THE MODELS
Scattered throughout Gordon’s home, the size, detail and intricacy of the models are a wonder. Irritatingly (from a photographer’s perspective) many have become homes for happy crews of spiders, and cleaning the cobwebs is difficult because of the fragility of the rigging. Ideally, the models should be mounted in glass cases.
Making accurate models of vessels built in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century isn’t easy, says Gordon, because original plans don’t – and never did – exist. “You have to remember,” he points out patiently, “that in those days ships were often lofted from the most rudimentary of concepts and dimensions. There weren’t any drawn plans.”
To recreate the vessels in miniature, Gordon collected the basic dimensions for each vessel and gave these to a naval architect friend. He, in turn, created a set of line drawings and, aided by photographs and plenty of research, Gordon was able to craft the remarkably accurate replicas.
Listening to his colourful commentary of each vessel’s history is to experience a fascinating tour through New Zealand’s maritime history. Among them is the 65-foot SS Minerva, built in 1910 by Charles Bailey Jr for the Clevedon Steam Navigation Company. She was built to ferry passengers between Auckland and Clevedon.
She is unique among the models in that the original Minerva still survives. She is up in Kerikeri undergoing a restoration by the Kerikeri Steam Trust.
Not so fortunate was the Ruawai. She was the main form of passenger transport on the Kaipara Harbour between 1915 and 1941, and became especially famous for her role in nuptials. She carried a fairly pointed nickname – the ‘Honeymoon Ship’. It seems she was popular with newly-weds who’d climb aboard for the trip between Dargaville and Helensville – a romantic voyage to eagerly celebrate (and consummate) marriage.
Gordon built the model from a large piece of totara he found floating in the Kaipara harbour. I particularly liked the bollards on the Ruawai – they are .22 casings recovered after a spell of possum culling.
Then there’s the three-masted scow Zingara. She entered the record books as – at the time – the biggest scow ever built in Auckland. She was designed for the timber trade and could carry 200,000 lineal feet of sawn timber.
Built in 1876, the Hinemoa was a 542-ton Government Service Steamer designed for lighthouse support and servicing. She also patrolled the country’s coastline and supplied many of the government depots on the remote sub-antarctic islands. She rescued plenty of shipwreck victims.
The Ranginui – a steel vessel built in 1936 – fills a special part of Gordon’s heart. She belonged to the Northern Steamship Company and he often visited her down at the wharf while he was a boarder at the Whangarei Boys High School.
“The boys hated the school – I called it Colditz Castle. I found solace and refuge down at the wharf, dreaming of the freedom of a life at sea – a life embodied by the old Ranginui.”
Gordon is uncertain about the fate of the models. “Two are already in the Dargaville Museum and another six are in the Wellsford Museum. I suppose the museums will have the rest?”
I would think so. BNZ