Tag Archives: NZPBA 1929

Upper Harbour 1929

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Upper Harbour 1929

Most likely part of the spectator fleet at the 1929 NZPBA championship races held on the Whau River, upper Waitemata.
Help needed to ID the launches.

Harold Kidd Update:

The really beautiful launch in the foreground is very like ROMANCE II in style and layout so that I’m pretty sure she’s Bailey & Lowe. The “break” is further aft and the clerestory detail is slightly different from R2. I think she could be MANU. A higher res image might help in picking up the letter in the roundel under the sheer belting at the bow and to see whether or not she has any foliate carving at the bow.

25/06  – Not MANU. If not by Bailey & Lowe, she’s a direct copy of ROMANCE II except for the break in the sheer and the positioning of the ports. She is also very like the 32 footer ROTOMAHANA they built for A.B. Donald in 1923, but again the details of the break and the ports differ slightly and I think she’s at least a 36 footer. 
I’m really scratching my head on this one.

NZPBA Championship 1929

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NZPBA championship races of 1929 on the Whau River (upper harbour)

The small speedboat in photo1 is OP-IT. She was built by Jack Brooke in late 1928,.and according to Harold Kidd & the Brooke family, that’s probably Jack racing her in the C Class outboard race)

Update from Harold Kidd

Photo 1 is certainly of Jack Brooke and his C Class (20 cu in) outbioard racer ‘OP IT which he designed and built himself. 
Photo 2 is MISS CLEVEDON (S2) and SPOT II (S15). MISS CLEVEDON was built and raced by T M Roberts and was one of the fastest in the over 20 knots category. I don’t know what power she had. Roberts also raced an outboard MISS CLEVEDON which had a 10hp Dunelt 249cc. Dunelt were upper quality English motorcycle manufacturers of the time who were trying to beat the Depression by getting into the outboard racing craze sweeping the world. SPOT II was a single step hydroplane built and raced by Alf Williams of Ponsonby. She had a “high-speed” Rugby 4 cylinder car engine, a favourite for marine use. The Rugby was built by the Durant Corporation and was the Star car rebadged for British Empire markets as there already was a fine English Star car, built in Wolverhampton and very like the contemporary Sunbeam. 
Photo 3 is HOBO (S3) which was built and raced by R. Mouat. She had a 6 cylinder Buick engine with which she won 2nd place in the Masport Cup in January 1929 at Wanganui. She was a crib of the American MARGARET III type.

Update from Colin Orum 30/03/2014

Photo 2 above is a photo of my grandfather Tom Roberts driving boat Miss Clevedon. I have heard quite a lot about his speedboat escapades from Mum now 88 and it was mentioned today. I thought to inquire if any information photos etc. were available. I was quite friendly with an old bloke at Waiheke named George Rose who(as a boy) new Tom quite well and used to tell me stories about his time with the racing boats. George said the power in Miss Clevedon was a Beardmore aero engine. Today Mum said the last she can remember is that Tom was taking Miss Clevedon on a practise run on the Clevedon river, struck a submerged log and sank, we assumed that it was recovered but unsure what happened after that. My brother has a cup trophy for Tom for Auckland speed boat champion around 1929-30.

Help needed to ID launch

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Help needed to ID launch

A real mixed bag of vessels here. Must have been a regatta or speed boat racing.

Of interest to waitematawoodys is the fine looking launch in the centre with the canoe stern. Can anyone help ID her?

Harold Kidd Update:
There are numerous candidates for the canoe – sterned launch. I will work on ID-ing  her. It’s unusual to have a combination of a raised forward deck, a clerestory, a dodger and a canoe stern on a launch of what…36 feet? In the meantime, some possibilities are RONOMOR, HAZEL, WAHAROA, ROMA and DIXIE.
The little outboard racer is FLEETUN built by Collings & Bell in November 1928. That’s probably Charlie Collings handling her.
 
What I can advice is –
1.       It’s a NZPBA event
2.       It’s on the Whau River
3.       It’s some time after March 1928 and before they moved these races to the Panmure Basin in January 1930.