The Star: May 09, 2019

The Star Thursday May 9 2019
Historic yacht for scrap heap
Kia Ora
far too
damaged
to save
• By Louis Day
A BADLY damaged historic
racing yacht stranded in
Lyttelton will not be restored.
The 121-year-old Kia Ora,
which has been sitting on
Lyttelton Port Company land for
more than 20 years on the corner
of Norwich Quay and Donald St,
will be destroyed.
LPC planned to dispose of the
vessel unless the owner came
forward and agreed to pay for its
removal.
Family members of Robert
Bryson, the last owner of
the boat, have decided not to
remove it because of its poor
condition.
They have salvaged pieces of it
as mementoes instead.
Ian Knewstubb, former
chairman of the now-defunct
Norwich Quay Historic Precinct
Society, said the vessel was of
high significance.
“A boat built not long after the
Kia Ora called The Rainbow in
Auckland has just been restored
and they spent $800,000 on
it. That is how these boats are
looked upon in other parts of the
country. Down here it is different,
I don’t think anyone gives a
hoot about maritime heritage in
Canterbury,” he said.
In 1898, Lyttelton joiner
John Collins built Kia Ora at
his business on the corner of
Canterbury and London Sts.
It was sunk in the 1960s and
was moved by Mr Bryson to a
DECAY: The Kia Ora vessel will not be restored to
its prime condition like in 1900, after sitting on
Lyttelton Port Company land for more than 20
years.
vacant section in Locksley Ave,
Dallington.
It was then gifted to the
Norwich Quay Historic Precinct
Society and relocated to its
current location where it has
deteriorated to a condition
beyond repair.
Mr Bryson’s granddaughter
Emma Graham said the Kia Ora
was well past the point of
saving.
“It was borderline 20 years
ago, so the ship has sailed so to
speak,” she said.
news online at www.star.kiwi
“I would love to have that
boat fixed and going again,
but it is just beyond repair. My
grandfather should have fixed
it all those years ago, but he had
so many other projects and also
heart problems to deal with.”
LPC port services and security
manager Tony Simpson saw the
boat as a potential risk to the
public.
“Our first step was to place
fencing around the Kia Ora, but
we believe this is an inadequate
long-term option to mitigate the
risk, as the stability of the way
it is propped up and the
condition of the hull itself led us
to believe that it could
collapse,” he said.
The vessel was designed by
Professor RJ Scott, head of
Canterbury College’s engineering
school and cousin of Antarctic
explorer Captain Robert Falcon
Scott.
The Kia Ora would go on to
win the annual regatta in 1900
against staunch opposition, such
as The Rainbow.
NEWS 19
Lyttelton
cruise ship
berth
doubts
• By Louis Day
LYTTELTON business owners
are not convinced over the
economic benefits the new cruise
berth will bring.
It was announced last week the
Lyttelton Port Company’s new
cruise berth is scheduled to open
in November next year.
While smaller vessels
have continued to visit,
large cruise vessels have been
unable to berth at Lyttelton Port
since the February 22, 2011,
earthquake. With the new cruise
berth in place, LPC will be
able to welcome cruise vessels
which cater for more than 5000
passengers and 2000 staff.
However, business owners are
concerned tourists will bypass the
port town and go directly into the
central city.
“I don’t know if it will have
any impact because the ones that
currently come, they just ship
everyone to town anyway. On
days when cruise ships come we
notice no difference in business,”
said Shroom Room owner Koryn
Hope. Eruption Brewing coowner
Steve Leftly said cruise
ships currently brought little to
his business.
“We have only been exposed to
the smaller ones [cruise ships] and
they only tend to have a handful
of people that actually come into
Lyttelton,” he said.
ChristchurchNZ destination
development manager Anton
Wilke said it was working on a
bus schedule that would benefit
the local economy.
“There is ongoing liaison
between ChristchurchNZ and
LPC with regard to how the
transfers could look.”
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