Waitangi Wharf, Chatham Islands
Chatham Islands Wharf.
A "Gazette" notice issued last evening revokes Orders-in-Council previously, made vesting the management of the wharf at Waitangi, Chatham Islands, in trustees. The rights and powers with respect to the management of the wharf, the making of dues, etc. have now been vested in the Chatham Islands County Council.Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 37, 12 August 1927, Page 8
Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 47, 24 August 1931, Page 14New Wharf for Chatham Islands
An Auckland Contract
Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 104, 4 May 1932, Page 14
It is hoped that the, contractors will start work almost immediately and have it completed before the end of the summer. The cost of the wharf is being shared equally by the Public Works Department and the Chatham Islands County Council.
The new wharf will jut out to a point near where the Tees, the regular trading vessel to the Chatham Islands, anchors, prior to the surf boats laden with sheep and wool pulling out to the vessel from the jetty in Waitangi Harbour, some twenty chains from the site of the new structure.
The approach will begin from near the cattle yards, where it has been the practice to herd the animals and then force them to swim out to the vessel.
The approach will have a length of 385 ft, and the wharf, which will form a "T" shape at the end, will be 202 ft long and 26ft wide. The structure will be of hardwood timber, with turpentine piles, which have the desirable property of resisting the attacks of the teredo, a sea creature, which- rapidly bores into wood.
At the start of the approach an iron shed, 97ft by 30ft, for the storage of wool and other produce awaiting shipment will be constructed. Vessels berthing at the wharf will have a depth of water of from 15ft to 17ft. The contract, states that the work is to be completed within ten months of the acceptance of the tender.
Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 123, 21 November 1932, Page 7
The decision to build a wharf at Waitangi is the result of negotiations extending over several years. The contract price for the wharf alone was £10,348, and the cost of the approach and shed is expected to bring the total expenditure to about £12,000. The Rope Construction Company, of Auckland, was the successful tenderer. In January the company sent an advance working party from Lyttelton to Waitangi by the steamer Tees, which also took an overseer- and a member of the Public Works Department's engineering staff to survey and set out the approach road to the wharf.
A wharf scene, with with the ship Tees along side.
ID: PICT-000089
Chatham Islands Wharf
The contractors for the erection of the wharf at Waitangi, Chatham Islands, intend sending an advance working party by the steamer Tees about 21st January. By the same steamer the Public Works Department intends sending an overseer and also a member of the engineering staff to survey and set out the approach road to the new wharf.Alexander Turnbull Library
Chatham Islands Wharf
Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 7, 10 January 1933, Page 9
New Wharf
The Chatham Islands
A large quantity of timber and other material to be used in the construction of a now wharf at Waitangi, Chatham Islands, was on board the intercolonial motor-ship Port Waikato, when she arrived at Auckland today from Newcastle. A small quantity of contractors’ gear will be landed at Auckland, and some may be taken on board at Wellington. The Port Waikato should leave Wellington about Tuesday for Waitangi. The Chatham Islands
The decision to build a wharf at Waitangi is the result of negotiations extending over several years. The contract price for the wharf alone was £10,348, and the cost of the approach and shed is expected to bring the total expenditure to about £12,000. The Rope Construction Company, of Auckland, was the successful tenderer. In January the company sent an advance working party from Lyttelton to Waitangi by the steamer Tees, which also took an overseer- and a member of the Public Works Department's engineering staff to survey and set out the approach road to the wharf.
Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 75, 30 March 1933, Page 11
Chatham Islands Wharf.
Particulars of the progress with the work of erecting the new wharf at Waitangi, Chatham Islands, were contained in a letter from a member of the Chatham Islands County Council, which has been received by Mr. J. McCombs, M.P., in whose electorate the islands are included.
The motor-ship, Port Waikato, arrived at Lyttelton recently after having discharged Australian hardwood for the wharf. Rafts were made out of oil drums, about one dozen to each raft, and five or six piles were loaded on each raft and towed ashore by a launch.
The piles were then rolled off the raft into the water, and by means of wire ropes attached to them were drawn ashore by six horses. Teams of bullocks were also employed. On April 11 nearly all the holes had been made round the rocks ready for the construction of the breastwork for the approach road to the wharf. The contractors for the wharf, the Rope Construction Company, have between 17 and 19 men from the mainland working on the wharf. Several islanders will be employed on the approach road.
The Tees
Chatham Islands Trader
Only Regular Ship
Among the ships in port this week was the steamer Tees, 546 tons gross, which is the only regular trader from New Zealand to the Chatham Islands. There is not much trade done with the Chathams, and the primary industries there are not much affected by the depression, except by low prices ruling outside.
ID: 1/2-018802-F
Regular trips, are made to the Chatham Islands by the Tees from November to April or May, and it is expected that another one will be made in about two months. Many of the trips are only to Waitangi, but other trips are made to Pitt Island, Kaingaroa, and Owenga. The Tees generally sails from Lyttelton, and makes occasional calls at Wellington while in the Chatham Islands service. She takes stores to the Islands, and from the Islands brings back sheep, cheese, wool, and fish.
The Tees was built in 1911, and belongs to the Westland Shipping Company. Her fastest trip from the Chathams to Wellington was made when she arrived here on June 20. 1931. The time taken was forty-four hours, and this is believed to be a record for a merchant ship. The Rama, of 610 tons gross (formerly the gunboat Torch) made a fast trip once from Wellington to the Chathams in forty-two hours. She was wrecked in the Chathams in 1924. The trade with the Chathams is expected to increase substantially as a result of the wharf which is to be built at Waitangi.
HMS Torch
Launched in 1895 in Sheerness, this copper sheathed bottom sloop was a unit of the Royal Navy Australasian Division and often spent a lot of time in Wellington. She was eventually sold to a fishing company and wrecked in 1924 at the Chatham Islands.
Surf boats have had to he used at Waitangi, and when the new wharf is built there they will continue to be used at the other ports of call. The motor-ship Port Waikato recently arrived in Lyttelton after having discharged Australian hardwood for the wharf. Rafts were made out of oil drums, about one dozen to each raft, and five or six piles were loaded on each raft and, towed ashore by a launch. The piles were then rolled off the raft into the water, and by means of wire ropes attached to them were drawn ashore by six horses. Teams of bullocks were also employed.
Mr C Langdale, telegraphist, and others, Waitangi Wharf, Chatham Islands - 1938.
Photograph probably taken by Russell Dick.
Photograph probably taken by Russell Dick.
Alexander Turnbull Library
ID: PA1-q-052-122
ID: PA1-q-052-122
Chatham Islands Wharf.
The motor-ship, Port Waikato, arrived at Lyttelton recently after having discharged Australian hardwood for the wharf. Rafts were made out of oil drums, about one dozen to each raft, and five or six piles were loaded on each raft and towed ashore by a launch.
The piles were then rolled off the raft into the water, and by means of wire ropes attached to them were drawn ashore by six horses. Teams of bullocks were also employed. On April 11 nearly all the holes had been made round the rocks ready for the construction of the breastwork for the approach road to the wharf. The contractors for the wharf, the Rope Construction Company, have between 17 and 19 men from the mainland working on the wharf. Several islanders will be employed on the approach road.
Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 94, 22 April 1933, Page 10
The Tees
Chatham Islands Trader
Only Regular Ship
The Tees was later renamed Holmwood and sunk by German raiders in November 1940 while she was on a run from the Chatham Islands to Lyttelton.
The ship Tees, Wellington HarbourAlexander Turnbull Library
Regular trips, are made to the Chatham Islands by the Tees from November to April or May, and it is expected that another one will be made in about two months. Many of the trips are only to Waitangi, but other trips are made to Pitt Island, Kaingaroa, and Owenga. The Tees generally sails from Lyttelton, and makes occasional calls at Wellington while in the Chatham Islands service. She takes stores to the Islands, and from the Islands brings back sheep, cheese, wool, and fish.
The Tees was built in 1911, and belongs to the Westland Shipping Company. Her fastest trip from the Chathams to Wellington was made when she arrived here on June 20. 1931. The time taken was forty-four hours, and this is believed to be a record for a merchant ship. The Rama, of 610 tons gross (formerly the gunboat Torch) made a fast trip once from Wellington to the Chathams in forty-two hours. She was wrecked in the Chathams in 1924. The trade with the Chathams is expected to increase substantially as a result of the wharf which is to be built at Waitangi.
HMS TorchLaunched in 1895 in Sheerness, this copper sheathed bottom sloop was a unit of the Royal Navy Australasian Division and often spent a lot of time in Wellington. She was eventually sold to a fishing company and wrecked in 1924 at the Chatham Islands.
Early Canterbury Photographers
http://canterburyphotography.blogspot.com/2009/08/hms-torch.html
Surf boats have had to he used at Waitangi, and when the new wharf is built there they will continue to be used at the other ports of call. The motor-ship Port Waikato recently arrived in Lyttelton after having discharged Australian hardwood for the wharf. Rafts were made out of oil drums, about one dozen to each raft, and five or six piles were loaded on each raft and, towed ashore by a launch. The piles were then rolled off the raft into the water, and by means of wire ropes attached to them were drawn ashore by six horses. Teams of bullocks were also employed.
Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 99, 29 April 1933, Page 99
A tidal wave occurred at Waitangi, Chatham Islands, a few weeks ago. Particulars are meagre, as very few saw the wave, but from accounts given by passengers, who arrived from the Islands by the Tees today, it appears that warning of the wave was first given by the sea retreating from the shore near the new wharf. The sea bottom, where there is ordinarily 15ft of water or more, was laid bare. Then the wave came in with a loud roar, sweeping clear across the wharf and high up on the beach. Loose timber on the wharf was swept overboard, but was later recovered, and no damage was done. Tidal Waves are not unusual at the Chatham Islands.
Mr. Rope said that the straight portion of the wharf, running out 400 feet, had been completed. This included a corrugated iron shed, 100 feet by 30 feet, at the shoreward end. The frame of the shed was of hardwood and it stood on 72 hardwood piles. On one side of the wharf was a sheep and cattle race. The men were now working on the tee at the end of the wharf, 100 feet by 26 feet, at which vessels would berth.
Eight piers, containing a total of 40 piles, had been driven and 13 piers remained to be driven. Some difficulty was experienced, Mr. Rope stated, through the bottom proving different from what had been expected, and it had been necessary to splice extra lengths on to some of the piles before they would reach firm ground. It would be necessary to procure more piles to replace the extra ones used. The intense cold and wind proved very trying to the workers. At times the wind was so strong that the men could not walk along the wharf, and loose hardwood planks, 9 inches by 3 inches, had been lifted off the wharf by the wind. He said that the wharf was proving a splendid job and would stand up to anything.
The construction of the road approaching the wharf was also undertaken by Mr. Rope's firm as a separate contract. The work was difficult, the road having to be hewn out at the base of a cliff. It ran from the old landing place to the new wharf, a distance of a quarter a mile, and was 16 foot wide. On the seaward side the road had to be boarded up to a height of five feet, and battered a half to one. The road had been completed and metalled, and the cost would be about £1300. Some of the islanders were employed on the work with the company's own men. Mr. Rope will make another visit to the islands towards the end of the year.
Men loading wool bales on the wharf at Waitangi, Chatham Islands. Original caption reads: "Waitangi wharf. Waitangi wharf has a single tram-line with one loop. The trolleys are man powered and it takes a considerable time to shift the cargo"
(1) other work:
1938 - Jackson' Bay Harbour wharf and approaches £12,529 500ft. Tender Public Works Department.
1939 - Rakaia River Bridge on State Highway One, the Public Works Department were the engineers.
1939 - reinforced concrete bridge at Tungacreson the Wayby - Mangawai road.
1939 - reinforced concrete bridge at Wharehine on the Port Albert - Kaukapakapa road
1939 - Okuru River Bridge, Turnbull River Bridge, Waiototo River Bridge near Jackson's Bay
1941 - Matakana Bridge £3,525 150 ft long, 24 ft wide with three spans
1943 - Whirikino Bridge across the Manawatu River near Foxton, reinforced concrete 590 ft comprising a central span of 110ft, flanked by spans 100 ft, 80ft and 60ft.
1945 - Construction of foundations and piers State Highway Bridge over the Rangitikei River at Bulls £29,677
(2) Basil Vernon Rope
New Wharf at Chathams
The building of the wharf at Waitangi, Chatham Islands, is proceeding satisfactorily, and the work should be finished within the contract time, according to wireless reports received by Mr. B. V. Rope (2), of the Rope Construction Company, Auckland, the contractors for the work (states the "Otago Daily Times"). Mr. Rope was a passenger for the islands by the Tees from Lyttelton last Friday evening, and will return with the vessel in about eight days. He stated that between 350 and 400 feet of the wharf had been completed, including decking, and the men were now at work on the construction of the tee at the end of the wharf, at which vessels would berth.Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 83, 5 October 1933, Page 12
A Tidal Wave
Chathams Visitation
(By Telegraph.— Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, October 8.Chathams Visitation
A tidal wave occurred at Waitangi, Chatham Islands, a few weeks ago. Particulars are meagre, as very few saw the wave, but from accounts given by passengers, who arrived from the Islands by the Tees today, it appears that warning of the wave was first given by the sea retreating from the shore near the new wharf. The sea bottom, where there is ordinarily 15ft of water or more, was laid bare. Then the wave came in with a loud roar, sweeping clear across the wharf and high up on the beach. Loose timber on the wharf was swept overboard, but was later recovered, and no damage was done. Tidal Waves are not unusual at the Chatham Islands.
Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 86, 9 October 1933, Page 13
Wharf at Chatham Islands
The new wharf at Waitangi, Chatham Islands, work on which began last April, will be completed about the end of February, according to Mr. B. V. Rope, managing director of the Rope Construction Company, Auckland, the contractors for the work, who returned to Lyttelton by the Tees on Sunday, reports the "Christchurch Times."Mr. Rope said that the straight portion of the wharf, running out 400 feet, had been completed. This included a corrugated iron shed, 100 feet by 30 feet, at the shoreward end. The frame of the shed was of hardwood and it stood on 72 hardwood piles. On one side of the wharf was a sheep and cattle race. The men were now working on the tee at the end of the wharf, 100 feet by 26 feet, at which vessels would berth.
Eight piers, containing a total of 40 piles, had been driven and 13 piers remained to be driven. Some difficulty was experienced, Mr. Rope stated, through the bottom proving different from what had been expected, and it had been necessary to splice extra lengths on to some of the piles before they would reach firm ground. It would be necessary to procure more piles to replace the extra ones used. The intense cold and wind proved very trying to the workers. At times the wind was so strong that the men could not walk along the wharf, and loose hardwood planks, 9 inches by 3 inches, had been lifted off the wharf by the wind. He said that the wharf was proving a splendid job and would stand up to anything.
The construction of the road approaching the wharf was also undertaken by Mr. Rope's firm as a separate contract. The work was difficult, the road having to be hewn out at the base of a cliff. It ran from the old landing place to the new wharf, a distance of a quarter a mile, and was 16 foot wide. On the seaward side the road had to be boarded up to a height of five feet, and battered a half to one. The road had been completed and metalled, and the cost would be about £1300. Some of the islanders were employed on the work with the company's own men. Mr. Rope will make another visit to the islands towards the end of the year.
Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 88, 11 October 1933, Page 4
New Wharf at Chathams.
The trading steamer Tees, which left Lyttelton last night for the Chatham Islands, will, if conditions are favourable, berth at the new wharf at Waitangi. On her last trip to the Islands the Tees took down some piles to replace extra piles used on other parts of the wharf, where, owing to the depth before rock-bottom was reached through the mud, it had been necessary to splice; two piles in place of using one. While the Tees was at Waitangi on her last call six fender piles were driven by the wharf gang, leaving only eight to be put in. The work is now almost finished, the remaining work consisting in laying part of the decking, and general finishing touches. On her present trip the Tees is taking the remainder of the timber necessary to complete the job and her berthing at the wharf will be for the purpose of discharging this part of her cargo. No other cargo will be handled at the wharf until it is officially opened.
New Wharf at Chathams.
Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 15, 18 January 1934, Page 10
New Wharf at Chathams.
The new wharf at Waitangi in the Chatham Islands is reported to be well on the way towards completion and is expected to be ready for the opening ceremony at the end of this month. Practically all the material required for construction is now on the site, and only the kerbings and the cattle-race remain to be placed in position. A contract has been let for the building of a new jetty at Pitt Island. This work will commence at the end of February and will take about six weeks to complete.Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 35, 10 February 1934, Page 8
Men loading wool bales on the wharf at Waitangi, Chatham Islands. Original caption reads: "Waitangi wharf. Waitangi wharf has a single tram-line with one loop. The trolleys are man powered and it takes a considerable time to shift the cargo"Alexander Turnbull Library
ID: PAColl-0644-2-034
Photograph taken July 1951 by a Government photographer.
Photograph taken July 1951 by a Government photographer.
(1) other work:
1938 - Jackson' Bay Harbour wharf and approaches £12,529 500ft. Tender Public Works Department.
1939 - Rakaia River Bridge on State Highway One, the Public Works Department were the engineers.
1939 - reinforced concrete bridge at Tungacreson the Wayby - Mangawai road.
1939 - reinforced concrete bridge at Wharehine on the Port Albert - Kaukapakapa road
1939 - Okuru River Bridge, Turnbull River Bridge, Waiototo River Bridge near Jackson's Bay
1941 - Matakana Bridge £3,525 150 ft long, 24 ft wide with three spans
1943 - Whirikino Bridge across the Manawatu River near Foxton, reinforced concrete 590 ft comprising a central span of 110ft, flanked by spans 100 ft, 80ft and 60ft.
1945 - Construction of foundations and piers State Highway Bridge over the Rangitikei River at Bulls £29,677
(2) Basil Vernon Rope
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