For Sale in Noumea May 2013
TE RAUPARAHA
Te Rauparaha was built by Chas. Bailey and Sons Ltd in 1938 for Harry Mills and was requisitioned in WWII as coastal patrol on the Northland Coast bearing the insignia of Q07. Te Rauparaha represented a departure to a more ‘contemporary look’ for the Bailey yard, featured in her beam and obvious elegance. She was 55 feet overall (53’4” on the waterline) and her bow was 14ft off the water and sported a magnificent flair, that can be seen on the later, albeit in reduced proportions, vessels that followed Te Rauparaha out of the yard.
Harry Mills turned over the ownership and running of Te Rauparaha to his fourth son Graeme (my father) in about 1962/3 and she was, until the late 1970’s our much-loved family vessel. I was practically bought up on her and still hold a half model of her crafted for my grandfather by Charles Bailey jnr.
Te Rauparaha was, for some years in New Caledonia where they ran tourist excursions with her. Her name was changed to M V ‘Tamara’. I do not believe that she is in New Zealand waters, but stand corrected on that. However, should anyone have any information as to her current whereabouts, and any other information, the Mills-Hillyer family would be very pleased.
The images above of our much loved family vessel are:
a) Sea trials off Brown Bay post launching.
b) As Q07 during wartime.
c) A more contemporary version (from my childhood) moored in Smokehouse Bay, sporting a flying bridge that my father had built in the 1960s.
Story & photos ex Pamela Hillyer, Harry Mills’ granddaughter
Harold Kidd Update
A true “Express Cruiser”, TE RAUPARAHA was the product of the late flowering of Chas. Bailey Jr’s genius, exemplified too by his design of the 94ft ketch NEW GOLDEN HIND for his old customer H.R. Jenkins (SHENANDOAH, 1929),which was built by Deeming Bros of Opua in 1939 and several outstanding sweet-lined contemporary fishing boats like KATOA, JOAN and MARGARET.
TE RAUPARAHA was fitted with twin 110hp Buda diesels which were becoming very popular at the time, supplied by Seabrook Fowlds and fitted by Allely Bros. They were replaced with Graymarines after her extensive wartime patrol work in WW1, often well off the Northland coast.
A motor launch to make the pulses race if ever there was one!
TE RAUPARAHA was fitted with twin 110hp Buda diesels which were becoming very popular at the time, supplied by Seabrook Fowlds and fitted by Allely Bros. They were replaced with Graymarines after her extensive wartime patrol work in WW1, often well off the Northland coast.
A motor launch to make the pulses race if ever there was one!
Update 22/05/13 – this is scary, just posted the above & CYA member Andrew Pollard (Aumoe) spots her for sale on trademe, appears to be in Noumea, listed yesterday click link to view http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=595731758
Update from John Senior
Mark williams and myself delivered her from Auckland to Noumea in 1979 to a kiwi owner who lived there and ran a buisnes of taking tourists out to Amede Light. She had extra seating installed and carried 80 pasengers, i think from memory she had two Grey Marine 6 cylinder diesels. It was a good trip taking 4 days to the hour.
