Tag Archives: Tuatea

Mystery Miller & Tunnage – Tuatea

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TUATEA – Miller & Tunnage

If we believe her tme listing todays woody ws built in 1936 by Miller and Tunnage.

36’ in length she has a 60hp BMC diesel that gets her along at a top speed of 11.5 knots.

Home is Whangarei in the north and that woodys is all me know about her – can we put a name to her and expand on her past.

Heads up on Saturdays Woody Boat Boot Sale at The Slipway Milford yard – we have some serious collectors of marine ‘stuff’ dusting off their lockers so should be some treasure up for sale – remember CASH ONLY.

INPUT ex Paul Drake – The boat is TUATEA. Photos below of her on the Paremata Harbour in the 1980’s. I was told that she was Miller and Tunnage, about 1925. She was a Lyttelton boat, and went to Picton after I photographed her. Subsequently, while on her Ivy Bay (Paremata) mooring, she was struck by lightning and required extensive rebuilding. Whoever rebuilt her did a magnificent job. She re appeared at Seaview Marina, Wellington. Interesting that she is now in Whangarei.  She appeals to me because she is a straight stemmer (nearly), has a full length sweeping belting, is low wooded, has port holes, and has a mast! What more could you want. Note that she is clearly not a double ender.

25-11-2022 INPUT ex Harold Kidd – TUATEA was designed and built by Jas. McPhersoin of Dunedin for Jack Hudson of Cadbury, Fry, Hudson chocolate manufacturers in late 1930.Hudson moved to Christchurch and took TUATEA with him, basing TUATEA at Lyttelton. There were various statements that she was built by Miller & Tunnage and even by J. Miller Ltd of Lyttelton, but not so. Original engine a 30hp Thornycroft. In NAPS as Z124 1942-4 skipper Magnus Smith.

Tuatea – A Peek Down Below

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TUATEA – A Peek Down Below

The 36’ launch Tuatea was built by Millers in Port Chalmers Dunedin in c.1930. Dock-side chat has it that she was built for the Hudson family of Cadbury Hudson chocolate fame and during WWII she was used by the NZ Navy Auxiliary Patrol Service, in Lyttleton Harbour from May 1942 > February 1944. Her pennant number was Z124 and is documented in the book NZ Navy Vessels by R J McDougall.

Built from kauri she was extensively rebuilt 15 years ago – with a new kauri full head room cabin, hull fully restored, fibre glassed over ply deck. Forward motion comes from a BMC Commodore 3.8 ltr., 62hp Nufield diesel engine. From her tme listing (thanks Ian McDonald) she looks to be a project boat i.e. some finishing work, but the big jobs appear to have been done. 

First Tuesday of the month tomorrow – so there must be a Classic Yacht Association committee meeting happening (via Zoom) – so the banner below is a reminder to elected members to be kind and support inclusion not segregation on the topic of the new Heritage Basin marina 🙂

Tuatea

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tuatea

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TUATEA

Todays featured launch is Tuatea, in the photos above we see her weighing in a fish at Russell in 1984. At the time she was skippered by Hilton Polkinghorne.
She was previously owned by Morrie Mitchell of Russell for many years.
Photo from Dean Wright’s collection. The stubbie shorts are a blast from the past 🙂

Do we know any details on her design / build & where she is today?

 

Tuatea

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TUATEA

photos ex trademe, details ex Ken Ricketts.

39 ft 6 inches built by the Lane Motor Boat Co. in Riverview Rd Panmure in 1954. She has spent much of her life game fishing out of Tauranga, initially, then Whitianga & to the B.O.I., & back to the Whitianga region, as at now.

Present owner Colin Orr has owned her for 11 > 12 years & previous owners include Ron Elliott in 1950s & 60s who sold her to Morris Mitchell who initially kept her at Whitianga, in the later 1960s or early 70s, & he owned her until the mid 1980s. During this time he relocated to the B.O.I. where he sold her.

She presently has a 6 cyl. 135hp Ford diesel. She is of the era & stable, of Sou East, Nor West & Tangaroa, with her distinctive coamings styling, especially in the mid section.

Some classic boats end up with a block of flats on top, this old girl has an apartment building 🙂  Ken & I agree that her cabin top / open flybridge, as shown in the early B & W photo, suits her perfectly.