“HANDYMAN” MAYOR

Press, Volume C, Issue 29479, 4 April 1961, Page 14

“HANDYMAN” MAYOR

Mr Robinson To Build Boat "The Press" Special Service AUCKLAND. April 3. In his spare time (“there is not much of it”) the Mayor of Auckland, Mr D. M. Robinson, has turned from house painting to boat building. Some of the busiest men in the city, he says, sit behind desks, but they need exercise. “Young men like myself,” he said, with a trace of a smile, “need an interesting hobby and some exercise to keep them in trim.” Since he moved into his new house about nine months ago. the Mayor has completely repainted the interior. The job is just finished. The kitset for his 16-foot cabin cruiser has arrived and he has started work. “The secret of boat building.” he said, with a tradesmanlike grip on hammer and chisel, “is to have everything true and level.”

In spite of obvious enthusiasm for the job, Mr Robinson said he would not have had the confidence to tackle the task without the advice of an old friend, Mr C. Augustin, himself a boatbuilder. With any luck (and providing the builder stays on the job) the Mayor hopes to have his launch on the water by next summer.

The “handyman” Mayor is a firm believer in “do-it-yourself" principles. After the cabin cruiser (“she’U do about 22 knots”), he will build a trailer to tow it to the water and a dinghy to reach its moorings.