Whareatea: The Only Steam Powered Boat Built By Claude Wells
Build Date
Circa 1917
Boat Builder
Claude Wells
Length
42ft
Beam
10ft
Building the Whareatea
At the time Whareatea was the largest launch Claude Wells had ever built. It was so large he had to extend the boat shed at Wakatahuri to fit it in.
Whareatea was built for the Tarlton family of Whareatea Bay on D’Urville Island which is also how she got her name. Tarlton installed a steam engine in Whareatea making her the first and only steam powered boat built by Claude Wells. This might be because steam engines had a few disadvantages. The main problem being they are very labour intensive. To get going on a journey you first needed to get the boiler up to pressure which could take an hour and once you were going two people were needed to both stoke the boiler and drive the boat. If you didn’t keep on top of it the pressure would drop and the engine would stop. Not to mention the possibility of running out of wood mid-journey.
The Orchard Brothers Buy Whareatea
In the late 1920s the Orchard family of St Omer Bay in the Kenepuru Sound purchased Whareatea. At the time her steam engine was not working so Whareatea had to be towed from Motueka, where she had been based, to St Omer. It is though she would have been towed by the Glen Lee. The Orchards got the engine going again and used her for a passenger and mail service between the Kenepuru Sound and Havelock under the name Orchard Bros.
To do the mail run Whareatea would leave laden with wood, but it would always run out on the return trip. This would call for a stop at a nearby beach (often Pipi Beach) to take the dinghy to shore and cut down some firewood for the rest of the journey. Of course, they didn’t get away with this every time and one trip was too rough to land the dinghy so instead they had to cut up a seat to get them to a sheltered bay.
Understandably they replaced the steam engine with a car engine after some time. Removing the steam engine raised a bit of headache though as they discovered the steam had started to rot the hull. So Whareatea was taken to Wakatahuri to be repaired.
Walter Orchards Starts a Punt Business with Whareatea
The orchard brothers later dissolved their business and Walter Orchard started his own punting and passenger service including fishing trips using Whareatea. Yvonne Fell recalls in Boats for a Lifetime that Walter Orchards was a well-liked and well-respected boatman but he did have a couple of difficult times with the Whareatea.
One of these tricky situations was on one of his charter fishing trips. Walter Orchard would take groups on weekend long adventures around D’Urville Island, stopping at several bays along the way. On one of these fishing trips Walter Orchard was heading back to Havelock when he hit a rock. Everything went flying and everyone on board lost their feet for a second but luckily no one fell overboard.
Whareatea however, was not doing too well. She was sitting on the rock with the stern nearly at water level. The tide was running out, so Walter had to act quickly. He tried to power off in reverse but it didn’t work so the only thing left to try was to disable the reverse band limiters and put the throttle down in reverse. This did the trick and Whareatea shuddered once before sliding backwards off the rock, taking in water on the way. Luckily Whareatea suffered only minor damage but Walter had to put up with people reminding him of the trip for a while afterwards.
Walter would go on to have a another rough time fishing around D’Urville Island. This time with the weather worsening Walter started heading home. But they ended up pushing into a head sea through French Pass when a wave sprang up and smashed into Whareatea. The wave smashed through the pilothouse windows hitting Walter and cutting him with the glass that was flying around. Thankfully he wasn’t badly hurt and they were able to continue on their way and eventually make it home without any more trouble.
The Whareatea in the 1930s and 1940s
In the late 1930s Whareatea’s engine was replaced with a 4 cyclinder Lister diesel motor. At this time Walter also brought a new large punt that was built at Wakatahuri. It was 40 feet long with an 18 feet beam. To test its carrying ability Walter loaded his new house on board and towed it to the Kenepuru Sound behind Whareatea. Their new home was a two bedroom cottage that had previously been situated to the right of the wharf at Wakatahuri and they brought it from Tom McManaway. This trip was a success and Walter and his wife Lorna’s new home made it safely to St Omer Bay.
Walter would use this punt to move stock for D’Urville Islands farmers to Havelock. This work was not easy. He worked long hours and it wasn’t always that safe. On one trip with the punt Walter struck some serious trouble going through French Pass. With the punt towing behind the Whareatea they struck an eddy which propelled the punt around the wrong side of the beacon. With the punt heading one side of the beacon and Whareatea on the other they were very close to disaster. The punt was much heavier than Whareatea and could end up pulling the launch through the rocks. Luckily they had an axe on board so the crew man, John Wisnesky quickly chopped the towline in two. Both the punt and Whareatea made it through the pass and they collected the punt safely on the other side.
As well as farm stock, Walter also transported whale meat from the Perano Whaling Station to farmers around the sounds who used the meat as dog food. It took a couple of days to deliver all the meat so by the time he was finished it was less than ideal. At one point he even transported six Airspeed Oxford planes that were left over from the war.
Around 1946 Walter upgraded Whareatea’s engine with a new 110hp GM diesel motor that was installed by Nalder and Biddle in Nelson. It is said the engine was so loud they could hear him coming home well before they saw him returning to St Omer. This new engine would have helped him in the sports regattas Walter often successfully competed in including the Moetapu and Hopai Sports.
In March 1952 Walter purchased the Amokura which had been laid up in Wellington. To get the Amokura from Wellington to St Omer she was first towed by the steamer Totoki and then the Tuatea. At the outer Pelorus Sound Walter took over with the Whareatea. Towing the 160ft ship was not so easy though. They progressed at only 3 knots and steering was challenging to say the least. But Walter got help from some Wakatahuri Wells boats which sped things up a bit and they eventually beached Amokura at East Haven in St Omer Bay.
The End of Whareatea’s Punting Days
Whareatea’s punting career came to an end in 1959 when Walter launched the Pamir. The Pamir was bigger than Whareatea at 49 ½ feet and was built by his brother-in-law Norman Wells. With Walter taking on the Pamir the Whareatea was taken over by Walter’s son in law John Wisnesky. John used the Whareatea for work as a Sounds Ranger at the Department of Lands and Survey. Part of his job involved patrolling the scenic reserves of the Marlborough Sounds in the Whareatea.
The Whareatea was then converted into a commercial scallop fishing boat by Mr Harley of Wellington. Pat Wells then brought Whareatea in 1966 for 3,600 pounds. He used her for scallop fishing in the Marlborough Sounds for three years. But in the January 1969, Whareatea would meet her end. While on their way to the fishing grounds a fault in the electrical system caused a fire that would destroy Whareatea but luckily Pat and his crew were unhurt. They were rescued from the water at Four Fathoms Bay, Pelorus Sound and Francis Wells later towed the remains of Whareatea to Wakatahuri.
References
To research Whareatea we used the books Boats for a lifetime by Yvonne M. Fell and Voices from the Sea: The Stories of some Nelson and Marlboroigh Fishing Families.
Related Posts
Glen Lee – 38 ft. launch built by Claude Wells in around 1911-1912.
Pearl – 34ft. launch built by Claude Wells for himself but she go on to be owned by three of his sons.
Noelene – 45 ft. launch built by Claude Wells in 1932 for Charlie Jacobson of French Pass.
Verden – The First square-stern vessel built by Claude Wells at Wakatahuri.