Former ferry Aramoana difficult to dispose of

Press, 1 November 1984, Page 18

Former ferry Aramoana difficult to dispose of

By

JOHN LESLIE

The Cook Strait rail ferry Aramoana, launched at Denny’s Dumbarton shipyard on November 24, 1961, by Mrs Thomas MacDonald, wife of the then New Zea-' land High Commissioner to Britain, is proving difficult to dispose of. Rumours that she had been sold to the Greeks, since withdrawing from service, have not proved sound, and in any case the Greeks now have many ships laid up themselves. For sentimental reasons, the people of Picton have expressed a desire to establish the Aramoana in the Marlborough Sounds, whether as a casino, hostel, memento or such is not clear. The sturdy, durable Aramoana (4160 tons gross), built in the Denny tradition, initially encountered “teething” troubles. Rail ferry services overseas were successful already but the project’s value to New Zealand was not yet assessed. When the second Labour Government placed the order with Dennys, after world-wide tendering, there was violent, sometime acrimonious, reaction from the

then National opposition. Charges of recklessness, extravagance, and more were hurled at the Government of the day. I recall during a Parliamentary broadcast Labour’s then Minister of Railways, Mr Michael Moohan, his ire raised at such criticism, thundering in Parliament at the Opposition, “The cheque for the Aramoana has been signed and the deal with Dennys must go through.” The deal did go through, in spite of its opponents, with such success that in time the revolutionary ferry service devastated conventional coastal shipping, as had happened overseas. The National Party soon became the Government, jumped on the bandwaggon, and expanded the service tremendously with new ships. Whatever should happen to the veteran Aramoana, she is the last surviving Denny-built vessel “afloat” in New Zealand.

Dennys built more than 30 fine ships for the Union Steam Ship Company, taking shares also, but after building the Aramoana for the New Zealand Government this century-old shipbuilding firm went into voluntary liquidation. The Union Company’s second Tofua was the last company vessel built by Dennys, which also built the first Tofua. But the Aramoana was Denny’s swansong.

To the best of my knowledge the only other Dennybuilt vessels in New Zealand waters are those on the bottom of the sea or form-

ing breakwaters, quite apart from those lost outside our waters or sold overseas for scrap. Here are some of them: The Wairarapa’s skeleton lies against Great Barrier Island. The Mararoa and first Arahura rest at the bottom of Cook Strait. The first Monowai forms a breakwater at Whareongaonga, near Mahia Peninsula. The Waikare’s hull lies in Dusky Sound and the Manuka is on the seabed off Otago’s Long Point. The Mokoia and Moana form

part of the breakwater near the entrance to Otago Harbour and the Tarawera is part of a breakwater at Stewart Island. This list is not conclusive.

But sentiment is not enough. It is hoped the Aramoana will be sold for further use but if not, perhaps Picton may become her ultimate home for purposes yet to be decided — the last New Zealand survivor of a great shipbuilding era.