SPEEDWELL – Vanishes At Sea

Todays woody story is a deep dive back to 1927 and concerns the mystery surrounding the reported loss of the 33’ game fishing launch Speedwell.

In the photo above  ex Papers Past, ex Lew Redwood via by K Ricketts, we see a 215lb swordfish across the stern of Speedwell. The fish was landed by a Mrs. Dunville listing from Ireland. Some sniffing around in Parers Past told us that the photo was dated 11 Feb 1926. The photo was used to highlight the plight of the launch after it went missing on a passage from Auckland to Russell in the Bay of Islands. The launch owner / skipper – Mr. Edwin Walker departed Auckland on 26 September and was last seen off Leigh, Warkworth by a local fisherman..The NZ Herald covered the unsuccessful search and also reported on the discovery in June 1937 of a hull washed in the Whananaki Inlet area.

Below are press clippings of the event.

Can anyone tell us the design / builder of Speedwell. I’m assuming no more information / finding surfaced on the vessel.

Article above es NZ Herald 7 October 1927