NEW ZEALAND'S FIRST STEAMBOAT.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 154, 29 June 1907, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND'S FIRST STEAMBOAT.

(BY PANGO.)

The stranger entering "Waitemata Har- , hour naturally gives little thought to the infant age of this. commerce which now is so visibly pate.nt on every hind, and concludes that things are just as they have ever been. Even the native boru—the modern native born, 1 mean— bears with incredulous ears how the harbour has been reclaimed, and in respense to the citation that the foot of Shortlandstreet.—then called Horotin—was the chief harbour landing stage. ac"cepts the announcement with belief, but without to bridge by thought the years of amazing changes which have led up to the present time. Viewing the magnificent ocean runners which to-day are berthed at the various wharves, it seems almost incredible that only half a century ago the first Auckland, and, thereby, New Zealand, steamboat was built. And built under conditions which the modern marine engineer would scarcely tackle except under sorest pressure. In 1851 the handful of pioneers which composed the population of Auckland, although unable to imagine the immensity of New Zealand's queen city in 1907, still were imbued with the belief that the newly-settled colony was destined to progress, and. after the manner of the Anglo-Saxon, wherever he be, determined that in the course of ages Maoriland was. bound to attain importance, and po to that end sought to enlarge her then restricted commerce. To us oi 1907 it isas difficult to look back to that period as it was for the ISSI residents to peer through futurity and behold the Waitemata of to-day, and the magnificent | city and suburbs which grace her shores. The trade in those days was, of course, done principally with the Maoris, who were the chief suppliers of all fresh foodstuffs. The market at times, owing to 'rough and stormy weather detaining the caterers from the several kaiangas, would become somewhat bare, and, with the idea of opening, up constant communication with the Tamaki and the various ' Hauraki lands, Messrs. C. J. Stone, F. Gardiner, and Alfred Cook determined to acquire a paddle steamer. JL'o Mr. ' Robert Stone was entrusted the construction of the hull, and amongst the hands . employed in the. work were Tom Dent, Wjlliam Fielder, Charlie McCready, George Oliver, and Dan Taylor.

The task of making the machinery was allotted to Mr. Bourne, who had initiated a primitive foundry in Queenstreet, and the work of fashioning the various metal portions was carried out under disabilities sufficient to deter the stoutest-hearted artificer. For one thing, the only motive power was that of bone and muscle, and a number of discharged soldiers were engaged to act as furnace blasters by continually pressing on the old-fashioned blowers. The whole of the engine work was done with a hand tool lathe by Mr. David Henderson, sen.. The engine was an upright one, called a " steeple top," and the crank worked in a " Jew's harp." The main difficulty however, was to fashion and build the boiler, for in those primitive days, boilermakers had not arrived in the infant colony. Fortunately at this time the barque Frances arrived from California, and one of her passengers, Mr. Brown, announced his ability to execute the desired work. The boiler was of the Lancashire class, with two tubes running the whole length, and as the foundry had no shears, punching machine, or rollers, the magnitude of the task mky be imagined. A clay bed was hollowed out in the yard, and the metal plates, after being heated, were hammered out to the clay mould. The rivet holes were punched with hand power, and a despite the crude appliances, the work -was creditably performed.

The vessel was launched on Christmas Eve, in Freeman's Bay, now Victoria Park, and was consigned to the water broadside on, the depth of water being too shallow to allow of her entering "the I briny in the orthodox stem-on fashion. She was later on taken to the Wynyard Pier, and christened the Governor Wynyard, by Mr. Archibald Clark, Chairman of the Municipal Council. At the conclusion of the christening ceremony a trial trip was made to the Tamaki. A few minor mistakes were naturally made with the engines. In the first place too much water was allowed to run into the boiler, which caused priming. The blow-off was opened, and then too much water -was let out, and the progress of the latest addition to the world's steaming fleet was delayed till more water was supplied by means of a bucket through the safety valve.

Opinions as tc the vessel's success as a*' goer" were divided. There were those who looked upon the scheme as that of a few hair-brained crank mechanics, who were endeavouring to magnify their abilities, and the majority who had never seen a steamboat of any description, absolutely refused to believe that the new vessel could be propelled by means other than those of sails and paddles. Impressed with the non-belief of the more ignorant, the Maoris ridiculed the whole work, and vauntingly challenged the new waka to engage in a contest with them only swimming. And so, amidst great excitement, the Governor Wynyard essayed her trial spin. Captain Alfred Cook commanded the great and wonderful craft, and Mr. Brown attended to the engine room. A speed of eight miles an hour mas attained, and that for a vessel of 52 feet on the keel, and 13 feet beam,, must be considered good. A certain amount of terror was occasioned by the exhaust pipe, which delivered itself with the report of a young cannon, but -which in a short time was taken no more notice of than the whir-r of our tram cars of to-day.

And so trade in and around the Waitemata was opened up. The few settlers rejoiced to see the latest maritime wonder speeding to their landing stages, and the Maoris marvelled at the ingenuity of the pakeha, and greatly desired similar possessions to supersede their graceful, but, at the best, unwieldy wakas. But at this time the Victorian goldfields attracted . the world's attention, and furnished a location in which the Governor Wynyard could win for her owners considerably more cash than the Waitemata service offered, and it was decided to send her to Melbourne. She was dismantled and rigged as a fore-and-aft schooner, the paddle boxes and funnel being unshipped. A serious difficulty here presented itself, in that no eertifictTted man as master was available. At this juncture one of the Green line of ships arrived from England, and Mr. Chantrey Harris (subsequently a journalist of note in the colony), who had served his officership at sea, volunteered to convey tho Governor Wynyard to Victorian waters. The passage was made in about three weeks, and the little craft was again fitted up as a steamer, and pli?d on the Yarra for many years, earning as much as £60 per day.

And so New Zealand lost the first steamer built within her confines, and although in these days -we may smilingly reflect upon the simpleness of our half-century ago forbears in being amazed at such a steam canoe, they had more reason to be so than we who, at a later date, threw down our tools and rushed pell-mell to gaze open-mouthed upon the monstrously-shaped Nevada, Nebraska, and Dakota, when they made their entrance into Auckland Harbour as the ideal mail and passenger carrying steamers.

The many who gazed upon the lines ot the Governor Wynyard have passed away, and only a very, few remain j but those

who can look back to the infant days of the colony must feel, a sense of pride in having been connected with such a body of progressive men, whose efforts have resulted in the magnificent city and harbour- wMch ito-day cpmmands__the ad-miraJ-itm, of thfe-wtirM's-ship-building industry may, not have reached the plane it was expected to, but this alone is due to naturally changed conditions, and tho insistence of the public in demanding the most luxurious passenger ships that the world can furnish. Still. Auckland has turned out many beautiful models of vessels, which have won renown throughout Australasian waters, and the New Zealander who believes that the superiority of Great Britain over America in yacht-sailing will only be demonstrated when the British representative hails from the waters of Waitemata, is not giving vent to 'so wild an opinion as many might believe.