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Minerva (1910 ship)

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Minerva
Minerva about 1911
History
OwnerClevedon Steam Navigation Company Limited
BuilderCharles Bailey junior
Launched10 December 1910
General characteristics
Tonnage21 tons
Length65 ft (20 m)
Beam15 ft (4.6 m)
Draught3 ft 10 in (1.17 m)
Installed powerTwin 14 hp (10 kW) steam engines by Fraser & Sons
Speed9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Capacity176 in river, 117 in extended limits

Minerva was a 21-ton,[1] kauri-built,[2] steam passenger ferry, launched for Clevedon Steam Navigation Company Limited at the Freemans Bay yard of Charles Bailey on 10 December 1910, to link Auckland with Whitford and Howick.[3] A social for the new ship was held at Whitford on 16 January 1911.[4]

When road competition made the service uneconomic,[5] she was put up for sale in 1921.[2] In 1922 she was damaged when a crane fell on her.[6] Later that year she was sold to Charles West,[7] who owned a sawmill at Helensville and used her to tow logs across Kaipara Harbour.[8] She had a stormy passage to Kaipara and initially had to put in to Manukau Harbour.[9] She was again put up for sale in 1944.[10]

She then became a fishing boat, a houseboat[11] (she was on the Hātea River in 1984)[12] and an America's Cup viewing boat, until, in 2010,[11] she was given to the Kerikeri Steam Trust for restoration.[13] In 2019 she was moved by road from Kerikeri to Opua.[14] 1940s Sisson marine compound steam engines were found to power her twin screws,[15] as her twin Fraser & Sons 14 hp (10 kW) engines[16] were removed when she was converted to diesel after her 1944 sale.[15] W Sisson & Co was a Gloucester engineering firm from 1889 to 1958, when it became part of Belliss and Morcom.[17] A 70 hp (52 kW) Sisson engine, from the minesweeper Oceanid, arrived in 2020 from Seattle. Another Sisson engine (8-inch high-pressure, 16-inch low-pressure cylinder, 8-inch stroke) arrived in 2022 from Lake Constance.

Minerva is currently being restored for use in the Bay of Islands. In April 2024 a 6-tonne boiler, made by Lyttleton Engineering, was delivered to Opua. It is planned that she will provide tourist trips between Russell and Opua, connecting with the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Return of Steamers and Oil-engine Vessels to which Certificates of Survey were issued". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1911. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  2. ^ a b "New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 6 August 1921. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  3. ^ "Auckland Star". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 10 December 1910. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  4. ^ "Country news. New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 23 January 1911. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  5. ^ "Clevedon steamer service. Auckland Star". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 17 June 1922. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  6. ^ "Wharf crane capsizes: accident at the Hobson Wharf, Auckland". kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz. 13 April 1922. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  7. ^ "Ceasing operations. New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1 September 1927. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  8. ^ "N Wairoa bridge. New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 15 April 1924. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  9. ^ "Minerva's rough trip. New Zealand Herald". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 10 November 1922. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  10. ^ "Auckland Star". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 8 September 1944. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  11. ^ a b "SS Minerva set to sail again. Stuff". www.stuff.co.nz. 7 April 2010. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  12. ^ "Kerikeri Steam Trust". www.facebook.com. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  13. ^ "The country's oldest ferry set to be restored in Northland". 1News. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  14. ^ "Steam ferry hits the road to new home". NZ Herald. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  15. ^ a b "Steam engine find brings ferry restoration a step closer". NZ Herald. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  16. ^ "Minerva Article". waitematawoodys.com. 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  17. ^ "W. Sisson and Co". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  18. ^ "New boiler for 114-year-old Bay of Islands ferry Minerva brings unique steam experience closer". NZ Herald. 2024-05-27. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
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