Motor Canoes |
Parinui Name Meaning: Large Cliff Type: Canoe, 1 screw in a tunnel Wood: Kauri Date of Purchase: Late 1903 Length: 46ft 25in Beam: 6ft Depth: 2ft Gross Tons: 3.04 Reg. Tons: 2.4 Machinery: 1 Holland & Gillett, Zealandia Oil 10-12 BHP 1 Thornycroft Oil 25 BHP (1929) Fate: The Parinui was laid up in July 1933 and was sold to Mr Burgess, an up-river farmer who re-named her Kohinui. |
Wakanui Name Meaning: Big Canoe Type: Canoe, 1 screw in a tunnel Wood: Totara Date of Purchase: December 1905 Length: 66ft Beam: 5ft 6in Depth: 3ft 6in Gross Tons: 7.6 Reg. Tons: 5.7 Machinery: 1 Thornycroft Oil 20 BHP Fate: The Wakanui was laid up in 1937 and Mr Ronald Hatrick presented it to the Whanganui Museum in April 1939. |
Moa Name Meaning: Extinct giant flightless Bird Type: Canoe, 1 screw in a tunnel Wood: Totara Date of Purchase: Around 1906 Length: 54ft Beam: 5ft 4in Depth: 2ft 8in Gross Tons: 4.4 Reg. Tons: 3.4 Machinery: 1 White Oil 12 BHP Fate: The Moa was sold to a Maori in 1937 and was later lost in a flood and salvaged by another Maori who kept for his own use. |
Introduction: Alexander Hatrick purchased 3 Maori War Canoes over a period of three years and fitted them with motors. Their use was mainly on the top run from the Houseboat to Taumarunui when the river was too low for the bigger boats to get up. |
Below are photos of all 3 Motor Canoes, click them to see the enlarged version. |
Parinui going up a rapid early 1910's. |
Wakanui, Moa & Parinui to right, 1910's. |
Wakanui on Taumarunui slipway late 1900's. |
Wakanui being loaded at Taumarunui 1910's |
