Previously used for towing duties and now utilised for warping the ship alongside when berthing the Aft Winch has plenty of power with its 12in by 12in stroke!

aft winch
© Godfrey Down

aft winch
© NZMM – Photo collection 1994 146.1 [8702]

Large rope fender weighing over 3 1/2 tons being fitted to W C Daldy
© W C Daldy Trust

Completed for a cost of £40,000 (a sizeable sum during the midst of the great depression) in 1935 by Lobnitz & Co on the Clyde, Renfrew, Scotland hull No. 987, the William C Daldy departed for her new home in Auckland, New Zealand. Upon arrival in her home port on 30/01/1936 after a voyage of 82 days, she was
dry-docked for inspection. Let the pictures say the rest!

For a schematic layout of the tug Map 1 or Map 2. Please note that these may take some time to download if you are on a dialup modem as they are high resolution images!

‘William C Daldy’ Bow view in frame

30-Jul-1935 NZNMM

‘William C Daldy’ Stern view in frame

30-Jul-1935 NZNMM

‘William C Daldy’ Bow view 85% plated

14-Aug-1935 NZNMM

‘William C Daldy’ Stern view 85% plated

14-Aug-1935 NZNMM

‘William C Daldy’ Bow view before launching

01-Oct-1935 NZNMM

‘William C Daldy’ Stern view before launching

01-Oct-1935 NZNMM

‘William C Daldy’ Being launched

01-Oct-1935 NZNMM

‘William C Daldy’ in fitting out basin after launch

01-Oct-1935 NZNMM

Arrival of Auckland Harbour Board’s new tug.

31-Jan-1936 &copyNZ Herald

‘William C Daldy’ in Calliope dry dock for inspection prior to

acceptance by Auckland Harbour Board

Feb-1936

‘William C Daldy’ in Calliope dry dock for inspection prior to

acceptance by Auckland Harbour Board

5-Feb-1936 Auckland Star

Arrival in Auckland

30-Jan-1936 Auckland Star

600 ft coil of 20in Manilla rope being removed from King’s Wharf.

The rope weighs 3tons 13cwt and will be used by the Harbour Board’s new tug, WCD

10-Dec-1936 &copyNZ Herald

Large rope fender, weighing over 3 1/2 tons being fitted to W C Daldy

Harbour Board members and guests en route to Tiri Tiri Matangi Island

26-Feb-1936

The W C. Daldy is generally handled from the flying bridge, otherwise known as the Monkey Island. There are various Masters and the minimum requirement to handle the vessel as Skipper is a Commercial Launchmasters Certificate.

Monkey Island / Flying Bridge
© Godfrey Down

William C Daldy Captain Bernard Commons and Nora Maersk
© Tony Millatt

Left to right – Alex Franklin – John Dallow and Bob Price.
© Tony Millatt

Wheel – binnacle and original telegraphs
© NZNMM – AHB Photo Album No. 9

Monkey Island / Flying Bridge Sunset
© Godfrey Down

“Beats me how nobody was killed,” said John Malster, relief fireman on the Auckland tug, William C. Daldy, today. ”You could call it a saga of good luck.” Townas Bray, a general hand on a Harbour Board floating crane. is shown working away with a crowbar on the buckled bow of the tug, today. The damage may take four to five weeks to repair. Mr Malster was one of two crewmen taken to Auckland Hospital on Saturday after the tug and the ship she was berthing, the Fremantle Star collided. The other man, who was relief engineer Barry Watkins. Both were later allowed to go home.

The collision put a sizeable dent in the 8400-ton Fremantle Star and has put the tug out of action possibly for four or five weeks, Mr Malster had the luckiest escape. After stoking the boilers he had just gone on deck for a breath of fresh air when the accident happened. If I’d stayed down there a minute longer, I’d have had one of the fire doors open, and I’d have been swamped in red hot clinker,” he said. What amazed crew members, is that none of the steam pipes was fractured by the force of the collision. This would have scalded to death anybody within the “line of fire.” As it is, the 40-year-old steam tug – the Auckland Harbour Board’s oldest – looked a mess today. The force of a collision had pushed the three ton rope fender on the bow deep into the hull, buckling plates up to 4 feet back from the bow. Down in the engine room the two big boilers – about 15 tons each – had moved and are believed to have cracked their mountings. The stokehold was waist deep in half-burnt coal which travelled furiously from the furnaces, just after the collision. The first thought that the crew was to get the fires out as quickly as possible to avoid any danger of a boiler explosion. An engine room telegraph failure caused the collision. The ship’s master, Captain Albert Moku Moku could only watch helplessly as the tug ploughed towards the freighter at an estimated 5 knots. Mr Malster said he had just walked onto the for’ard deck when he saw the collision looming. ” I ran halfway back towards the stern of the ship – then the bang came. That slammed me onto my back, and I tumbled all the way back to the for’ard deck again,” he said. Auckland Harbour Master Captain C. R. Blair said some idea as to the extent of the damage should be known later today after an inspection by surveyors. It is understood that the board is prepared to hire a tug from the Northland Harbour Board if an emergency arises while the William C. Daldy is out of action. With the tug Aucklander out of action for maintenance, the port is left with only two other tugs.

There are scanned copies of the official accident reports available below: ‘William C Daldy’ Telegraph Failure report Page 1 &copy NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion 15-Feb-75 ‘William C Daldy’ Telegraph Failure report Page 2 &copy NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion 15-Feb-75 ‘William C Daldy’ and ‘Fremantle Star’ Collision Report Page 1 &copy NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion 18-Feb-75 ‘William C Daldy’ and ‘Fremantle Star’ Collision Report Page 2 &copy NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion 18-Feb-75 ‘William C Daldy’ – Accident repair estimate Page 1 &copy NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion 26-Feb-75 ‘William C Daldy’ – Accident repair estimate Page 2 &copy NZNMM – AHB file 715 DAL Conversion 26-Feb-75 Accident Report 1 Accident Report 2 Accident Report 3 Accident Report 4

The funnel received a major overhaul in 2002. The outer skin was patched and rivet tops were welded on to make it look as original as possible. It received a complete stand blast and a fresh coat of paint. The internal flue will eventually need to be replaced as it is in poor condition! A funnel cap which works in a butterfly fashion can be opened and closed internally from on top of the boilers, using a lever and pulley arrangement.

The Funnel 2002
© Courtney Edmonds

William C. Daldy funnel with original Auckland Harbour board shield
© NZMM – Photo collection 1994 146.1 [8702]

Funnel shield (top left – Red Cross – top right – Blue waves of the Waitemata harbour – bottom left – Anchor Auckland Harbour Board Symbol – bottom right – The Taniwha – a mythical Maori creature that breathes fire!)
© Godfrey Down

funnel and replacement mast and derrick
© Godfrey Down

The original coal range has been removed due to extensive rust. During the delivery voyage, the ships Cook was said to have gone mad in the heat and disembarked the ship at Darwin. the galley also contains a steam powered tea urn.

Galley
© Godfrey Down

Galley
© Godfrey Down

Galley
© Godfrey Down