Edwin Fox move backed

Press, 11 September 1985, Page 3

Edwin Fox move backed

Blenheim reporter The Edwin Fox Restoration Society has won the first round in its fight to relocate the vessel in Picton Harbour. The Marlborough Sounds Maritime Planning Committee has recommended that the society’s application to resite the Edwin Fox on the southern side of the Picton foreshore launching ramp basin be declined but granted for relocation on the north side. The approval is subject to compliance with a berthing plan proposed by the society and a report on progress with restoration being submitted each year. The society sought planning consent to site the Edwin Fox on the southern side of the Picton foreshore launching ramp basin to enable the society to start restoration work, which is impractical in the isolated corner of Shakespeare Bay where the vessel is at present. The society believes that

the chosen site in Picton Harbour will reduce physical obstacles to restoration and help attract the public interest and support vital to the success of the project, which will largely depend on the flow of funding and materials. Mr H. J. Stace, president of the society, submitted that the four objections to the siting should be overruled for a number of reasons. The society was coming under increasing pressure to allow the vessel to be transported overseas, and both Wellington and Dunedin had also shown interest in it. The Edwin Fox was the only remaining link that many New Zealand descendants had with their forebears who travelled to New Zealand in the ship, Mr Stace said. Proof of the value of the link was shown by letters and donations already received. He said the estimated cost of shifting the vessel from Shakespeare Bay to the proposed site and preparing it for restoration was $15,000. The total cost of restoration has been estimated at $2 million for labour and materials.