MODEL SHIP

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 May 1941, Page 3

MODEL SHIP

INTERESTING ASSOCIATIONS I I The materials used in the construction of the model steamer, Tangaroa I (pronounced in Maori, Ta-nga-roa (and translated God of the Sea) which (has been donated by Miss Jocelyn Bird, of Greymouth, to be raffled in aid of the funds of the Navy Queen, l have many interesting associations. i For the hull, the builder, Mr. Frank Bird, utilised a solid block of West I Coast pine, but for the life-boats (pieces of the decking of two former Central Otago dredges, the Hartley land Riley and the Lady Ranfurly, were used. The deck houses were made of wood from a manila cigar box and an English confection box respectively.. One of the masts is a piece of dowelling manufactured in England and the other is of dowelling made in Greymouth. Japan contributed the wood for the after-house. The propeller and shafting were made by a former Stewart Island boatbuilder, but other fittings, equally effective, were improvised from articles found in every workshop. The funnel is a piece of galvanised down-pipe and the steam pipe and whistle is made from the inner tube of a bicycle pump. The anchors were made from the lead wrapping of China tea. Although there are over 100 pieces of wood in the vessel, several of the deck houses and the main deck can be removed and replaced within a few minutes. The vessel, in contrast to many similar, models, floats, on an even keel and approximately lOlbs of iron is required to put it dowii to the Plimsol mark. Its construction occupied Mr. Bird’s evenings for about six months. The Tangaroa is being displayed in the window of White’s Fashion Corner, and has attracted considerable attention.