SOLE SURVIVOR

Special thanks to Peter McCurdy of the TPS for his contributions to this article

Appearances can be deceiving and that certainly is the case for the Toroa ferry. While enormous progress has been made — including the renewal of the steel framework — none of this is visible to passing commuters who see it from the adjacent motorway. They only see the superstructure and timber work that has yet to be tackled.

Seaworthy? Not yet. But despite first impressions, her refurbishment to an operational and authentic state is well underway. “The perception is, ‘Oh, they are not doing anything’. But there are hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands of man hours that have gone into the hull, which is invisible from the outside,” says Toroa Preservation Society President, Robert Brown.

“It is believed to be the last remaining wooden, double-ended, two-decked, steampowered passenger ferry, still with original machinery, in the world”

A very dedicated team

Decayed wood, rusted steel, and oxidised machinery have not dampened the spirits of the small but devoted crew of volunteers. The dedication — not only to the work at hand but to finding the funding to carry it out — is palpable.

The Toroa is no ordinary dame. She is believed to be the last remaining wooden, double-ended, two-decked, steam-powered passenger ferry, still with original machinery, in the world. And certainly the only kauri-hulled vessel of her kind.

is the sole steam survivor of a fleet of -type passenger ferries that were once a common sight on Auckland’s Waitematā Harbour. The rest are sadly long gone,