owner of the Mansion House, in Mansion House Bay, Kawau, for the carriage of passengers & freight, to & from the Mansion House, to the Sandspit at Warkworth, which was the embarkation point, for the vast majority of the guests, & virtually all freight, food, & most importantly, for boaties, grog, during Mansion House’s time as a hotel /guest house, which was up until about September 1967, at which time it was bought by the Government of the day & turned in to a historic place, under the Historic Places Trust.

A few lucky commuters travelled in style, by amphibious aircraft from the 1950’s onwards, — a Grumman Widgeon, piloted by a the famous, Freddie Ladd,  a delightful, colourful, extroverted, & very learned, & tremendously skilled, pilot,  see pic on the beach of Mansion House Bay, c.1954, (this photo along with the one of Mairie was scanned by Ken from 8 mm movie footage shot from his families launch, Juliana, c.1953-55, thence the poor quality). Ladd usually had Christmas dinner on Juliana, & later Gay Dawn, an entertained the Ricketts family with his seemingly endless supply, of real life anecdotes.

Mairie was approx 42 feet long & powered by a 4 cyl Kelvin diesel & served the Island & Mansion House for many years. In her later years such was the demand for her services that Lidgards built (1952) another boat for Mr. Horsfall, called Kawau Isle, slightly bigger & powered by a 6LW Gardner diesel, which in later years, took over most of the passenger load & left Mairie to do the donkey work, with the freight side of the logistics. The 6LW I understand, has fairly recently been replaced by a newer 6LX Gardner in Kawau Isle.

KAWAU ISLE

Kawau Isle is a traditional kauri timber motor vessel built in 1952 by Roy Lidgard at Smelt House Bay, Bon Accord Harbour. She is 45 feet in length, powered with a 6LW Gardner diesel engine and cruises at 7.5 knots.

For around 30 years the Kawau Isle operated a ferry service between Sandspit and Kawau Island. More recently she worked from Half Moon Bay as a charter boat and then Whangarei as a school ferry. She currently plys her trade ferrying day trippers to & from the Riverhead Hotel, on the upper reaches of the Waitemata Harbour.

In the bow on photo with the ‘Riverhead Ferry’ logo, the men on the bow are all past and preasent skippers of Kawau Isle. This photo was taken at Kawau Island, Bon Accord Harbour November 2012 during a cruise to celebrate the 60th anniversary to the launching of the ferry.

Note : Mairie & Kawau Isle replaced the ‘Nancibel’ – (may have been Nancibelle), which was powered with a 4 cyl 4-53 GM Detroit & ‘Kororo’ which was powered with a P6 or 6-354 6 cyl Perkins. Both of these boats were painted bottle green & given there appearance probably built in the later part, of the early 1900s. You can see the Maritana stern on, behind Kawau Isle in the 1962 pic at Mansion House Bay wharf. The back end of Kororo can be seen in the photo of a young Ken Ricketts sculling the dinghy.

A question ex Don Macleod

Refer below article / photos that appeared in DIVE Magazine Vol 11 No3, of 1972.

Is this the same launch, Nancibel, that serviced Kawau Island. (click photo to enlarge)

Nancibel _ DIVE Magazine

Update from Don 02/12:

The divers got into real trouble that weekend at the 20 fathom reef, Mayor Island, 3 cases of the bends, one of which died (Henry Liason).

There was another boat that hit a Mayor Island rock that weekend. It was the Edward G which flooded its engine room at the time

that Henry Liason was surfacing from a very deep dive.

Tauranga divers went out and salvaged the Gardner engine from the Nancibel the week after she sank.

 

Mansion House Bay c.1950

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Mansion House Bay c.1950

photos from Helen & Richard Andrew’s family collection (grand daughter & her husband of Henry Allen -Tiromoana) ex Ken Rickitts.

The above postcard of Mansion House Bay Kawau Island, was written by Alma Allen (Tiromoana) in the early 1950’s & sent to Esme & Joe Coggan — their daughter & son in law &/or Helen their grand daughter as a little girl, now Helen Andrew.

Ken has attempted to ID some of the boats &  can identify Mananui (P.R.Colebrook’s days), Valsan (Arnold Baldwin era) & very importantly to Ken the Lady Claire (in the Stan Headland era), Headland had her cabin sides beautifully varnished, which disappeared later. Ken believes the photo was taken circa 1953-55.

Note Valsan anchored off the end of the wharf & with the stern tied to wharf — A.D.B. used to take family away for about 10 days at Christmas, then swap crews, for a “men’s” crew, & cruise. He never tied to the wharf when the family were there & never left the wharf, when they weren’t there, so this is without doubt, taken in the second half of a Christmas period. — He, & Len Peckham, (Lady Sandra) took unplanned turns, at sharing the wharf in this manner in this era.

04–09-2024 INPUT ex JEANETTE RHODES – These wonderful stories of Mansion House’s bygone era have promoted me to add my bit.  I became a baby of Mansion House in 1941. Mother was a housemaid there. We lived in the staff quarters right behind MH. The Hooks cottages were there and their only daughter was my playmate. As I got older and smarter l collected the beer bottles thrown overboard by the yachties, receiving one penny for each one from the shop. When the Americans came in on their ships, they’d take me to the tuck shop and buy me everything a kid could dream of.  I also joined the staff with their ukeleles on the wharf to welcome / farewell the large weekend ferries arriving from Auckland with 100’s of passengers. I knew all the songs.  Long streamers were held by passengers and staff on both sides as the ferries pulled out.  New Year Balls were unimaginable with everyone dressing up and drinking, eating, dancing like there was no tomorrow. Midnight, the less drunk ones would climb up the huge Kauri pillars in the lounge and kiss the ceiling. Tradition it was !
The snake pit at night was out of bounds to me but I used to spy on the adults drinking and doing silly dumb things with each other.  I also knew very well, the Vivian Bay Barneys and their boat St. Claire. Great memories of a bygone era.

Unknown Launch 08/11/2013 (probably Antares)

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Unknown Launch 08/11/2013

Unknown Launch 08/11/2013

Arcturus b

Arcturus b

Arcturus a

Arcturus a

Arcturus c

Arcturus c

Alcyone

Alcyone

photo from Helen & Richard Andrew’s family collection (grand daughter & her husband of Henry Allen -Tiromoana) ex Ken Rickitts.

Given the chat on the previous post re McGeady boats I have posted this c.1950 photo that is ‘tagged’ as a McGeady launch, interested in your views as to if this is correct & the vessels name & anymore details.

Also interested in ID’ing the launch in the background.

17/03/2015 Update
Ken R is confident that the mystery has been solved , the launch is Antares – In the photo above & you will see the white peaked cap always worn by Cyril Parker every time he went to sea, the cap was evident in all pics, also the mast & placement thereof, is identical, although the lower half of the coamings had been painted by the time the photo in question was taken & therefore Ken tends to think in the later 1950s for this one.

Karina

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KARINA 

photos & details ex Dean Wright & current owner Winston Jacob

Designed by Parsons & built in 1959 in Tauranga. Carvel planked hull, powered by twin 120hp Fords. LOA 38’6″ x B 11′ 6″ x D 3′ 6″.

Karina was a gamefishing charter boat operating out of Paihia during the 1970′s and 80′s. Owned by Alan Limmer. She once caught a black, a blue and a striped marlin all in one day. The first time it had ever been done in NZ. Possibly never been repeated.

Anyone able to ID the blokes in the cockpit with the thresher shark ?  The owner / skipper Alan Limmer is on the right in the white t-shirt.

Winston Jacob has owned Karina for 14 years (1999)

Update 02-08-2017 – Photo below ex Dean Wright

Karina

27-03-2018 Update from Lee Wilkinson

“I came across my Grandparents old boat on your website today, I posted a wee comment, but since have found a couple of photos which I thought you might like to add to the story of Karina.  The owner prior to my Grandparents was Les Henry, (i couldn’t remember his surname when writing the comment) – and quite possibly the original owner.   Not sure of the dates my Grandparents owned her, but my mum recalls going down to trial her 1961, as she was pregnant with me at the time (the memory of morning sickness!!)  Les Henry lived in Pukekohe but had the boat based in Tauranga i believe.   My grandparents moved her to Maraetai, where she was on a swing mooring just below their home there.

Below are a couple of photos with my Grandmother, Janet Jones, with her catch of a Thresher shark in 1964 off Karina.  Quite a biggie of the day I believe, and especially for a female angler.   

The first one has Les Henry (the very tall man with the folded arms), my Grandfather Harry Jones, (with his hands on his hip), and then my Grandmother Janet Jones. (don’t know the two in the background.”

Unknown-1

Unknown

 

 

Lady Joan

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Mystery Launch 15/10

LADY JOAN

photo ex Dave Jackson

Having a few blokes in the photo should help with ID’ing this launch. Given the wooden cask (water??) on deck it most likely is during an extended summer cruise. The wharf certainly is not OHS compliant.

Harold Kidd Update

I don’t know what she is but guess that she’s Collings & Bell c1914-22, maybe even Leon Warne of the same period.

Input from Dave Jackson – 16/11/13

1958c

Nagles Cove

Lady Joan

Built for Joe Lobley

Built by Bailey’s

Next owned by Taylor Family

Alcyone

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Alcyone

ALCYONE

photo & details ex Ken Ricketts

Built by McGeady c.1947 for a Mr Stewart, an accountant of Suddley St. Orakei, (right opposite Henry Allen owner of ‘Tiromoana’) she was to have had 2 Redwing petrol engines, but Stewart changed his mind during construction & fitted 1 Ailsa Craig instead. Stewart sold her in mid to late 1950s to Aubrey Webster, the founder & owner of Trimol Laboratories, who replaced the Ailsa Craig with a 6LW Gardner, about 1960, which Ken thinks she still has today. He owned her until the mid to late 1960’s & sold her to Humphrey Beale, who owned until at least the late 1980s or early 1990s. Beale was a real estate agent, who used her extensively for taking clients to Rakino, Waiheke & Gt Barrier. Ken lost track of her after he sold her. Webster was a family friend of Ken’s, as also was Beale, who Ken shared the same occupation with (real estate) for many years.

Harold Kidd Update

ALCYONE was built for Noel Stewart of Sudeley St Orakei by Supreme Craft (McGeady) and launched in January 1951, fitted originally with a 6 cylinder Ailsa Craig diesel engine. Stewart sold her to A.A. Webster of Takapuna some time before 1964 when Webster had her registered with Lloyd’s Yacht Register, still with the 1950-built Ailsa Craig. Webster still owned her in 1973 according to APYMBA records.The image above was taken during the welcome for the GOTHIC on its arrival in Auckland for the Royal Visit, 23/12/1953, when the AMYC was out in force.

30/03/2015 New photo ex Sea Spray ex B Worthington ex Ken Ricketts

Mandalay

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MANDALAY

photo from Dave Jackson

It is very hard to design a sub 36′ launch (I’m guessing on her length) that looks ‘right’ i.e. that all the bits work together, in proportion. This very smart launch (in my eyes) ticks most of the boxes.

Input from Dave Jackson 16/11/13

Mandalay

Built by Dave Jackson & Graham Christian

Devonport, 1957

For Ken Quinton

Original – 4 cylinder Ford

Designed by Brin Wilson