MOANA & THE PT. ERIN CAUSEWAY photo ex Mac Taylor Collection
Today’s post shows a collection of launches hauled out at the foot of Curran Street in Herne Bay, Auckland. The launch Moana can be clearly seen, not sure of the other 3.
The construction work in the background was the building of a road from the foot of Curran St. around the base of the Point Erin cliff towards what is now the road to Westhaven & the Harbour bridge on-ramp.
Moana was a popular boat name -can anyone help ID this Moana & possibly the 3 others hauled out alongside her?
27-09-2015 Took the below photo on the family walk this morning
28-09-2015 Harold Kidd Input
This MOANA was built by Joe Slattery in December 1912 for the Collie Bros of Devonport. She was 30′ x 7’10” and had an 8hp Union originally. Sacha de Graaf owned her quite recently in Auckland. The others are a bit difficult. The left hand launch looks like a “settler’s launch” of which several hundred were built in Auckland.
Until seeing the above photo I was not aware that we built anything like this sedan runabout in NZ. The Meteor was owned by Mr. W. Goodfellow & cost approx. £1,600 to build. She was 30′ long & capable of a speed of 30 mph. The forward closed cockpit had seating for 8 persons & was upholstered in grey leather.
So woodys – who built her, when, what powered her & what became of her?
Harold Kidd Update
METEOR was built for William Goodfellow in May 1931 by Sam Ford. She was 30ft x 7ft and constructed of Honduras mahogany with a double-skinned bottom. Her original power was a 225hp Kermath. She was capable of 30mph. He kept her in one of the sheds in Ngapipi Road where her nameplate is still on the wall. Goodfellow sold her to the NZ Coastguard Service just before WW2 when she was taken over by the military. The Government disposed of her by tender in May 1945. Lanes remodelled her for Beamish-White for use on Lake Okataina where she was kept as a tourist attraction for many years. I have a nice pic of her there which I’ll send to Alan. She’s still around; no doubt other WW followers can bring her up to date.
I took the photo below, of her old name board – while visiting one of the Ngapipi Rd boat sheds to view Matareka II, back on March 2014.
KERERU (Pamela) photos & details ex Ken Ricketts, edited by Alan H.
According to her owner, Mike Rowe, Kereru was designed by Couldrey & built by Atkinson. She looks totally original, is 28′ & powered with a Perkins diesel. Rowe has owned her for 25 years.
She has amazing similarities to the Brin Wilson built Kereru, featured in an earlier ww post & seen on the front cover of the June edition of Sea Spray, back in 1960.
Anyone able to shed some light on her past & confirm the design/build?
09-05-2016 @ Gulf Harbour (Ken R photos)
10-05-2016 Harold Kidd Input
Interesting letter from Bill Longhurst’s son attached. I was rather flattered that he thought this was my site. Naturally I put him straight and copied to Alan.
“Hi Harold, Saw the photos of Kereru on your Wooden boat site. Funny enough I googled Bill longhurst, who was my father and I see his name come up on Wooden boats, and I go into the site and the first photos come up of the Kereru……28 foot launch.
Just to put the record straight the 3 photos are definitely that of Dads launch the Pamela. Built by Keith Atkinson, and designed by Bill Couldrey that happened to live in the same street in Northcote- Heath Avenue.
Dad owned the launch for only 4 years or so, and then sold it to a guy that lived in Picton I think, it was road transported to Wellington and sailed to Picton.
Dad sold it due to poor health, he was a Art teacher at Northcote College for 26 years and retired at 55 years of age due to a heart condition, he had a hard life due to being a navagator in the Air force in World war 2, and died at the age of 62 from cancer.
I can tell by the photos that you have that this is Dads boat by the water deflecters he made, that look like boonarangs at the end of the cabin on both sides, and have photos that are identical to this.
I have since seen the boat on a pile mooring in the Weti river at Stillwater.
Amazing to see these photos of Pamela again………..
Hope some of this information has been helpful to you.
Regards Robb Longhurst.
And yes the engine was a Perkins 4107 diesel- 60hp”
So there’s a “new” Couldrey launch for us.
09-12-2022 UPDATE – ex John Oates. I have reverted back to the as launched name of Pamela on my Couldrey designed and Atkinson built launch (photo below). The main reason being that I couldn’t get my head around the idea that a seagoing vessel should have a land bird name. It also helps that my Herreshoff SK (Stuart Knockabout) 28 day sailer is named Pam. I like that connection between them
waitematawoodys.com #1 for classic wooden boat stories, info, advice & news - updated daily - 14+ million views 