Build Date
1935
Boat Builder
Claude Wells and Bernard Wells
Length
45 feet / 13.4 m
Beam
12 feet
Building Wakanui
Wakanui was built by Claude Wells and his son Bernard Wells. She was built for Bernard and they launched Wakanui on the day Bernard’s second son Pat was born in 1935. At the time Wakanui had a 3 cylinder 27hp Lister Blackstone diesel engine which could get her going up to 8 knots.
Wakanui was built double skinned and used kahikatea from a large tree felled on the northern side of Four Fathoms Bay. This tree was towed to Laverique Bay where Bernard found it and talked Charlie Armstrong into selling it to him. The log was then pit-sawn into balks and punted to a sawmill. From here it was milled and finally shipped to Wakatahuri.
Bernard kept Wakanui for four years and he used her to do his mail run in the outer Pelorus Sound. He had this mail run from 1932 (when he had the Pearl) to 1939. Over the course of this time his mail run was extended to include more bays so he needed a bigger boat to carry the extra cargo.
In 1938 a 40hp Ruston Hornsby engine was installed replacing the Lister Blackstone. This was needed because after doing 20,000 miles a year the Lister was a bit worn out.
When the mail run contract came up for renewal Bernard lost it to Eric Johnson but Bernard is said to have been pleased to stop.
Wakanui: The Mail and Commercial Fishing Boat
As well as, his mail run Bernard used Wakanui to take passengers and for some commercial fishing. But when his mail run contract ended he turned to fishing full time.
He was known to catch groper with Wakanui but he was only allowed to fish in the inner sounds. The regulations at the time didn’t allow fishing outside Tawero Point. As well as the restrictions on where he could fish there were time restrictions too. Bernard was only allowed to fish six months of the year so he would often head to Farewell Spit to catch groper as well. There were no freezers in those days so he could only stay out fishing for around 2 days before he had to return and land his fish. To keep the fish as fresh as possible he had to gut and clean the fish as soon as possible and pack them into wooden crates. He would land the fish at Havelock which was a 12 hour steam from Farewell Spit
Pat Wells recalls in Voices from the Sea that all of Bernard’s children went fishing with him at some time. Pat recalls a story of himself being taken groper fishing at 18 months old. He was stowed in a cane basket with bedding inside and secured to the floor.
Bernard also enjoyed the sporting regattas held in the region and would put Wakanui up for races.
The End of Wakanui
Dennis Wells recalls in Voices from the Sea that the Wakanui was requisitioned during World War Two by the government for 1400 pounds. Bernard received this news in a letter dated 28/9/1942 which required him to deliver Wakanui to Wellington as soon as possible. Bernard delivered Wakanui with the help from his brother Maurice on October 14 1942. Ten days later she was shipped to Auckland.
Whilst in Wellington the official records say she almost sunk at her berth as an “unqualified person caused [the] engine-room to flood and baling was not fast enough”. But the unofficial version of events is that a Brennen gun was mounted on Wakanui’s decks and fired only once. The shock of this caused her planks to spring and the boat nearly sunk.
References
To research the Wakanui we used the books Boats for a Lifetime by Yvonne Fells and Voices from the Sea by Deirdre Mackay.
Related Posts
Glen Lee – 38 ft. passenger vessel that had multiple roles and adventures in its lifetime, including one sinking.
Pearl – 34ft. boat built by Claude Wells for himself.
Noelene – 45 ft. boat built for Charlie Jacobson of French Pass by Claude Wells in 1932.
Verden – The First square-stern vessel built by Claude Wells at Wakatahuri in 1913.