Historic ferry Idalia prepares for new life

In her heyday, Idalia ferried hundreds of people across the water between Mt Maunganui and Tauranga.

Now more than 100 years old, the old carvel planked boat sits on a trailer on Troy Duncan's Pakowhai orchard, undergoing repairs in preparation for a new stretch of life.

Troy and his father, Ross, are undertaking a labour of love on a boat that has almost become a member of the family. With the assistance of friends, they're patching and painting Idalia for a return to Lake Waikaremoana.

Built in Auckland by Bailey's Boat Builders about 1890, Idalia did her ferry service at Mount Maunganui and was then bought by the Gisborne Harbour Board. She was taken to Lake Waikaremoana by ox and cart about 1930, while she was owned by the Jessop family of Tuai, and entered the Duncan family in 1972 when an uncle purchased her. He lived on the boat for two years, trapping possums.

Ross Duncan bought a share in her in 1976, and the family has used her as a holiday boat ever since.

When they pulled Idalia out of the water just after Christmas, the Duncans intended to do some minor repairs and painting beside the lake. It soon became apparent it required a lot more work than expected, so she was brought back to Hawke's Bay.

Troy Duncan said they were lucky to find a trailer to suit the heavy wooden boat.

After so much time on the water, the old Kauri planks of the hull were beginning to rot. Rainwater caused most of the damage, pooling in the bottom of the boat and rotting it from the inside.

In some places the wood was so soft a stick or a log would have gone straight through the hull, he said.

Idalia has been patched up a few times over the years. The cabin was replaced in 1972, and she is now on her third engine, her previous Thornycroft engine now working in a museum in Hawera.

The Duncans are not sure how long the repairs to the hull and deck will take, but the boat will return to its home on Lake Waikaremoana when they're finished.

Much of Idalia's history has come by word-of-mouth, and Troy Duncan is keen for any further information on her past, including the meaning and reason behind the name Idalia.

The boat features in an early film of the Tuai power station, and residents of Gisborne or Tuai may know more about Idalia's former lives.

When she's back on the water and he has some time to spare, Troy Duncan intends to further research the boat's past.

- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES

Further reading: nzherald.co.nz/marine