Aussie eyes on part of our history

ANGELA GREGORY finds a relic of New Zealand's bygone seafaring days which is in danger of being sold across the Tasman.

A piece of New Zealand's maritime history might be lost to Australia if a Rawene man is forced to sell the nearly 100-year-old scow he has worked hard to restore.

Graeme Darroch bought the rundown scow Alma in 1986 in Tauranga, where it had spent 20 years carting sand to the city.

The kauri boat was no longer licensed for work, and Mr Darroch took it back to Rawene, where he built a dry dock on his waterfront Hokianga Harbour property so he could work on the old craft.

Coming from a family of scow builders, the agricultural contractor wanted to preserve what was one of only a few scows left floating in New Zealand.

Mr Darroch's grandfather built the last scow, Success, at Devonport in 1926.

The flat-bottomed ships plied coastal waters between the 1890s and 1920s, transporting logs, sand, and general merchandise.

"They were the trucks of the bygone age," said Mr Darroch.

For the past three years, he has used Alma for tours and charters around the Hokianga Harbour.

But not enough people used the service, which ended up thousands of dollars in debt.

Having already spent about $400,000 on restoration work, Mr Darroch said, he could not afford to give her away to a trust as a way of seeking Government support.

His hours of careful work have included removing rot, replacing deck beams and the bowsprit, reconditioning a motor, rebuilding the steering gear and fastening and resheathing the vessel.

Mr Darroch had hoped to see Alma returned to a fully rigged schooner, but that would cost a further $475,000.

"In other countries, Governments have been known to sponsor the restoration of old boats for tourism. Unfortunately there seems to be no mechanism for doing that here."

Mr Darroch said he had reluctantly advertised the boat for sale, and had received expressions of interest from New Zealand and Australia.

"I would not want to be in the position where I was forced to sell her to an overseas buyer, but I can't afford to leave her to rot," he said.

"Ideally some business might consider sponsoring her restoration."

Built in 1902, Alma is thought to be the oldest surviving - and best-maintained - scow in New Zealand.

Mr Darroch describes his boat as a "working museum" with authentic 1930s fittings. It operated around Auckland for its first 50 years.

It was then in Whangarei for nearly 15 years, after which it went to Tauranga.

An Auckland authority on the old trading ships, James Bright, said the 24m Alma was one of the larger scows.

"She is a particularly good example of her type," he said.

Mr Bright said scows in New Zealand were developed from boats designed for America's Great Lakes.

Their flat bottoms and removable centre boards enabled them to come in to shore at high tide and beach as the tide ran out so goods could be loaded and unloaded.

Mr Bright said about 150 scows were built in New Zealand.