The hour-long, family-friendly tours will cruise through the commercial wharves, providing a close-up view of port operations.

The trip will also include a special stop at the Auckland Harbour Bridge, where the William C Daldy proved its might salvaging a runaway piece of the bridge during its construction in 1958. Click Here for the full story!

A detailed heritage commentary will also offer a unique insight into the history of the port and Auckland.

The development of the city and port over more than 160 years is a fascinating story.

Daldy has the capacity for 120 passengers which, if based on last years success will fill very fast!

The tours are free; however, a donation to the William C Daldy Preservation Society is appreciated.

The tours will be held at 11.00am, 1.00pm and 3.00pm on Saturday 18th and 25th of September during the Auckland Heritage Festival.

If you can assist with any donations please refer to the information contained below.

Please feel free to leave any comments at the bottom of the page.

Associated club: Southern “F” Locomotive Trust.

Click to Enlarge Image

A plan for an overseas passenger terminal on Captain Cook Wharf is being proposed as new figures suggest Queens Wharf will be stretched to accommodate the booming cruise ship business.

Architect Gordon Moller has suggested extending Captain Cook Wharf, east of Queens Wharf on the Auckland waterfront, and building a double-sided overseas passenger terminal to allow two ships to berth simultaneously.

His comments coincide with better-than-expected bookings for cruise ships and a message to Auckland to expect larger ships.

Cruise New Zealand chief executive Craig Harris said about 68 cruise ships were expected to visit Auckland this season, 90 next year and more than 100 bookings had already been confirmed for 2012.

Mr Harris said he had returned from the United States, where cruise lines said Auckland should expect larger ships of 320m to 330m carrying 3000 to 3500 passengers within five to seven years.

There were physical challenges coming up, he said, such as Queens Wharf being able to take ships of up to only 300m. One solution was to put a bollard out from Queens Wharf to accommodate the larger ships.

Mr Moller, who has worked on plans for the waterfront and designed the Sky Tower, said the west side of Queens Wharf was earmarked for expanded ferry services, leaving one berth for cruise ships on the eastern side.

One berth was the brief for the flawed Queens Wharf design competition, he said.

“That means you can’t put a second ship on Queens Wharf, so you are one berth short.

“My simple logic is you extend Captain Cook out to equal the length of Queens Wharf, you put a new terminal down the centre of the wharf with link bridges, extend the ferry terminal on the west side of Queens Wharf and you have public open space [on the remainder of Queens Wharf].”

Mr Moller said Marsden Wharf should be used for small vessels, such as tugboats; Bledisloe Wharf kept for port use and Quay St turned into a public promenade.

“Take the red fence [along Quay St] down and the whole thing begins to sing.”

Mr Moller’s comments coincide with plans by the Government and the agency designing the Super City to hand planning of the waterfront, including a new masterplan, to the unelected directors of a waterfront development agency.

The public will have limited input through the planning process and be locked out of other deliberations.

The Auckland City Council supports the establishment of the waterfront development agency to manage development, but believes that planning should be left to the new Auckland Council.

The council also wants Captain Cook and Marsden wharves and the connection to Bledisloe Wharf placed under the agency to ensure that a new masterplan for the waterfront takes a long-term perspective.

The two wharves are owned by Ports of Auckland.

The agency will own and manage the waterfront – excluding Ports of Auckland land – from Teal Park in the east to the Auckland Harbour Bridge Park in the west, including Queens Wharf, the Viaduct Harbour, 18.5ha of publicly-owned land at the Tank Farm and Westhaven Marina.

Meanwhile, plans to spruce up Queens Wharf as “party central” for the Rugby World Cup are still several weeks away.

By Bernard Orsman | Email Bernard

Royal Caribbean Australia managing director Gavin Smith said the company had followed the debate over plans for Queens Wharf – which included turning it into “party central” for the Rugby World Cup and building a modern terminal for cruise ships.

“We’d be more interested in a third berth than a redeveloped, integrated destinational facility because we want the flexibility to be able to see three ships in here regularly,” Smith said.

“We want to know with great certainty that there’ll be a wharf, whether it’s got restaurants and shops and cafes is less material.”

Infrastructure development was a sensitive issue around the world as the cruise industry grew both in volume and the size of its ships, he said.

“What the cruise industry would struggle to do is if the Government spent $50 million redeveloping the pier and then said we’re going to quadruple your costs.”

Auckland was one of the few ports in the world still offering a downtown wharf, which was very attractive to customers, Smith said.

“Because they can turn up, see the port immediately and they can purchase all the touring programmes without having to spend an hour on a bus to get there.”

Royal Caribbean, which is listed in New York and Oslo, said it was opening a dedicated office in Auckland to cater for the growing number of New Zealanders taking cruise holidays.

The company said that according to the International Cruise Council nearly 40,000 New Zealanders took a cruise in 2008, up from 30,215 in 2007.

Smith estimated Royal Caribbean’s market share for New Zealand customers was about 12-13 per cent.

“It gives us a greater sense of ownership of that responsibility of taking New Zealanders overseas on holiday,” he said.

The new office was expected to be fully operational from April 1 and would support the commercial and operation activities of the company, which uses predominantly travel agents to re-sell its cruises.

“If you go into a travel agent there’s 3500 products and what we want to give is personality to that.”

The company would introduce a second ship to the region towards the end of next year and expected to bring about 25,000 visitors to New Zealand in 2011, compared to about 10,000 this year, he said.

New Zealanders taking a Royal Caribbean cruise would still have to fly to Sydney to join their ship but the company could eventually board passengers in Auckland.

“In an ideal world we will further expand to have product that originates out of New Zealand, out of Auckland, and I would hope that we’re able to make announcements to that effect in the coming months,” Smith said.

By Owen Hembry | Email Owen

Also lost has been the reality that such a terminal need only occupy less than a quarter of the available space on the wharf and much of this space can be on an upper level, as part of a multi-purpose structure.

Its cost will represent perhaps half of the overall spending being mooted to develop the wharf.

What is at stake is the ability for Auckland to become a transit terminal for the cruise industry in New Zealand, an activity that will add an estimated $125 million a year to the city’s gross domestic product and see a similar amount distributed among the 14 other transit ports, or ports of call, around the country.

Auckland is the only port in New Zealand that has the capacity to be a transfer terminal, and with that status comes the multiple economic benefits, including jobs, that come from people passing through the airport, staying overnight in hotels, using taxis and buses, eating in restaurants and spending in shops.

Overseas cities which gain the most from the cruise industry, with Vancouver a good example, have a three-way investment in the needed infrastructure: an international airport, an efficient cruise terminal and a large conference centre.

Such facilities are needed to handle thousands of people at a time who want to have a relatively seamless arrival, hotel stay and departure, an experience that will see them return and recommend our city to others.

That is an important factor because many people are hooking on their cruising holidays. Logically that means having the ability to check in bags at a downtown venue and having heavier items checked directly through from aircraft to ship and vice versa.

The current season will see 118,000 passengers visit Auckland. Next year 132,000 visitors are projected, with cruise passengers making up the fourth largest sector of international arrivals.

The arrival of new cruise lines committing to Auckland means that the 2012 season will see more than 100 cruise ship visits, with total passengers exceeding 200,000 people, plus some 80,000 crew. Across New Zealand these numbers equate to around 600 port visits.

Auckland will really struggle to cope with this growth using its current port infrastructure.

The cruise lines want some planning certainty. As a city we must be able to assure them that we can provide adequate international airline capacity and suitable hotels. Cruise ships vary from three-star to five-star standards, so available hotel accommodation needs to match this need.

They also want suitable berths and terminals and the ability to turn ships around efficiently. What we currently offer is Queens Wharf, with its multiple inefficiencies and weather-related problems, and the non-purpose-built facility on Princes Wharf, which the cruise industry has now outgrown.

Queens Wharf can accommodate 310m vessels on its eastern side and accommodate all current and expected ships, with the exception of the QM2 at 350m (one of only five or six vessels in the world of this size).

However, these ships could be accommodated with the addition of a concrete dolphin (a concrete tower with a bollard on top) some 20m off the end of the wharf.

The economic prize available to Auckland and New Zealand is substantial, but there is a real risk that inaction may see it evaporate, along with all the interest and vibrancy that comes to the city by virtue of it having cruise ships anchored at the foot of Queen St, something that is a distinct advantage in terms of the passenger experience the city can offer.

A terminal at the foot of Queen St also provides an easy link with ferry, bus and rail services, with benefits of that including changing the economics of a rail link between Britomart station and the airport.

As a terminal option, Bledisloe Wharf fails to meet that objective. It can also be discounted because its use as a terminal will require the demolition of Marsden Wharf, overcoming the fact that it is 50m shorter than Queens Wharf and that substantial hard rock blasting will be required to achieve the required depth at the Quay St end of the wharf.

Its use for cruise ships will also impact on the working needs of Ports of Auckland.

The cruising industry people that I deal with often make the point that cruising is an internationally transferable business and that a country is either cruise-friendly or it’s not.

The issue of friendliness aside, some of these decision-makers may be starting to wonder whether Auckland is really interested in securing their ongoing business, given the debate over the Queens Wharf terminal is now some three years’ old.

* Craig Harris is chairman of Cruise New Zealand, which markets NZ as a cruise destination to shipping lines.

By Craig Harris

If there is one summer outing to invite friends along to and gather your family for, then this is it! We have not taken the Daldy to Kawau Island for some time.

We have arranged another great day out on the William C Daldy. This is a family fun day on Kawau Island.

Cruise Tickets: Devonport – Kawau Island Return only $90.00 each

Boarding the Steam Tug at its base in Devonport, a loud blast on the whistle will mark our sailing as the smoke billows from the funnel and we steam down the Waitemata Harbour. At North Head, it will be full steam ahead as the engines are opened up for the “romp” up the Hauraki Gulf to Mansion House Bay in Kawau Island. The Tug William C Daldy rarely ventures out of Auckland Harbour these days. So book early.

We depart Devonport at 8am arriving at Kawau Island at 11.30am, where you can then enjoy several hours on the island – exploring Mansion House, The Island or take a picnic lunch.

We depart Kawau Island at 1.30pm arriving back at Devonport at 5pm.

A cash bar and BBQ will operate on this trip. Tea and coffee is available for a gold coin donation.

Enjoy a great cruise to and from Kawau.Island.Be quick – Limited to 110 passengers.

SCHEDULE

Tickets, a detailed schedule and full cruise information will be posted out to all booked passengers approximately seven to ten days before departure. Please read these instructions carefully in case there are last minute itinerary changes!

• DEPART Devonport 7:30AM
• ARRIVE Mansion House Bay 11:30PM
• DEPART Mansion House Bay 1:30pm
• ARRIVE Devonport 5:30pm

Click Here to download a booking form

Please note: This excursion is has been organised in conjunction with The Railway Enthusiasts Society INC and all bookings must be made via the PDF file (Link Above) or Email: secretary@railfan.org.nz

Govt considers short-term Queens Wharf revamp

By Edward Gay and Bernard Orsman at NZ Herald

A short-term solution to revamping Queens Wharf could be on the cards if Auckland cannot get its act together.

Prime Minister John Key said a short-term option is being looked at and could cost between $15 million and $20m but half of that will be capital expenditure which can be used in the final design.

He said the wharf was an important part of Auckland’s waterfront and the design needed to reflect that.

“If it is in fact too rushed to reach a conclusion on a quality development for the site in the long-term perspective then the Government will have no qualms about erecting a good short-term live-site solution for the Rugby World Cup,” Mr Key said at a press conference this afternoon.

He said the Queens Wharf was important both for the Rugby World Cup and the long-term development of Auckland, namely an international passenger terminal.

Meanwhile, a larger and more expensive revamp of Queens Wharf has been labelled a last-minute kneejerk reaction to the Rugby World Cup by Heart of the City chief executive Alex Swney.

“When are we going to stop and take a longer-term view on the way we develop our city?” he asked.

Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully is pressing Auckland leaders to adopt a grander vision for the historic wharf than was proposed in the much-maligned design contest dumped in November.

This would push the cost of redeveloping the wharf from $47 million at the design contest stage to about $100 million.

Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee is keen to proceed with a cruise ship terminal in time for the cup if a new design appeals to the public.

He is at odds with Auckland City Mayor John Banks, who wants to spruce up the wharf for the cup and wait for the Super City when a plan can be put in place for the entire waterfront.

Mr Swney said the city needed to provide “party central” at Queens Wharf for the cup but also commit to a long-term masterplan.

“We need a plan that sees ports rationalisation, the freeing up of Bledisloe Wharf – a far superior site for a cruise ship terminal – and a plan that integrates the Tank Farm to the west with Queens, Captain Cook and Bledisloe wharves to the east,” he said.

Labour’s Auckland issues spokesman Phil Twyford said the Government’s determination to bully Aucklanders into an inadequate quick-fix solution seemed to be driven by Prime Minister John Key’s desire to create “party central” for the rugby cup.

“We are only 10 months away from a newly elected mayor and council for Auckland. It seems appropriate to wait to determine the future of the waterfront and cruise ship terminal until this occurs and decisions can be made in a democratic and accountable way,” he said.

Mr McCully said the Government explained in November an intention to step back, check the assumptions and look at all the options for Queens Wharf in conjunction with Auckland leaders early this year. He said some extra work had been done on the contest-winning design by architects Jasmax and Architectus. There were four or five other proposals on the table, but he declined to say what they were.

One option being considered by Auckland City Council is to spruce up Queens Wharf at a cost of $18 million, plus or minus $2 million, to provide services, safety, lighting and dress up the two 1912 cargo sheds for the rugby cup.

Mr McCully indicated the process was being driven by the need for a cruise ship terminal, expected to cost more than $50 million.

The other $50 million would be spent on strengthening the wharf and providing public open space. He said the cruise ship industry was worth $400 million a year.

By Edward Gay and Bernard Orsman

W C Daldy was last years Winning Tug Boat!

VICTORIA WHARF, DEVONPORT, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
1 February 2010

• Depart Devonport 8am
• Depart Princes Wharf (Downtown) 9am
• Return Princes Wharf (Downtown) 12.30pm
• Return Devonport 1.15pm

PRICES:

• Adults $75
• Children $40
• Family (2 Adults, 2 Children) $200

All Prices include lunch of Sausage, Pattie, Kaiser Roll and Salad

A fabulous day on the water is promised as Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour comes alive in one of the world’s biggest one-day Regatta’s.

Contact Richard to book now

Ph: (09)445 9900
Fax: (09)445 6606
Mob: (021)659 800
E-mail: rosecentre@xtra.co.nz

More Details

Monday 1 February 9.00am: Tugboat Parade
Tugboats young and old will gather at the entrance to the Viaduct Harbour and parade up to their start line off North Head.

10.00am: Tugboat Race off North Head
Watch this amazing display of maneuverability and speed as these wonderful craft roar up the channel, round Narrow Neck Buoy and return to finish off Devonport Wharf – best vantage points are North Head, East Coast Bays beaches, Devonport and Devonport Wharf.

• 11.30am Firefighting display off the Viaduct followed by a Parade through the Viaduct.
• 11.00am: First Start off Princes Wharf

Races start off Princes Wharf, Downtown Auckland at 5 minute intervals from 11.00am.

• 11.35 & 11.45am: Classic division starts
• 11.55am: Tall Ships and Waka start
• 12.00noon: Harbour Blast starts off Orakei Wharf

See some of the fastest boats on the water ‘blast’ off in a vision of colour and speed as they head off around the harbour

Date: 12 December 2009

Photographer: SeapixOnline.com

A BIG THANKS to the Railway Enthusiasts Society, all the passengers and crew, especially the stokers who managed to keep steam up with that awful coal!

Yes, we have created a different cruise to give you a chance to view Ponui, Rotoroa and Pakatoa Islands. We depart from Devonport at 8:30 a.m. and travel via the Tamaki Straight looking across at Maraetai Beach and the coastline. Once we reach Kauri Point on Ponui, we follow Ponui via the sandspit passage (a first for the Tug) passing between Ponui and Pakihi Islands.

RES trip east

We then steam past the outside of Ponui past such places as Third Bay, Bryants Bay and Scullys Reef. Next comes cruising between Ponui and Rotoroa Islands via the Ruth’s Passage giving fantastic views of both islands. We then turn right – travel past Rotoroa Island and travel between Rotoroa and Pakatoa via Frechmens Gap. We go past Pakatoa and return to Auckland via the Waiheke Channel. We aim to be home at Devonport by 4 p.m. Included in your fare is a muffin for morning tea and a light lunch of meat patty, sausage and bun. Tea and coffee is available for a gold coin donation at the ship’s galley.

Your support is essential to preserve this maritime icon. Please note: course may be altered in the event of bad weather.
The fare for this trip is only $88.00

Full information with tickets is sent 10 days prior to trip departure.

To book Click Here for the PDF booking form or contact:

WC DALDY EASTERN-HAURAKI GULF

C/O Railway Enthusiasts Society

PO Box 13-684 Onehunga

Auckland 1643

YOUR HOSTS: Bruce Jackson and John Hunter