David R Thomas January 2016€¦ · 2 Balaena Bay: History of Boatbuilding and Craft Construction,...

Copyright © David R Thomas 2016

Balaena Bay: History of Boatbuilding and Craft Construction

David R Thomas January 2016

Updated 22 January 2016

Balaena Bay is a small bay on the western side of Evans Bay in Wellington Harbour. Its shape creates a semi‐sheltered cove which provides some protection from the prevailing northwest and southerly winds which blow along the north‐south line of the hills which form Evans Bay. Slipways were laid at Balaena Bay around the 1890s and possibly earlier, judging by the photos available about 1900. The first documented boat building activity at Balaena Bay was initiated by James Bringins in 1905. Sometime around 1907 Ted Bailey from Auckland joined Bringins and they worked as a partnership known as ‘Bringins and Bailey.’ They built several vessels and provided maintenance facilities and services for fishing boats and other craft. They operated one of the larger slipways for yachts and fishing boats in Wellington at that time. Bailey left the partnership around mid‐1909 to run his own boatbuilding operation at Shed 49, Clyde Quay. Balaena Bay became one of more active boatbuilding areas in Wellington. Bringins boatshed was enlarged and upgraded slipways on either side were installed around 1910‐1914. James Bringins ran the slipways and boatbuilding operations until around 1918 when he contracted flu during the major epidemic of that year. He died in 1920. In early 1919 Joe Jukes bought the boatshed and slipway licence previously held by James Bringins. Joe Jukes has been described as the most successful of the Balaena Bay boat builders. In the 1920s he built many of the Island Bay fishing fleet, including the vessels Norna (1922) and River Nile. Launches he built included Nereides (1925), Vagabond (1926) and Wild Duck (1937). He established a reputation for sound craftsmanship with some outstanding yachts. Around 1936 Joe Jukes moved more into designing. By 1937 his apprentice Rex Rix was doing most of the construction and in 1939 Rex Rix took over the boatbuilding yard. During 1940‐1944 Both Rex Rix and Joe Jukes went to Auckland to aid the war boatbuilding effort. In September 1944 Athol Burns purchased the lease and boatshed previously owned by Joe Jukes. A new company Craft Construction Ltd was registered in January 1945 by Norman Thomas and Athol Burns who were the joint directors. Athol Burns was the resident designer from 1945 until 1947 when he sold his share in the company. Norman Thomas operated Craft Construction until he sold the company in June 1950 to Gilbert Stevens. Barney Daniel, who was running the Shelly Bay boatyard, bought Craft Construction in July 1952. He put the company into voluntary liquidation in January 1954. Around 1945, conflicts which had been evident since the early 1900s surfaced again. The need for boat building and servicing facilities clashed with the wishes of local residents for a clean, uncluttered bathing beach. Since the early days of Bringins Boatyard, there had been continuing conflict between some of the local residents around Balaena Bay and the various owners of the boatbuilding and servicing facilities. With support from the Wellington City Council, eventually the residents won and the boatshed owned by Craft Construction was demolished in 1954.

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Balaena Bay: History of Boatbuilding and Craft Construction, ‐ David R Thomas, January 2016

History and Geography of Balaena Bay

Balaena Bay is a small bay on the western side of Evans Bay in Wellington Harbour. Its shape creates a semi‐sheltered cove which provides some protection from the prevailing northwest and southerly winds which blow along the north‐south line of the hills which form Evans Bay. Full gales however, blow straight through the bay. Unlike many other parts of Evans Bay, both Baleana Bay and Shelly Bay (directly east across Evans Bay) have gently shelving beaches which are suitable for hauling out boats. In its natural state the Balaena Bay beach is rocky, but over the years the Council has occasionally brought in sand to provide a beach more suitable for sunbathing and swimming. No information is available about use of the bay by Maori people prior to the arrival of Europeans. Other places in Wellington Harbour such as Petone and Lambton Harbour provided more suitable locations for waka (canoe) landings and settlement in pre‐European times. The first European boats to visit Balaena Bay probably arrived prior to 1890. By 1890 several slipways were established there and houses started appearing on the hills above Balaena Bay. The bay was known for a time as Martins Bay, before becoming Balena Bay around the 1900s and then Balaena Bay from the 1940s. The name ‘Balaena’ could have arisen from the early whalers operating from Port Nicholson in the 1800s, who may have dragged whales onto the beach at Balaena Bay.

Balaena Bay, Google Earth, 2015

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The early boat builders: James Bringins and Ted Bailey 1905 to 1920

Slipways were laid at Balaena Bay around the 1890s and possibly earlier. Judging by the photos available from that time, there may have been some boatbuilding activity before James Bringins set up his operation. Early photos and documents around 1902 show a bathing shed with enclosure on the foreshore and enclosures for oyster farming.

Balaena Bay looking south, around 1902 (Source: National Library)

Balaena Bay Looking North around 1902 (Source: National Library) Note boatshed parallel to road on northern end, with no slipways

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The oyster farming operation had a number of owners, indicated by the foreshore licences issued by the Wellington Harbour Board between 1899 and 1908. In March 1910 the Harbour Board cancelled the oyster farm foreshore licence and instructed the Board’s engineer to advise on removing the oyster bed. The oyster bed was removed later that year. There had been concern about sewerage discharge from housing into the bay being a potential health risk for people eating the oysters. Customers at restaurants to which the oysters were supplied, were reported to be getting sick after eating them. The first documented boat building activity at Balaena Bay was initiated by James Bringins about 1905. Bringins applied to the Wellington Harbour Board on several occasions to build a boatshed and establish slipways at Balaena Bay from 1904‐1905. According to press reports his applications for slipways on both sides of the boatshed were declined multiple times. Presumably the licences were eventually granted as by 1906 vessels were being built by Bringins at the Balaena Bay boatshed.

Boatshed at Balaena Bay around 1905 (Source: National Library)

James Bringins was born in Scotland in 1862, the son of a forester. He trained as a shipwright before going to sea. He arrived in Wellington around 1882. He initially worked for the Coffey and Dixon, boat builders based at Clyde Quay. He set up his own boatbuilding business at Balaena Bay around 1905 and ran the slipways and boatbuilding operations until around 1918 when he contracted flu during the major epidemic of that year. He died in 1920.

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Sometime around 1907 Ted Bailey from Auckland joined Bringins and they worked as a partnership known as ‘Bringins and Bailey.’ They built several vessels and provided maintenance facilities and services for fishing boats and other craft. They operated one of the larger slipways for yachts and fishing boats in Wellington at that time. Bailey left the partnership around mid‐1909 to run his own boatbuilding operation at Shed 49, Clyde Quay. From the accounts available, Bringins was a general boat builder, not particularly interested in yachts or yacht racing, whereas Bailey was clearly interested in designing and building yachts that were competitive. In Wellington, centreboard yacht racing around 1905‐1910 was focused on 10 footers and competitions were run by the Thorndon Dinghy Sailing Club. Ted raced three 10‐footers, Vera (1905), Zel (1906), and Thelma (1907). Ted dominated the class which included boats built by his brothers (Rona) and the Logans (Blowfly and Oeo). The club and the class had fizzled out by 1910, mostly due the dominance of these boats.1 White Heather and Wairere overturned after northerly gale Sept 1910 (Source: National Library)

Note the slipway winches covered in mud and waves breaking on distant shoreline

1 Gavin Pascoe provided much of the information reported here about Ted Bailey. His article on Ted Bailey is at http://wgtnclassicyacht.blogspot.co.nz

Edwin "Ted" Bailey was born in Auckland in 1871, the youngest of three sons of boatbuilder Charles Bailey. Each son had successful careers in boatbuilding and Ted was the only one to leave Auckland. His first recorded activity is building Vera in 1905 and winning races in her from February 1906. He was still referred to be “of Auckland” in 1907 when his race in Tuna was reported. Ted formed a partnership with James Bringins at Balaena Bay between 1907 and 1909. He continued boat building at Clyde Quay from 1909 until the late 1930s He died in June 1943.

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Balaena Bay private slipways c1908

Balaena Bay in 1912 looking north: Lamp posts now visible on road

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By 1914 Balaena Bay was one of more active boatbuilding areas in Wellington. Bringins boatshed was enlarged and upgraded slipways were installed on either side of the boatshed around 1910‐1914. The photo below shows the Bringins operation around 1911 when several slipways had been set up and larger vessels were being serviced.

Bringins Boatshed and slipways around 1911 (Source: National Library)

Vessels built by the Bringins yard included the following. Some of these were built by Ted Bailey. 1907 Thelma, 18ft centreboarder raced by Ted Bailey throughout 1907‐09 1907 56 foot pleasure launch for Mr. Blechmyden of Nelson. 1907 20 foot launch for G Bothamley. 6’ beam, 4 1/2hp Gardiner 1908 Tuna, centeboarder 1908 Launch for the Department of Defence, named ‘W’ LOA 40’ , Beam 10’, Draft 3,10’. 1908 Double ended fishing boat for Paremata clients (perhaps Queenie) 1909 Yacht Lizzie (Source: Gavin Pascoe)

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Joe Jukes and Rex Rix: 1920s to 1940s

B J L Jukes (Joe Jukes) (1889‐1956) started in business in 1919 after serving his time with Ted Bailey at Aotea Quay following his return from the First World War in Oct 1916. In early 1919 he bought the boatshed and slipway licence previously held by James Bringins. He set about upgrading the slipways and applied to the Wellington Harbour Board to extend the slipway boundaries. Joe Jukes has been described as the most successful of the Balaena Bay boat builders. In the 1920s he built many of the Island Bay fishing fleet, including the vessels Norna (1922) and the River Nile. Launches he built included Nereides (1925), Vagabond (1926) and Wild Duck (1937). He established a reputation for sound craftsmanship with some outstanding yachts, including the 42 foot sloop Resolution, built for Walter Tonks. A later and most successful yacht was the Raukawa, built in 1936 for C. A. Livingstone. Raukawa won many local races and was second in the centennial Lyttelton to Wellington race in 1940. During the 1930s and 1940s, Joe Jukes had extensive Involvement as an administrator and measurer for several boating associations including the Sanders Cup, RPNYC, Paremata Boating club, and the Wellington Provincial Yacht and Motor Boat Association. Around 1936 Joe Jukes moved more into designing. By 1937 his apprentice Rex Rix was doing most of the construction. In 1939 Rex Rix took over the boatbuilding yard. During the 1930s he built fishing boats like the Southern Cross and The Islander and many yachts, including the Q Class centreboarder Retaliation (1933). Rex Rix was well‐known in centreboard yacht racing. He had three yachts called Cappy Ricks I, II and III, named after his schoolboy nickname. The first Cappy Ricks was built by Harry Highet, who designed the 7‐foot Tauranga yacht, later known as the "P" class. The third Cappy Ricks was built by Rex Rix. In one race it beat by two minutes the first 12‐foot Idle Along, designed by another local yachtie and sailmaker, Alf Harvey. During 1940‐1944 Both Rex Rix and Joe Jukes went to Auckland to aid the war boatbuilding effort. From the information available, Joe Jukes stayed on in Auckland and Rex Rix returned to Wellington.

Balaena Bay Boatshed and slipway – possibly early 1940s (Source: Tourist and Publicity Dept)

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The Post‐war years 1945‐1954 After a lull in boatbuilding activity during the Second World War, the company Craft Construction Ltd was established at Balaena Bay. It held the WHB foreshore lease between 1945 and 1954 and provided boatbuilding and maintenance services from the boatshed. In 1945 conflicts which had been evident since the early 1900s surfaced again ‐ between the need for boat building and servicing facilities, and the wishes of local residents for a clean, uncluttered bathing beach. Balaena Bay was a microcosm of the clashes occurring around Wellington Harbour between the development of the marine industry with its accompanying pollution and encroachment on the foreshore, and the wishes of residents to have access to clean foreshores and beaches. Since the early days of Bringins Boatyard, there had been continuing conflict between the local residents around Balaena Bay and the owners of the boatbuilding and servicing facilities. Eventually, the residents won and the boatshed was demolished in 1954. Two key factors in the demise of Craft Construction seem to have been the ongoing opposition to the boatshed organised by the Roseneath Residents Association and a continuing shortage of skilled shipwrights during the period 1945‐1954.

Balaena Bay Boatshed April 1945 (Source: WHB)

The photo above was taken for the WHB shortly after Craft Construction was established in January 1945, before the seaward end of the shed was enlarged. An existing slipway is visible on the west side of the building

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Craft Construction Norman Thomas, a Wellington businessman, had a company manufacturing springs, cement mixers and other engineering equipment. In 1944 he commissioned Athol Burns to design and supervise alterations to the yacht Ilex, which Norman Thomas had bought in Auckland in March 1944. The alterations to Ilex involved adding a doghouse over the main hatch, converting her from a cutter to a ketch rig and lengthening the bowsprit. They were probably aware around mid‐1944 that Wellington lacked boat servicing facilities, particularly haulout areas for small vessels. The boatshed at Balaena Bay, operated by Jukes and Rix was apparently disused after they moved to Auckland around 1939‐1940 to assist with military‐related boatbuilding. In September 1944 Athol Burns purchased the lease and boatshed previously owned by Joe Jukes. Craft

Construction Ltd was officially established in January 1945 by Norman Thomas and Athol Burns who were the joint directors. Athol Burns was the resident designer. Rex Rix was employed at Craft Construction as a shipwright after he returned from Auckland in 1946. Operations at Craft Construction The operation of Craft Construction, from the information available, was initially a success. It produced several vessels including a large fishing trawler, the Diane. An internet search did not locate any details about other vessels built or modified at Craft Construction during the period it operated from 1945 to 1953. The following information, on just a few of the vessels, was compiled from news clippings and personal communications. In 1945 construction commenced on the 52ft trawler Diane, the first and possibly the largest vessel built by Craft Construction. She was launched on 5 September 1946. In November 1945 Jolly Roger, a 12‐foot Idle Along design was built for A. Cox. 2 Redhead, the racing boat owned by Len Southward, was modified at Craft Construction around 1948. Redhead was designed and built by Jack Morgan of Morgan’s Boat yard at Picton. Originally a stepped‐up hydroplane, she was converted to a three‐pointer by the addition of inboard sponsons, or riding planes that increased its speed. It first won the Australian Griffiths Cup in 1949.3 Rex Rix was employed by Norman Thomas, probably as a shipwright, following the establishment of Craft Construction. In June 1946 Rix was injured while turning over a 10ft power boat. The spinal injury partially incapacitated Rix and he was unable to carry out manual work again. He was given

2 Source: Harold Kidd, personal communication 3 Sources: Hal Wagstaff personal communication; www.stuff.co.nz; www.woodyboater.com search terms ‘Redhead Len Southward’)

Athol Burns was born in February 1907. No information was found about his early career. By the 1940s he was becoming known as a boat designer. He formed a partnership with Norman W Thomas to set up Craft Construction in Jan 1945 where he was the resident designer. He left the partnership in May 1947, working as an independent designer. During his career he designed many yachts and launches which were seen as robust and seaworthy, and eminently suitable for sailing around Wellington and Cook Strait. He died in May 1999.

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extended compensation and a lump sum payment, but pursued a case against Norman Thomas in May 1947 for further compensation and lump sum payments. Launching of Diane Diane was launched on 5 Sep 1946 from the boatshed at Balaena Bay. It is clear from one of the photos that the seaward end of the boatshed had been expanded to accommodate construction of the trawler.

Launching of Diane at Balaena Bay, 1946 (Source: WHB)

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The launching was a big event and a number of officials turned up including the Mayor of Wellington (W Appleton), the Chairman of the WHB (W H Price), and the Secretary of the Marine Department (W C Smith). The Harbour Board had been especially supportive of establishing additional boat building and servicing capacity in Wellington.

Officials at launching of Diane: Balaena Bay beach, Sep. 1946 (Source: WHB)

From right to left: W C Smith, N W Thomas, W H Price, R Lumley, W Appleton, Athol Burns,

Norman Thomas (son of N W Thomas)

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Encouragement of boat designers and craftsmen One of features of the early days of Craft Construction was the mentoring carried out by Athol Burns. From the 1945 to 1947 Athol Burns would have spent much of his time at the Craft Construction boatshed in Balaena Bay. Many of the young men he encouraged and supervised during their apprenticeships went on to become known in boat building, design and sailing in Wellington. They included; Roydon Thomas, Bill McQueen, Bill Yates, John Spencer, Dave Catchpole and Bill Brambleby. Most lived near Balaena Bay around that time. In a biographical article, John Spencer commented;

We used to hang around Craft Construction Ltd at Balena Bay. Occasionally Athol Bums would give us a piece of wood and we'd build a model yacht from it. One day Athol saw me with one of these models and it must have impressed him because he grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, took me up to his loft, stuck a pencil in my hand, gave me the back of an old plan or something, and told me to draw the lines. He sat down with me and wouldn't let me go home until I'd drawn the lines, worked out the displacement, the centre of buoyancy and all that sort of thing.4

He also noted that;

But take Athol Bums, for instance. So far as I know Athol is a carpenter by training . . . a tradesman first and foremost. His drawings have got a hell of a lot of character. A bit like William Garden, the American designer. [Athol Burns] did fantastic drawings ‐ often working drawings ‐ freehand.

Roydon Thomas and Bill McQueen each went on to build their own yachts from the plan for a 26‐footer drawn by Athol Burns. These were Almero and Christina, both launched in 1953. Soon after launching, Bill McQueen sailed Christina to the Great Barrier Reef. Roydon Thomas became a yacht designer. A number of his yachts were built and raced in Wellington, including the 23‐footers Gazelle and Shemara and the 28‐footers, Ondine and Charmaine. Bill Brambleby started as an apprentice shipwright at Craft Construction in 1948. Bill reported that the apprentices were trained in boat building by Jock McKay and Garnet Hazelwood who were working at Craft Construction at that time. Bill completed his apprenticeship in 1952 and started his own business at the Evans Bay Slipway and the Patent Slip in 1954. History of ownership The history of ownership of Craft Construction is shown in Table 1. Athol Burns relinquished his position as director and sold his 20% share in the Company in May 1947. It is likely that he moved his design office from Craft Construction to his home around that time. Norman Thomas sold the company in June 1950 to Gilbert Stevens. By May 1950 Norman Thomas had bought the schooner Huia in Auckland and was moving on to his next maritime adventure, trading in the Pacific. He had sold Ilex in 1948. Gilbert Stevens had Craft Construction for just over a year. He sold the company to his son Robert V Stevens in Sep 1951. In July 1952 Robert Stevens sold the company to Barney Daniel. Barney was at that time already managing the slipway at Shelly Bay and had hoped to expand his boat maintenance operations to include Craft Construction. However the continuing shortage of shipwrights apparently curtailed that plan. In January 1954 Craft Construction was placed in voluntary liquidation. After some haggling between Barney Daniel, the liquidator and the Council, the boatshed and slipway were demolished by July 1955. The Wellington Council had earlier taken over the reclamation beside Craft Construction as a reserve. 4 David Pardon, Designers in profile No. 2: John Spencer. Sea Spray, Dec 1972‐ Jan 73, pp. 31‐36.

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Table 1 History of Craft Construction: Ownership and key events

Date Events and people Comment

24 Aug 1944 Letter from NW Thomas to WHB regarding intention to form a new company

Contract entered with Jukes to purchase boatbuilding property

29 Sep 1944 Athol Burns bought WHB Permit 77 from Joe Jukes

Wellington Harbour Board permit 77 covered the boatshed and adjacent slipways

24 Jan 1945 N W Thomas and A Burns register Craft Construction

Craft Construction set up as a new company with NWT holding 800 and AWB holding 200 of 1000 shares

21 Sep 1945 Approval given by WHB for new boatshed for Craft Construction

Proposed new boatshed to be built on a reclamation to northwest of existing boatshed (this proposed boatshed was never built)

27 May 1947 Athol Burns resigned as director

Ruby J Lumley, company secretary, appointed as director, NWT remains director

27 May 1947 N W Thomas and Ruby J Lumley registered directors

NWT and RJL bought the shares held by Athol Burns with NWT holding 990 and RJL 10 shares

1 June 1950 New shares issued 2000 new shares created, purchased by NWT Craft Construction now has 3000 shares

1 June 1950 Sale of Craft Construction to Gilbert Stevens

Gilbert Stevens holds 2990 shares and Mary Stevens 10 shares

1 June 1950 Change of directors Gilbert Stevens (metal merchant) and Mary Stevens replace NWT and RJL as directors

21 Sep 1951 Change of directors Gilbert and Mary Stevens resigned as directors. New director is Robert V Stevens, company manager

26 May 1952 Additional director appointed

Allen Freeman appointed as director Robert Stevens remains as director

24 Jul 1952 Barney Daniel buys Craft Construction

Owners are Barney Daniel and Edmund Rowe, shipwright (1500 shares each)

Aug 1952 Meetings at WHB re future of Craft Construction

Wellington City Council seeks demolition of boatshed and slipways and cancellation of foreshore licence

26 Nov 1952 Registration of Directors Directors are Barney Daniel and Edmund Rowe, shipwright

2 Oct 1953 Letter to Craft Construction from WHB

Requirement to repair boatshed, otherwise foreshore licence will be cancelled

18 Jan 1954 Letter to WHB from Barney Daniel

Craft Construction placed in voluntary liquidation

1 Mar 1954 Letter to Registrar of Companies from B Daniel re liquidator appointed

Royce Blockley was appointed as liquidator for Craft Construction Ltd. He negotiated with the WHB and City Council regarding the disposal of assets and demolition of boatshed and slipways

May‐Aug 1954 Demolition of boatshed and slipway

In July 1955 the WHB Engineers report noted demolition had been completed to the Board’s satisfaction

Sources: Documents from the Wellington City Council Archives and Archives New Zealand, Wellington.

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Continuing conflict regarding boatbuilding activities The main parties involved in the ongoing developments at Balaena Bay were the Wellington City Council which generally represented the concerned residents, the Roseneath Residents Association which wished to have the boatshed and slipways limited or removed, and the Wellington Harbour Board (WHB) which generally supported the boatbuilding industry. The Marine Department was involved only to the extent that any waterfront developments, such as slipways or wharves, had implications for navigation. They liaised directly with the Harbour Board. In early 1945 Craft Construction had applied to the WHB for approval for a 64ft extension along the foreshore for boatbuilding activities. In a subsequent news report about the WHB meeting, (Evening Post 26 April 1945) two points were clear; there were strong and widespread objections from residents to any extension of boatbuilding activities to the west of the existing building. The second was that the Wellington Harbour Board supported revival of the boat building industry at Balaena Bay. Both the Evans Bay yacht and Motor Boat Club (EBYMBC) and the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club (RPNYC) strongly supported boatbuilding and maintenance services being provided at Balaena Bay. In April 1945 both clubs sent letters of support for Balaena Bay boatbuilding and slipway services to WHB Board meetings. There were a number of yacht and launch owners who lived in the Balaena Bay and Roseneath areas who would most likely have supported the boat servicing facilities. Their views would probably only have been taken into account as members of the yacht clubs. Although extension of the slipways and wharf to the west of the building was approved, they were never developed. The only development was an expansion of the seaward end of the Craft Construction building to accommodate larger vessels. The existing slipway on the west side of the building was removed sometime after April 1945 During the 1940s the Wellington City Council widened the official road boundary on Evans Bay Rd where it passed through Balaena Bay particularly at the NE corner which was prone to motor vehicle accidents. The effect of the new road boundary, which went through part of the Craft Construction boatshed, was that Craft Construction now had to pay two sets of rates, to both the Harbour Board and the City Council. It also meant that any changes to the boatshed would have to be approved by the City Council as well as the Harbour Board.

Balaena Bay 1953 (Source: WHB)

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Barney Daniel and Craft Construction Barney Daniel bought Craft Construction in July 1952 from Robert Stevens. Edmund Rowe was appointed as a co‐director, Barney Daniel anticipated the additional capacity of the boatshed and slipway at Balaena Bay could take the extra work that he could not handle at his existing slipway operation at Shelly Bay. He ran the Shelly Bay slipway from around 1947 until 1962. Things did not work out for Barney Daniel at Craft Construction. By January 1954 he had written to the WHB to advise that Craft Construction had been placed in voluntary liquidation. He noted that it had been extremely difficult to find qualified shipwrights, hence he was unable to accept the boat maintenance work that was being sought. The building and its surrounds had become untidy and its condition had elicited complaints from the Roseneath Residents Association. Royce Blockley was appointed as liquidator for Craft Construction in February 1954. He wound up the Company affairs, including the sale of assets, arranging demolition of the boatshed and clearing the site. Clearing the site included removal of the building foundations, the old winch‐house, and the slipway. The boatshed was demolished by early 1954 and the remaining slipway and foundations cleared in late 1954. The site clearance became complicated when the building contractor was sued by the liquidator for failing to complete the demolition on time and to the satisfaction of the WHB. The WHB engineers report, approving the site clearance, was finally issued in July 1955.

Craft Construction Boatshed: Balaena Bay 1953 (Source: WHB)

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Balaena Bay: 1955 ‐1970s Following the demolition of the Craft Construction boatshed in 1954, the Wellington City Council tidied up and resurfaced the reclamation. In February 1958 the remaining land, previously owned by Wellington Harbour Board and for which it had issued slipway approvals, was acquired by Council by proclamation and taken into the Council parks and reserves section. Balaena Bay was used periodically as a launching area for centreboard yacht races held off Point Jerningham at the entrance to Evans Bay. The slipways at the southern end of the bay remained until around 1975, when they were all removed.

Balaena Bay November 1958 (Evening Post photo)

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Launching from Balaena Bay for yachting trials, December 1959 (Evening Post photo)

Sources Berthold, M. (2011). B T Daniel Ltd., Shipwrights, Boatbuilders & Marine Engineers, Shelly Bay, Wellington. NZ Marine News, 58(1), 7‐41. Endean, B. (1992) Classic New Zealand Yachts: Four decades of successful yacht design 1950‐90. Wellington: GP Publications. (Chapter on Judith provides information about Athol Burns) McGill, D. (1984). The Pioneers of Port Nicholson, Wellington. AH & AW Reed. National Library of New Zealand Photo collection (cited as National Library). Retrieved from: http://natlib.govt.nz/photos?i[subject]=Balaena+Bay&text=Balaena+Bay Pardon, D. (1972‐1973) Designers in profile No. 2: John Spencer. Sea Spray, pp. 31‐36. Pascoe, G. (2013). Ted Bailey. Retrieved on 30 June 2015 from: wgtnclassicyacht.blogspot.co.nz Wellington Harbour Board Photo Collection (cited as WHB). Photos from albums held at the Wellington City Council Archive.

David R Thomas January 2016€¦ · 2 Balaena Bay: History of Boatbuilding and Craft Construction,...

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