Build Date
1906-1910
Boat Builder
Claude Wells
Length
32 Feet
Beam
6 Feet
Building Nora
Thought to be built out of kahikatea. Nora was one of a few boats built by Claude Wells at Little Bay in the Marlborough Sounds. It is unknown who Claude built Nora for, but by 1920 Fredrick Ward of Forsyth Island owned Nora and used her for farming transport. During this time he moored Nora at Homestead Bay where he lived with his family and ran the farm.
One story recalled about Nora in Boats for a Lifetime was when she was involved in a search and rescue for one of Wards farm workers. This worker had rowed to Wakatahuri for a visit but when he didn’t return before dark, Ward took the Nora out to search for him. Boats from Wakatahuri joined the search and they eventually found him the next day walking along the shoreline at East Entry Point. He had got caught in a southerly gale and pushed passed the island.
Nora After Ward
The 1920s depression hit Ward hard and he had to relinquish Forsythe Island. Mr Hugh Munro became the farm manager but for a time Ward kept Nora and took her commercial fishing. Eventually he had to also lose the Nora as she was deemed to be an asset of the farm. After this Nora stayed at Forsythe Island but in 1924 Bernard and Maurice Wells borrowed Nora to do the mail run for the outer Pelorus Sound for Jack Orchard. At the time they had reached the mature ages of 17 and 15.
To do this mail run the mail would be delivered to Nora from the French Pass Post office. Their mail run took them two days and included deliveries to Port Ligar, Bulwer, Waitata, Te Towaka, Savill Bay, Canoe Bay, Elaine Bay, Tuna Bay, Harvey Bay, Brightlands and Crail Bay. If the delivery address didn’t have a wharf one of the boys would have to row a dinghy to shore with the mail though sometimes they were lucky and the residents would row out to them.
At Crail bay Jack Orchard would meet them with a horse and dray to collect the mail for the St Omer Post Office and Kenepuru Sound. With their mail run complete they would return the Nora to Forsythe Island until the next week when they would do it all again.
References
To research Nora we used the book Boats for a Lifetime by Yvonne Fell.
Related Posts
Tanekaha – 32ft launch built by Claude Wells at Little Bay.
Minerva – 32ft. Kahikatea built launch used for farming on Forsythe Island.
Kelp – 30ft. launch owned by Olof Nielson of Bulwer Bay.
Luna – 28ft. launch used for commercial fishing around the Marlborough Sounds.