PS Manuwai

Manuwai on the Whanganui River about 1905
History
New Zealand
NameManuwai
Owner
BuilderYarrow, Poplar
Launched17 September 1894
Out of service1939
Fateconverted to a barge
General characteristics
Length121 ft (37 m)
Beam18 ft (5.5 m)
Draught1 ft (0.30 m)
Decks2
Propulsionsteam 10½" x 2' 6" cylinders at 160 psi (1,100 kPa)
Speed11.5 mph (18.5 km/h)
Capacity400 passengers

Manuwai (translates from Māori as water bird)[1] was a New Zealand stern wheel paddle-steamer, built for use on the Whanganui River and moved to the Waikato in 1920.

Manuwai was ordered in January 1894, at the end of July Kaikoura delivered her, together with her furniture, crockery, upholstery and cutlery, to Wellington, then Cunningham & Woods and William Coates, both of Wellington, assembled her opposite Whanganui gas works and she was launched on 17 September 1894 for Alexandra Hatrick & Co. She had a spoon bow and sloping stern, built of Siemen's steel, with 7 watertight compartments, steam engines with 10½" x 2' 6" cylinders and a 160 psi (1,100 kPa) boiler, added after her launch. The dining saloon had tables for 30. The lower deck was used for stock and up to 200 wool bales.[2]

From about 1905, as the fleet increased, Manuwai was mainly used below the first rapids at Hipango Park.[3] In 1907 her lower deck had an extra intermediate deck added, so that she could carry over 1,000 sheep.[4] After Pipiriki House burnt down in 1909,[5] she was converted to a 50-berth houseboat.[6] She returned to excursion work in 1910[7] and continued trips to the Park until April 1920.[8]

Caesar Roose[9] bought the steamer in 1920.[10][11] Her top deck[12] and machinery were removed[13] and, in June 1920, she was towed from the Whanganui to Port Waikato by ss Arapawa, arriving on 4 June.[14][15][16] Electric lighting was installed,[17] a dining table to seat 100 was added to the lower deck,[18] and, after a day's cancellation due to engine problems,[19] she started running excursions from Hamilton in December 1920. In 1924 a Cambridge to Port Waikato excursion was being run 2 or 3 times a year, taking 12 to 14 hours downstream and a few hours longer upstream;[20] for example steamers in 1939 took about 90 minutes from Ngāruawāhia to Hamilton.[21] Manuwai sank at her moorings in 1938, but was taken to Mercer for repair in 1939,[22] where she was converted to a barge.[23] Several of the old steamers remained beside the river,[24] including the Manuwai.[25]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Our beautiful waterway". Waikato Times. Vol. 94, no. 14561. 8 January 1921.
  2. ↑ "Our river trade. Wanganui Chronicle". 17 September 1894.
  3. ↑ "The Riverboat Services Become 'Big Business'. Evening Post". 20 July 1963.
  4. ↑ "How The March Of Progress Affected The River Steamers. Evening Post". 17 August 1963.
  5. ↑ "Pipiriki House totally destroyed. Wanganui Chronicle". 12 March 1909.
  6. ↑ "The Pipiriki house-boat. Wanganui Chronicle". 31 March 1909.
  7. ↑ "Local and general. Wanganui Herald". 12 February 1910.
  8. ↑ "Orange grand lodge. Wanganui Chronicle". 7 April 1920.
  9. ↑ "Roose, Caesar". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  10. ↑ "Our River Tourist Traffic". The Wanganui Herald. 17 September 1894. p. 2. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  11. ↑ "Waikato Tourist Steamer". Waikato Times. 15 June 1920. p. 5. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  12. ↑ "Local and general. Wanganui Chronicle". 30 April 1920.
  13. ↑ "General news. Waikato Independent". 8 June 1920.
  14. ↑ "Local and general. Waikato Times". 7 May 1920.
  15. ↑ "Shipping. Wanganui Chronicle". 3 June 1920.
  16. ↑ "Local and general. Waikato Times". 7 June 1920.
  17. ↑ "Waikato Times". 11 November 1920.
  18. ↑ "River excursions. Waikato Times". 28 December 1920.
  19. ↑ "S.S. Manuwai. Waikato Times". 23 December 1920.
  20. ↑ "Scenic River Trip". The New Zealand Herald. 19 February 1925. p. 9.
  21. ↑ "Such things were. Waikato Independent". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 30 May 1939. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  22. ↑ "Craft Refloated". The New Zealand Herald. 1939. p. 10. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  23. ↑ "Waikato – the royal river". New Zealand Geographic. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  24. ↑ "Waikato's Steamers – Relics of the past". The New Zealand Herald. 1 April 1932. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  25. ↑ "Bates, Arthur P :Photograph of the wreck of the 'Manuwai'". natlib.govt.nz. 1 January 1985. Retrieved 19 February 2018.

Photos of Manuwai -

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