Tag Archives: Bailey & Lowe

Rongo II

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Rongo (II ?)b Rongo (II ?)a

RONGO II
photo ex Simon Manning
Pictured here around 1970-71 at what was then Simons family’s place at Curious Cove near Picton
Harold Kidd Update:
Great images! That’s the 1919 Bailey & Lowe RONGO II (ex-GLADYS II) during her period in the Sounds all right.

Rongo

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RONGO (II)

The above images of this rather grand & large launch have me stumped as to its identity, I’m sure its easy but today my mind is a blank. Photo says c.1930

30/05 – appears the collective brains trust agree on Rongo – thanks team 🙂

Harold Kidd Update

I’m certain it’s RONGO (II) when owned by W. Cecil Leys in 1930. She was built as GLADYS II by Bailey & Lowe in 1919 for Chas. Court of Stanley Bay and fitted with a 150hp Sterling Model FM 6 cylinder engine. Court sold her in 1930 to Leys who had her lengthened 10 feet and renamed her RONGO. Leys owned her until 1942 when she went into NAPS as Z20. Subsequent owners included R W Butcher (1942-44), Joe Moodabe (of the Civic Theatre) (1944-47), W J Henry (1947-49), W A (Wilkie) Wilkinson (1949) W A Kenny of Picton (1964) by which time she had a 1955 Gardner 5cylinder diesel. She came back north but went to pieces at Algies Bay in July 2007.

Update 2

1. Rongo went into NAPS with a Chrysler fitted around 1938, so they probably left that in throughout hostilities as ex-USN Chryslers (and GM/Graymarine 71 series) were standard issue, for parts rationalisation.
2. Walter Bailey designed her and Bailey & Lowe built her. I would have thought that she was manifestly Bailey & Lowe, not Lanes (although I do accept that all launches do default to Lanes in the case of doubt [and I won’t repeat my conceit that Garth built them all by himself at the risk of being flamed again by Alan]).
3. Mike Moodabe never owned her. It was his brother Joe, and then only briefly, from when she came out of NAPS in 1944 until 1947.

 
PS [sackcloth and ashes] a bit of misinformation I created myself…..I have now found the reference to Chas. Court selling GLADYS II to Sir W. Cecil Leys .. ….it was in October 1927, a lot earlier than I had thought. It was hard to pick out which of the references were to RONGO (I) and which to RONGO (II) (OMG here we go again!).
 
The 35ft RONGO (I) is very interesting. She was built as MOLLIE for Capt Somerville by T M Lane & Sons (really) in December 1911 equipped with an 18hp 4 cylinder Scripps. Capt. Somerville sold her to Percy Colebrook around late 1913. Colebrook sold her to Leys in August 1919 while he was having the second MOLLIE (later ALCESTIS/RAIONA) built by Joe Slattery. Leys had her extensively modified (cabintop raised, lengthened by 3ft etc) and renamed her RONGO. The work was done by Lanes who fitted a big 100hp Scripps in 1926 for which they were the agents.
When he bought GLADYS II and renamed her RONGO II in 1927 he sold RONGO I to J T Julian of Remuera. Julian retained the name RONGO and sold her to C W H Ronaldson in 1938. I lose track of her after 1940 but will work out what happened to her one day…undoubtedly a postwar re-name.
It’s all a bit convoluted……………
 
Update 3
Sorry to bang on about the RONGO tribe but I have found that it was Chas. Bailey who modified MOLLIE (I) for Cecil Leys in 1919 into RONGO (I). Lanes had their hands full with LUANA. At that time there were 5 big (45ft+) launches being built around the Waitemata; Collings & Bell with MARGUERITE (later LADY UNA), Joe Slattery with MOLLIE (II) (later ALCESTIS/RAIONA), Bailey & Lowe with ATATU and GLADYS II (later RONGO II) and Lanes with LUANA. The huge postwar demand was hard to satisfy but Chas. Bailey didn’t attract any orders for big launches for some reason.

Update from Baden Pascoe:

(refers to colour photo in slide show)

This is how she looked when I saw her. In my files I found she was a NAPS vessel, no Z20, 1/7/42 -27/12/43.

She had a 6L2 installed the same engine Joan had fitted. Conrad Robinson still has this engine at Warkworth. One good thing about NAPS, your boat came back with a very nice engine. At this time she belonged to R.W. Butcher of Auckland. The man in the white hat is dad, he could not get over the length of her and was concerned that she was hogging while they lifted her. He supervised the blocking of her keel once she was slipped. Very nice boat, shame she got wrecked. Very Lanes looking though!!

Romance

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Romance

ROMANCE

Romance is the older and smaller sister of Romance II. She was built August 1914 by Bailey & Lowe for W.C. Mils of Devonport who replaced her with Romance II in 1919. Romance was 26ft oa and fitted with an ohv 4 cyl petrol engine. W.E. Utting owned her for many years after Mills.

She then went to Napier and was bought by Sydney Hole and was the Holes family boat for many years on Lake Taupo. Pictured is Ken Hole(Sydney’s son) and Belle Hole standing beside Romance)

In 2006 she was in charter on the lake.

photo ex Alan Good, words Harold Kidd & Alan Good.

Karamana (Waitangi)

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Karamana (Waitangi)

KARAMANA

She was built as KARAMANA for F.B. Cadman in 1923 by Bailey & Lowe to a design by Hacker. KARAMANA = CADMAN in pig maori.
She was later bought by Auckland Grammar School teacher P A S Stein and rebuilt as per the pic below. She was fitted with a war surplus 6 cyl Green sohc aero engine producing 120-140bhp, bore 5.5 ins, stroke 6 ins (you work out the capacity). She was pretty radical, a far cry from her current. configuration.

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Waitangi

Waitangi

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Waitangi

c.1953, photos taken from Roger Guthrie’s family launch Caprice, whose forestay is showing in the top photo

Waitangi getting some love in Blanche & Ian Cook’s shed, Sept 2011, the last time I saw her. Alan H

Update 23-12-2019 – Photo below ex Peter Apperley of Waitangi at Westhaven Marina.

Waitangi Launch Dec2019

 

Waitangi – the motor launch

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Waitangi - the motor launch

Waitangi, the motor launch was built by Bailey & Lowe as Karamana in late 1923 to a design by Hacker and originally had a Green 6 cylinder aero engine. As you can see from the photo she was one of the ‘quicks’.

Photo as Karamana below – read H Kidd reply for details

Karamanaa

Lapwing

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Lapwing

Lapwing – designed by Bailey & Lowe c1915

Update April 2019 – Lapwing getting some TLC at West Harbour Marina.

LAPWING

02-05-2019 Update on the work below es John Wicks – Couple more photos of Lapwing, looking very spiffy and about ready to  splash. Note the trail-boards are back in place,  now with the scroll work done in gold leaf, as is the name board on her transom.

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And on its way back to Bayswater Marina

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13-01-2026 UPDATE Photo below ex TREVOR COPPOCK – a rare photo of her off the marina – looks like the next generation are using her – we like that ✔️