Get 'The Kingfisher' back to Mokau

The story of “The Kingfisher”

Mokau Museum has been gifted an historic boat called “The Kingfisher”. This boat is a significant treasure to the entire North Taranaki/South Waikato region. We need assistance when it comes to housing this boat, hence this letter of appeal.

How did we come by such a treasure?

In 2016, a boat enthusiast, Gavin Bedggood from Paihia, won an auction for an old 24 foot “double ender”. In Gavin’s words, “I have always had a thing for double enders... don't know why - I just like them. It was a mess... small very ugly cabin, rot, no engine, leaking water from above and below... a REAL find...(not).”

Gavin set about stripping the boat down to see what was beneath all the mess. This included removing the cabin, deck and hull extensions which had all been added on. Underneath was a beautiful hull made of full length planks of heart kauri timber. Clearly she was made in New Zealand a long time ago. The quality of the materials, the fine lines of the original design and build confirmed that Gavin had found something very special needing further research.

It turns out a Mr Newton King, well known New Plymouth businessman first bought the boat and it is reputed to have been used in New Plymouth ferrying early pioneers from ship to shore. At this point, Gavin stumbled upon another possible link with early days in Mokau. Excited, he rang Ian Whittaker from the Mokau Museum:

“Ian told me that the boat belonged to a sheep station and was used twice a year to move wool and other produce out to the steamships off the beach and to bring back in supplies for the following months. Local Maori travelled down the coast on the steamships to man the boats at various stations. He said when it was cold they would have a case of whiskey on the beach to keep the lads warm in the surf... and by the end of the day none of them could stand! Ian also gave me the phone number of an 83-year-old woman whose family had worked that station and she has written a book on the station’s history! So I call her right away!”

Gavin did indeed ring Adrienne Tatham (granddaughter of Newton King) from Nukuhakari Station where he continued to piece together the history of his boat. The Tatham and St George families and the Mokau Museum have original photos of the boat in the early 1920s “surfing” the wool bales in and out to waiting ships. It is undeniably the same boat that Gavin has stumbled upon.

So what are our next steps?

Gavin has reached what must be a painful decision: the boat belongs in Mokau at the heart of the community – its museum, where all can enjoy the richness of her history. For this gift, Gavin Bedggood, we are deeply grateful.

Where do we house “The Kingfisher”? It must be housed indoors. The museum has no room, and no money to create room for such a vessel. Do we build up on top? Do we purchase land next door?

I am writing to you today to let you know about our plight and to ask you to consider how you may help in what is essentially a major building project to house a magnificent 24 foot boat we all thought was lost forever.

Go to the link and see the entire incredible thread of Gavin's journey with 'The Kingfisher':

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?206902-Old-New-Zealand-boat-bit-of-a-mystery