Bay Harbour: January 26, 2022

Wednesday January 26 2022 Bay Harbour News
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Treasures from the past:
The Rangatira stowaway
NEWS 11
THis week, Treasures of the Past
features seven-year-old Ralph
Elen of Wellington, being gently
escorted by a local policeman
across London St in Lyttelton,
presumably in the direction of
the police station on Sumner Rd.
He holds the distinction of
being the first stowaway on the
Rangatira.
His story was widely covered
across New Zealand - he had apparently
gone on board in Wellington
with his grandparents
“and decided to stay and have a
ride. He was not noticed until the
vessel was at sea. Ralph is happy
and well pleased with himself. ”
The TEV (turbo-electric vessel)
Rangatira was an inter-island
express steamer commissioned
in 1930 and in service until 1965,
being finally scrapped in 1967.
She was the fifth Union
Steam Ship company vessel to
carry that name and was much
admired for her sleek, elegant
lines and attractive timber
and brass lined interior, well
fitted out for the comfort of
passengers.
With a maximum service
speed of 23·9 knots and an
average of 17.5 knots, she held
the record for fastest interisland
journey covering the 280km
between Wellington and
Lyttelton.
The ship had a colourful
career, including but not
confined to ploughing into the
crane ship Rapaki in Lyttelton in
1933, pushing that vessel beneath
the wharf.
In 1936 she survived a severe
storm and grounding at Wellington
Heads akin to that which
resulted in the Wahine tragedy;
thankfully the slow speed she
was travelling meant that the
ship was able to be reversed
off the rocks with no injury to
passengers.
In 1940, foggy conditions
resulted in her grounding at
Pigeon Bay and the necessity to
rescue 750 passengers, until she
was freed with the assistance of a
tug and a steamer.
The war years saw her in
service carrying troops to Fiji.
Christmas Day 1959 saw another
grounding – this time in Tory
Channel and again requiring
the disembarkation of passengers.
Notwithstanding these events,
the Rangatira completed 3500
crossings of the Cook Strait,
connecting many thousands of
LONG SERVICE: The sleek,
elegant Rangatira had a
colouful career, including
having a seven year-old
stowaway in 1931.
travellers with their destinations.
With a capacity for 956
passengers and 112 crew per
voyage, that equates to nearly
four million individual journeys.
Kōrero mai | Have your say
Akaroa Wharf
replacement
We’re replacing the iconic Akaroa Wharf
because it’s reaching the end of its viable
life and costing too much to maintain.
We want to rebuild a new wharf in the
existing wharf’s location.
To find out more and give your feedback
on what we are proposing, before Monday
31 January 2022, visit:
ccc.govt.nz/haveyoursay