By Dr Joel Cayford, Auckland Regional Councillor, 30 January 2008

Auckland Anniversary Day is a delightful opportunity to showcase Auckland’s maritime heritage. Vintage tugboats and classic yachts dash about the harbour attracting thousands to the waterfront. But after the big day most of Auckland’s beautiful old boats and yachts are taken away and mothballed, unlike other waterfront cities of the world where they have pride of place at city waterfront moorings and are enjoyed by visitors all year round. Even the maori war canoe race which used to precede the regatta is no more, as waka find homes far from Waitemata Harbour.

The steam tug William C Daldy is one of the few classic boats still clinging to a downtown mooring at the Devonport Wharf. Even this is at risk. It is one of a hundred or so classic boats, lovingly built, restored and maintained by a variety of trusts and societies established by people who care deeply about Auckland’s maritime heritage.

I am not alone in thinking this heritage treasure and Maori waka taonga merits permanent accommodation at Auckland’s waterfront. It is one of the reasons

I believe the newly elected Auckland Regional Council needs to revisit policy decisions made by the previous ARC – without public consultation – that prioritise intensive private development on TankFarm land on Wynyard Point.

As ultimate landowner, the buck stops with the ARC for what happens there. It could decide to allocate land and waterfront space to Auckland’s classic boat industry, as commercial leases fall due. The ARC alone is responsible for approving the Statement of Intent and for appointing the directors of Auckland Regional Holdings (ARH) which purchased title to the land from its previous owner Ports of Auckland. ARC has also approved the establishment of Sea & City Ltd to manage the redevelopment project in accordance with ARC’s vision for that part of Auckland’s waterfront.

Till now, the ARC has an excellent track record of owning and managing Auckland’s fantastic regional park network.. Any private operations on regional parkland – such as coffee kiosks, filming, adventure events – are hard won by commercial operators who need to satisfy carefully set criteria before being permitted to do business on Regional Parks, some of which have been gifted to the ARC, while others have been purchased with public money and then typically cleared of buildings associated with former private uses.

So it is highly unusual that the ARC has decided to allow a large chunk of regionally owned land at Auckland’s waterfront to be developed intensively with high rise private apartments and office blocks, and to permit existing marine and fishing industries to renew their leases and continue their occupation, without any public consultation about other options and uses for that land.

While current plans do provide a four hectare park space at the end of TankFarm, this open area will be “walled off” from the rest of Auckland by highrise apartments whose owners will see the public park as their back lawn. Highrise hotel, commercial and retail developments will dominate the rest of the land, alongside marine and fishing industries which will defend their interests vigorously. This proposed profitable development will deliver significant amenity for Auckland, but the potential is so much greater.

ARC’s vision for the TankFarm waterfront reads well, but the hard commercial policy it hides and which has never been put out for public consultation, is that private development and private activities on the regionally owned waterfront land at Wynyard Point must generate $40 million profit annually. Long-term ARC forecasts indicate this money is needed to meet the growing costs of Auckland public transport.

While I support rapid development and public funding of Auckland passenger transport systems, I don’t believe we should be selling regional silver to do it unless the public agrees. And again, the public have never been asked if they accept a commercially compromised waterfront development at TankFarm in exchange for improved bus, ferry and train services. Or whether they would prefer other ways of pay for public transport.

I believe most would accept some private development at the waterfront to meet the costs of public infrastructure, like the policy for the redevelopment of East Darling Harbour in Sydney where then Premier Carr announced the project needed to be revenue neutral – but not a cash cow for other projects. Auckland ratepayers have never been given this option to think about, nor has the professional planning and design establishment been asked for ideas of what could be delivered under that economic scenario.

Meanwhile Auckland City Council staff are engaged in dealing with the Plan Change sought for the land on behalf of the region by Sea and City. The bulk of the submissions from the public oppose proposed building heights. The Auckland Classic Yacht Association has called for a maritime heritage trail and for the creation of a heritage harbour. However the hearing, which is likely to start in May this year, will mainly consider environmental effects of proposed development rather than the public wisdom of ARC’s commercial decisions about the land and waterfront edge.

Sea and City is under pressure to get at least some of the development up and running and delivering revenue in time to accommodate Rugby World Cup festivities there in 2011. To meet these deadlines, ARC has been advised that it will be required to consider and approve detailed plans for Precinct One of the development in the next month or two. This Jellicoe Precinct includes Te Whero Bridge and all of the land between North Wharf and Madden Street.

It is disturbing that this detailed precinct planning will precede finalisation of the Plan Change. This is not the appropriate way for a public body to go about a major development. A good and appropriate range of skills now sit at Sea and City’s board, and I am sure they will do their best with the hand that has been dealt to them. However I am certain that a better peoples’ waterfront – and one which would accommodate Auckland’s maritime heritage industry and feature its Maori maritime culture – would be delivered if they did not have the pressure of meeting short-term Rugby World Cup objectives and the ARC requirement to make so much profit from private development on a precious public asset.

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WILLIAM C. DALDY (built 1935) the preserved vintage steam tug heads her rivals PACIFIC WAY (1960) and Ports of Auckland’s operational tug DALDY (1977) around the top mark during the running of the 169th Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta tug race, now in its 3rd year.

Steam Tug W C Daldy wins 2009 Tug Race

Without a doubt it was the largest gathering of tugs and towboats ever seen in New Zealand. What an event it was! Old and new, they were all there!

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Click the thumbnails above for a larger image!

How did this all start? John Street, the owner of the classic 1920s former Auckland Harbour Board towing launch Te Hauraki, mentioned to me in passing that he was thinking of having a duel with the 1935 ex-AHB steam tug William C Daldy at the next Auckland Anniversary Regatta.

My response was, why not include all the other retired andoperating tugs around the harbour? Immediately I had this image of a line-up of tugs and towboats from the early ages through to the very latest tug technology. In my mind I could see the likes of the SS Puke and Romo at one end, and the Ports of Auckland’s Wakakume at the other.

I know most people just love tugboats and that most have no access to the water. So why not follow a tugboat race with a parade of tugboats through the ages in the Viaduct Basin.

After a telephone conversation with Joyce Talbot, the heart and soul of the regatta, the event was born. She and her team loved the idea.

I made another call to Tony Blake, the chairman of the Classic Yacht Association of New Zealand, as I intended the CYANZ to be the host and owner of the event. He also loved the idea!

Now the really hard work started, with hundreds of telephone calls just to make sure the idea would not be a flop. The response was simply overwhelming. Once word got out about the proposal my phone ran hot.

Mike Thompson called and asked if he could enter his whole fleet! Five minutes later Brent Shipman called, and then Gregg Kroff confirmed his interest.

As well as having a passion for older craft through my involvement with the CYANZ, I also wanted to develop an event for professional skippers and owners. My next call was to Keith Ingram of Professional Skipper magazine. Admittedly he was a bit quiet at first, then the idea grabbed him like a shark feeding.

Keith later became the race director for the event, as well as addressing the safety issues, a job I was dreading.

The day of the regatta, January 29, rolled up and the weather looked as if it was going to be kind to us, and one by one the boats assembled at the entrance to the Viaduct Harbour. At around 0900

I climbed up from one of the inner marina fingers to the outer wharf/breakwater. The fleet looked huge.

I had this lump in my throat when I saw pioneers like the Bondi Belle, Ferro and Glyn Bird, to name a few, mixing and mingling with the new girls like the Christine Mary and Whakakume. The

scene was topped off by the Puke steaming past with paying passengers and giving me and the film crew of Bill and Linda Hohepa a resounding toot!

Finding a suitable platform to perform any filming activities was initially an issue. I called Russell Ward to see if we could film from the bridge of the Glyn Bird. He kindly agreed. When I thought about the wash all these boats would make when underway I soon realised we needed to be on a much bigger vessel.

A further call to Mike Thompson of Thompson Towing and we had the right location on their flagship, the Christine Mary. We could not have found a better boat from which to film the events.

As well as being able to do this, the skipper, Lance Brown, and the families aboard made us very welcome. Later, as we were steaming down the harbour, I noticed two greatly respected men in the world of tugboats, Jimmy Thompson and Pat Ganley, were also on board.

Linda shot some great footage as we made our way down to the start line off North Head, and we felt like Kings of the Castle on the Christine Mary’s upper bridge. As the boats gathered and positioned themselves I could see the Koraki hastily making her way down to the start line.

Her skipper, Peter Benson, had phoned me during the morning to say their barge had problems and they would not be sailing toWhangarei that day. He did not want to miss the event: yet another tugboat man from the heart. So they were in!

I was rapt to see a big yellow and black tug as part of the event. I looked down and could see Pat Ganley with a big smile spreading across his face as the Koraki approached the start line.

The gun went off! There was a din. Asound like a huge washing machine filled the air, then a whistle as the turbochargers cut in. Clouds of black smoke appeared. I looked over towards the William C Daldy and I visualised those huge connecting rods grunting into her giant crankshafts. She looked an absolute picture surrounded by black smoke.

It was all on for her.

We started to move off, and the Christine Mary’s two big Cummins whistled away, with all the little boats surfing on the wash. I could see Dave Skyme surfing on the large tug’s wake, and he looked like the ancient mariner as he held on to the Phyllis’s upper helm – another seaman completely in his element.

The boats spread out and went around the first mark with the William C Daldy right behind us. Tucked in on her bow wave was Te Hauraki, with speed merchant John Street’s hands on her big Bakelite truck wheel.

I am certain every skipper and crew in the race has a new story to tell. This is just what this event was about, people having fun with these beasts of burden, old and new.

Text courtesy of  NZ Skipper magazine.

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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.

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It once pumped two million gallons from Western Springs every day, but for the past 80 years Motat”s beam engine has lain unused and rusting.

On Saturday 19th April, the engine was started again and the public were treated to an authentic piece of history in motion.

Former Prime Minister and Local MP Helen Clark opening the restored working pumphouse

Volunteers including engine enthusiasts from all over Auckland have dedicated hundreds of hours to bringing the engine back to life.

Steam section manager Ken Pointon has led the project.

An engine fitter and turner by trade, Mr Pointon says getting the engine working again has been very rewarding.

“No one ever really thought it would go again, but we decided bugger it. It”s a national treasure of New Zealand, we”re lucky it”s still here.”

Built in Scotland in 1877, the engine was shipped to New Zealand in pieces and assembled at Western Springs, where it has stayed ever since.

Chief engineer Mike Austin says the pumphouse is now Motat”s oldest building.

“This building is the reason Motat is here.”

During it”s 51 years of use, it was the city”s main water supply, pumping water to reservoirs in Ponsonby, Mt Eden and Khyber pass.

It was decommissioned in 1928 after the dam at Waitakere took over as the main water supply.

It has become the biggest operational beam engine in the southern hemisphere.

Mr Pointon says it has been a huge task to restore it completely as parts of the machine had seized solid, requiring hours of piping and plumbing work.

Other work has included rebuilding valve spindles and installing a new cooling tower.

As for actually pumping water again, Mr Austin is optimistic.

Mike Austin with the Scotch Boiler that supplies steam for the pumphouse and the various other engines he maintains!

He says the next phase of work after the open day will hopefully see a pump hooked on to the engine but for now it is “one miracle at a time.”

In the most recent test run in December last year, the engine was able to sound Motat”s steam horn for the first time in 80 years.

Motat”s marketing and events co-ordinator Bridgette Johansen says it was exciting to hear the horn blow.

“People came running out of their offices all around Motat to see what was happening.”

Miss Johansen says they hope to spread some of their enthusiasm to the public on the open day.

“It”s getting people excited about history while tying in a quintessential piece of history, especially kids.”

Mr Pointon says there is a huge educational story behind the engine and the way water pumps work.

“Kids today just turn on a tap and see water come out.

“They don”t know how it got there.”

Miss Johansen says Motat”s April school holiday programme will also centre around water and steam.

The open day was a steam celebration day featuring a Victorian theme.

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21 February 2008, 2200HRS
By Trevor Coppock

© seapixonline

There were no fireworks, no tugs jetting their water plumes skywards. There was little sign that an era in New Zealand’s maritime history was drawing to a close. At a little after 2200 hours tonight, Cunard’s iconic QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 slipped her moorings in Auckland, New Zealand and bade farewell for the last time. An era had come to an end. Three blasts of the ship’s siren was greeted with rapturous cheers from the crowds of ordinary Aucklanders who turned out to say goodbye to the Grand Old Lady of the Oceans. But sadly, apart from an assembled flotilla of maybe half a dozen small ferries, the preserved vintage steam tug William C. Daldy and just a handful of private pleasure craft, her departure was a big non-event. If it had not been for the hoards of “Joe Public” who had braved the steadily building North-East winds and the operators of the commercial vessels on the harbour (well done Fullers Ferries and WC Daldy Preservation Trust!!), the Auckland City Council and Ports of Auckland did nothing to mark the city’s ending of it’s association (an association which began way back on 14 February 1978) with the ship which has become, arguably, the most famous on the planet. A moment in New Zealand maritime history which could have been built into a spectacular celebration was completely ignored. She was just another cruise ship moving out to make way for the next due tomorrow. It is little wonder why the growth in numbers and sheer size of the modern cruiseships is extolled in such passionate terms by port company, business leaders and council. It seems to boil down to one thing……. a desperation for tourist dollars. But surely the need to draw in these much needed and welcomed funds should be balanced with a perception of occasion and history. After all, we Kiwis do pride ourselves and boast to the world that we are such a sea-loving nation. No doubt the thousands who lined the city’s waterfront and East Coast Bays think likewise. QE2…………from the people of Auckland, “Thanks for the memories”.

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5:00AM Saturday December 22, 2007 By Wayne Thompson

Cars can no longer park on Devonport Wharf. Vehicles have been banned from one of the most popular spots for fishing and sight-seeing on the shores of the Waitemata Harbour, the Devonport Wharf. North Shore City Council yesterday closed the 80-year-old wharf to vehicles, pending an engineering investigation of the concrete structure and repairs. “We are keeping vehicles off as a public safety precaution on engineering advice,” said the council’s group manager for transport infrastructure, Phil Consedine. He said there was concern about the state of repair of the wharf’s deck and its ability to take the weight of up to 40 vehicles at once, including trucks serving the vintage steam tug William C Daldy, which is berthed there. “People can still fish there, there’s no danger. It’s just they can’t drive on.” He said general structural repairs had to be done but the extent of the work and its cost would not be known until after a review in the New Year. The wharf, which is known as Victoria Wharf, is separate to the ferry wharves and was built by the former Auckland Harbour Board in steel-reinforced concrete. The council acquired the wharf in 2002 with the ferry wharves, and says the structure has deteriorated rapidly in recent years. Investigations next month will determine whether it can be repaired or should be demolished. The trust, which runs the tug, will continue to use the berth and is making alternative arrangements for loading supplies and coal. Devonport resident and city councillor Chris Darby said he was alarmed by such a drastic requirement and concerned that councillers were not alerted to the wharf’s poor condition earlier. “It’s a busy recreational wharf … and we are heading into the peak recreation season,” he said. “The wharf is also used for parking for wharf shops and overflow parking for ferry commuters.” The council said there was enough parking in the immediate vicinity for the displaced vehicles, and no further consideration or action was intended. copyright NZ Herald Author’s comment: This could be a blessing in disguise providing the Ports Of Auckland can supply a more suitable berth for the tug. Devonport is hardly ideal with a 5 – 6 knot rip, it’s harsh exposure to ferry wakes and inaccessability for coaling, volunteers who live south of the bridge and passengers! Have your say and contact us about this issue below!

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Steam Tug Lyttelton 100 Years Old

September 2007

What a milestone. Congratulations from Daldy.com and all our affiliates.
A special thanks to all who support this fine vessel.

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The 167th annual regatta on 28 January 2008, saw for the first time a fleet of 26 operational, retired, vintage and veteran tugs and towboats racing for line honours over a 5 nautical mile course on the outer Waitemata Harbour. There were also trophies for best presented operational tug and best presented retired tug. The race is set to become an annual event. Date: 29 January 2007 Photographer: © Trevor Coppock

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