Steam Tug Lyttelton II Scrapped
This was quite a distressing page for me to produce, as I believe this ship was in salvageable condition. Having been involved in a failed attempt to save her and bring her back to New Zealand in 2003, I was really upset to find she had been cut up. Only the Wheelhouse and machinery have been saved for future preservation.
An x-ray of her hull five years ago, found her to be in excellent condition. Unfortunately, due to the prohibitive costs of chartering one of the dockwise transport ships, all plans to bring her back to more friendly waters had to be abandoned.
Built by Lobnitz and Co in 1939 she was similar to the W C Daldy in many ways. Her engines were slightly less powerful, rated at 750 shaft hp each.
Another kick in the teeth is the fact that she was scrapped on the hundredth anniversary of her sister ship,
the Steam Tug Lyttelton, which is preserved and available for charter in Christchurch.
RIP Lyttelton II
Steam Tug Lyttleton II being scrapped in Melbourne Australia
© Andrew Mackinnon
Steam Tug Lyttleton II being scrapped in Melbourne Australia
© Andrew Mackinnon
Steam Tug Lyttleton II being scrapped in Melbourne Australia
© Andrew Mackinnon
Steam Tug Lyttleton II being scrapped in Melbourne Australia
© Andrew Mackinnon
Steam Tug Lyttleton II being scrapped in Melbourne Australia
© Andrew Mackinnon
Steam Tug Lyttleton II being scrapped in Melbourne Australia
© Andrew Mackinnon
Steam Tug Lyttleton II being scrapped in Melbourne Australia
© Andrew Mackinnon
Steam Tug Lyttleton II being scrapped in Melbourne Australia
© Andrew Mackinnon
Steam Tug Lyttleton II being scrapped in Melbourne Australia
© Andrew Mackinnon
Steam Tug Lyttleton II being scrapped in Melbourne Australia
© Andrew Mackinnon
Steam Tug Lyttleton II being scrapped in Melbourne Australia
© Andrew Mackinnon
The images above were kindly provided by Seapix-Online. High resolution copies are available Here!
All images are © Andrew Mackinnon. Please note that full descriptions are also available for the images here as well.
More Information about this vessel can be found here. Thanks a lot Melbourne, your really committed to preservation! You could have offered some of the scrap money you made to the Steam Tug Lyttelton in Christchurch, New Zealand.
i would like to contact the chaps who I believe are restoring the engine room as a static display as i sailed on this wonderful tug in the early seventies , It was a privelige to work as an engineer on a steam vessel for a young engineer. a rare oportunity
Try contacting the people who run the much smaller steam tug Wattle in Melbourne, they should be able to help. Please send us some pics if you manage to track the steam plant down?
Kind regards,
Courtney
Hello. My father was on the delivery crew from Westport NZ to Sydney. He worked as a fire stoker. He told me stories of the trip across and the weather that was encountered. How they lost alot of bunkers during rough seas and having to resort to burning deck planking to power her to Sydney. Such a shame for a graceful vessel, Like my father may she rest in peace.
Details of the Lyttellton II s engines can be found at http://home.vicnet.net.au/~mstec/ lokk in the exhibits section. Not all of the photos on this page are by Andrew Mackinnon some of them are mine from the Seapix site.
Barry Gibson.
The slipway the Lyttelton is on is at Rippleside in Geelong, down the bay from Melbourne. She was the last ship to go on the slipway as the site has now been cleared for developers.