| Brief Description |
This watercolour painting is of the steamship "Huia". It was a two-masted steamship, with a red and black funnel, under steam at sea. There is a sailing ship in the background at the stern of the ship and a line of hills in the background at the bow of the ship. The artist's signature and date are inscribed on the lower right corner of the painting and the title inscribed on lower centre of the backing board. An inscription on the reverse notes that the "Huia" traded between Wanganui and Wellington but by 1954 was rotting in a bay in Auckland.
Official No: 78367
Weight: 132.97/107.27 tons
Rig: Fore and aft schooner
Dimensions: 113.2 x 16 x 8.7ft
Propelling power: 2 engines, 25 combined hp
Built: Auckland, 1878, by Richard Henry Yeoman
Registered No: 29/1878, (17/12/1878), Port of Auckland (Initial Registry)
2/1879, (8/02/1879), Port of Wellington
Fate: Ship broken up and Register closed 02/02/1927
Ownerships:
Charles Seagar, Wellington, Engineer: 1878-1901
William Bishop, Wellington, Settler: 1879-82
Charles John Johnston, Wellington, Merchant: 1879-82
Philip Moeller, Wellington, Merchant, Publican: 1879-1884
Jacob Joseph, Wellington, Merchant: 1884-1901
William Herbert Brewer, Wellington, Estate Agent: 1917-1924
Alexander Dunn, Wellington, Solicitor, Mortgagee: 1924
Charles Vavau Clare, Auckland, Boilermaker: 1924-27
Harold Mason Warner, Auckland, Engineer: 1924-27
“The Wellington Steam Packet Company sent their 107 ton steamer Huia in 1900 [to Patea] … She was considered an ‘unhandy’ vessel to steer and when the ground swell caused her to touch the bar slightly she refused to answer her helm and went ashore on the eastern beach. She was holed in the bow and a rope entangled in her propeller thwarted an attempt to refloat her. It took six weeks to haul her along the beach, repair her and relaunch her over the breakwater into the river.”
Little Ships of Patea, Ian Church, 1977
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