Toroa (ferry) explained
| -- commercial vessels --> | +Toroa| Ship Image: | The steam ferry SS Toroa on the Waitematā harbour, 1950s.jpg | | Ship Caption: | The Toroa on the Waitematā Harbour in the 1950s |
| Ship Namesake: | Northern royal albatross | | Ship Owner: | - Devonport Steam Ferry Company Limited
- New Zealand Maritime Trust
| | Ship Builder: | George Niccol | | Ship Laid Down: | 1924 | | Ship Launched: | 28 April 1925 | | Ship In Service: | July 1925 | | Ship Out Of Service: | 8 August 1980 | | Ship Status: | Undergoing restoration |
| Ship Length: | 130.95feet | | Ship Beam: | 31.4feet | | Ship Draft: | 9.9feet | | Ship Depth: | 9.6feet | | Ship Decks: | 2 | | Ship Power: | Aitcheson, Blair Ltd Triple-expansion steam engine | | Ship Propulsion: | Triple expansion steam engine | | Ship Capacity: | - 1221 passengers river limits
- 682 passengers extended river limits
| | Ship Crew: | 4 |
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Toroa, named for the
northern royal albatross, is an
Albatross-class
passenger ferry that served
Auckland,
New Zealand.
History
Toroa was laid down in early 1924, with it taking 12 months to complete her. She was launched on 25 April 1925, with Mrs J. Fotheringham giving her blessing to the ship. [1] She would begin service that same year in July, primarily travelling between the Devonport and Auckland CBD ferry terminals with her sister ship Makora.[2] At her peak, she would carry about 20,000 passengers a day. After 55 years of service, she was laid up and was set to be buried in land reclamation work at Westhaven along with ferries Korea, Makora, Takapuna, and The Peregrine,[3] but was saved purchased by the New Zealand Maritime Trust. A volunteer group, the Toroa Preservation Society, worked towards a restoration. Toroa was towed to Birkenhead Wharf by the tug William C Daldy but sank in a storm there in 1998. She was raised on the second attempt, and brought ashore at Henderson in 2001. Restoration work was continuing slowly but regularly in 2010.
Other Albatross-class ferries include
- Albatross
- Kestrel
- The Peregrine
- Ngoiro
- Makora
External links
Notes and References
- Book: Balderston, David . The harbour ferries of Auckland . 1986 . 1-86934-004-3 . 1st.
- News: Falconer . Phoebe . 26 June 2010 . Observatory director behind Toroa Preservation Society . 9 July 2010 . The New Zealand Herald.
- Web site: Stuff . 2024-09-06 . www.stuff.co.nz.
