“NORTH WIND”

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18765, 23 July 1935, Page 9

“NORTH WIND”

SCOW NGAHAU IN PORT SHIP’S COLORFUL CAREER FORMER GISBORNE' CRAFT Tho presence in the harbor basin during the past few days of the auxiliary scow Ngahau, which was formerly owned by tho Gisborne,-Harbor Board, has given rise to some discussion amongst shipping men who know something of her history. Many residents of tho port will remember the vessel when she carried the stone necessary, for the construction of the breakwater and the, entrance of the harbor. She is at present loading heavy machinery which has been consigned by Mr F. Goodman to Napier for uso in wharf construction " there. Although only 14 years old, the Ngahau, or North Wind, to give the meaning of her Maori name, probably has crowded more misfortunes and experiences into that short space ■ than many vessels in the coastal trade. She has been wrecked, holed and capsized . Her exceptionally interesting history has been recorded to some extent by her present young engineer, Mr Errol Donne, who has kept photographs and other details in connection with the vessel’s experiences. BUILT IN 1921. The craft was built In 1921 by Mr D. M. Darroch, of Omaha, Auckland, for her present skipper, although he ( does not own her now. She is schooner rigged and has two semi-Diesel enM nea which she did not have when flinched. Her beam is 25ft„ the bottom is flat, and two centreboards enable the v vessel to work to windward under sail. She once boasted a long well-scraped and varnished bowsprit, but a large proportion of this was broken off in one of her many mishaps and had to be replaced by a short, sturdy one. In her S 3 feet length she has a fairly expansive deck, on which the cargo is carried, and her gross tonnage is 76.27. The first skipper of the Ngahau was Captain Carey, a brother of the present master, and her first jobs were the freighting of logs and timber about the east coast of the North Island. The Turanganul River and Whangarei harbor knew her well in those days, which were profitable ones for scow owners, as building was then at- its height. Bowling along in a gale out of Whangarei with her decks awash, the » scow met with her first serious mishap. The Hen and 1 Chicken Island was almost abeam and then a squall hit her. Up went the wheel, but the Ngahau failed to luff, and she just fell over. Both masts were smashed, and the four members of the crew were pitched into the sea, being extremely fortunate that they remained to tell the tale. After some hours they were rescued from the ship’s hull by boats from the shore. The Ngahau’s career was riot ended for she was repaired and had 'engines installed.

“ALL HANDS ON DECK” The next mishap took place not a great from that of the-, first. -The ship was loading shingle in a little cove known as Rocfcell Bay, about 2b miles from Whangarei, and in accordance with tho usual custom had been run on to tho beach. All went well until the wind sprang up and in a few minutes it was howling through her rigging and the little craft was being battered about by the waves. Tine order was given “All hands on deck*' and for hours the crew struggled' to bring her off a lee shore. With -both engines “full out” and with her 1 sails to help her she was unable to make the open sea, and was gradually driven back on to the beach. The vessel was a sorry sight when shot was finally dragged off the shingit after the storm. 1 However, she was able to make Whangarei under her own power, bat en route ran into tho Kioreroa railway bridge and was badly holed in the bow. The crew took the Ngahau from Whangarei to Auckland for repairs. A storm broke just after she cleared the' headland, but fortunately she had a following wind, and with the seamen working at the pumps she was able to reach Auckland. For a time tho Ngahau traded the rivers on this coast, and on one occasion when she was proceeding up stream in the dusk a pig-sty on the edge of the water wa3 mistaken’ for. the jetty. Later her owner gavo her up and the ship was sold to a Nelson syndicate. The Ngahau was destined to play a . part in breakwater construction. at GiSi- . borne, but after two years the Gisborne Harbor Board sold her in 1928 to the Auckland firm of Winstone and Company, Limited. Many residents of Napier owe a debt of gratitude to the members of the crew which then manned tho Ngahau for their efforts to relieve the town after the earthquake. With her shallow draught the scow proved useful in many ways, also arrived at Napier at the time tof a- more recent tragedy, when a launch 'containing waterside workers went to the bottom. The Ngahau cruised about all night searching for bodies. The Ngahau was engaged carrying salvaged cargo from the steamer Wiltshire, which was wrecked on the Great Barrier on May 31, 1822. 3

IN SOUTHERN WATERS Just .over two years ago the Ngahau came into the limelight in southern waters by navigating bar bound ports and river estuanes which had long since been forsaken by other coastal traders, fjhe was several times stranded on sandspite, but in spite of these mishaps, which did not perturb her crow, she made regular trips for some time between Banks Peninsula and the North Canterbury S'neepfarmers’ freezing works at Kaiapoi. April, 1935, was a milestone in the history of the port of Kaiapoi,- which was open for the first time in nearly nine years, and the Ngahau, commanded by Captain George Carey, arrived at Kaiapoi from Little Akaroa with a shipment of 438 fat lambs for the freezing works. She navigated the Waimakariri bar and river successfully at just over half-tide. The vessel was accorded a public welcome. The following month she aroused even . greater public interest when she was the first trading vessel for 16 years to cross the Sumner bar and berth afc Mount Pleasant wharf. While berthed at Lyttelton on the morning of July 1, 1933, an explosion occurred on the* Ngahau. The whole of The after cylinder-head of the port engine was lifted up and the crankcase shattered. Mr. Donne was about to put the motor in gear when the explosion occurred, and ho narrowly escaped serious injury. The engine-room burst 'into flames, which were finally put out with a file extinguisher.