Photo by Mrs Edith Beck
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T.E.V. Wahine (Turbine Electric Vessel) was a drive-on passenger ship owned by the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand. Of 8,944 gross tonnage, she was built on the River Clyde in Scotland by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd of Govan, Glasgow for her owner’s “Steamer Express” service between Wellington and Lyttelton. Established in 1895, this service no longer operates, having been discontinued in 1976. Up until 10 April 1968 it was maintained by two ships. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8 p.m. the Wahine departed Wellington for the overnight voyage between the North and South Islands of New Zealand, arriving at Lyttelton next morning at 7 a.m. She would then sail back to Wellington the following night. Her partner on the Steamer Express service, the smaller and older Maori (7,498 gross tons, built 1953) ran in the opposite direction, leaving Lyttelton on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, passing the Wahine during the night before reaching Wellington next morning. There were no sailings on Sunday evenings. During Christmas and holiday peak times, extra daylight crossings were made in addition to the overnight schedule. Throughout the many decades since 1895 the Steamer Express service had gained a world-wide reputation for its very high standards of comfort, reliability and efficiency. In October 1964 the Union Steam Ship Company invited tenders from eleven British shipyards to build the Wahine. She was to replace their Hinemoa which, after just 18 years on the Steamer Express, would now be retired early to make way for a new drive-on ship. On 25 February 1964 the tender submitted by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd of Glasgow was accepted. Three weeks later, on 18 March 1964, the contract to build the Wahine was signed for a fixed price of 3,042,175 pounds Sterling. The new ship was known as Hull Number 830 until 5 June 1964 when her chosen name Wahine, meaning "woman" or "wife" in the Maori language, was announced. She was built in prefabricated sections that were assembled on the building berth by welding them together. This was a very new method in those days, as ships had traditionally been built by erecting steel frames and girders and then riveting steel plates to them to form the hull and superstructure. On 14 September 1964 the very first double bottom section was lifted into position. By mid-1965 the hull was fully complete and the ship’s boilers and engines had been placed aboard. Launching took place on the afternoon of Wednesday 14 July 1965, the Wahine going down the slipway into the River Clyde after her sponsor, Mrs Tui Macfarlane, wife of the Union Steam Ship Company's Managing Director Mr F K Macfarlane, released a bottle of champagne across the Wahine’s bows. Once afloat, she was moved by tugs to the fitting-out berth at Fairfields, where her construction would be finished. The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company was, at the time, short of up to 400 skilled tradesmen out of a total workforce of nearly 3,000, and at the celebratory dinner following the launch Mr James Lenaghan, the company’s Managing Director, advised that the Wahine would not be ready by the 31 October 1965 date specified in her building contract.
The Wahine, Yard Number 830, under construction on the Number Two Building Berth in the shipyard of the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd at Govan, Glasgow, in early 1965. The River Clyde is at left while at right, beside the Wahine, another ship is under construction. Building of the Wahine has progressed as far as A Deck, with the Captain's Deck and bridge yet to be erected. The hull is being painted and already the name "Wahine" can be seen at her stern.
Launch day, Wednesday 14 July 1965. Mrs Tui Macfarlane on the glass-enclosed launch platform has just said "I name this ship Wahine...." and has released the bottle of champagne across her bow. Launching an ocean-going vessel like the Wahine followed a procedure developed over many generations of shipbuilding in Great Britain. It required very great skill, timing and co-ordination. The weight of the ship is borne by two parallel sliding ways or tracks that incline towards the river. These can be seen in the photo. The sliding ways are heavily greased with tallow. They in turn rest on a massive support structure beneath them, known as the standing ways. In the hours before the launch the last of the timber bracing shores holding the Wahine in place are knocked away one-by-one. Once all the timber shores are gone, counter-weights are applied and these are all that restrain the Wahine from slipping prematurely down the inclined ways into the river on her own. She is watched constantly to make sure no movement occurs. Part of one of the hydraulic rams can be seen at the bottom centre of the photo. Some of the Clydeside men who built the Wahine have run forward to watch. The white-painted structures on each side of the Wahine's forefoot (or lower bow) are the port and starboard fore-poppets. Made of heavy timber, these function like cradles to support the hull on its journey to the river, and also take the crushing load as the stern lifts on becoming water-borne. The poppets are designed to fall away as the Wahine's bow leaves the slipway. Seconds after this photo was taken, the fore poppets broke from their mountings and somersaulted through the air, but no damage was done to the ship.
The Wahine afloat for the very first time, just after 2.30 pm on 14 July 1965, immediately after her successful launch. Timber from the fore-poppets can be seen floating in the river under her bow. The tug at her stern is manoeuvring the Wahine into the fitting-out berth at the Fairfields shipyard, where she will be completed. Towering over the ship is the giant hammerhead crane used by Fairfields for lifting boilers and engines into ships at the fitting-out berth. The Wahine was launched with her boilers and engines already installed. Even in her incomplete state the graceful lines of the new ship are apparent.
At the time of her launch the Wahine was the sixth ship and the largest to date built for the Wellington-Lyttelton Steamer Express Service. She was the first to be constructed with a stern door and drive-on vehicle decks. She was also, at the time, the world’s largest drive-on vehicle and passenger ship. Four hundred and ninety feet long from the forward tip of her bow to her stern, and with a beam at its widest point of 71 feet, the Wahine’s draught when fully loaded with passengers, cargo and fuel was 17 feet five inches. The new ship was still far from complete when, three months after her launch, the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company was placed in receivership on the afternoon of Friday 15 October 1965. The contract to build the Wahine was terminated as a result. All work on the Wahine ceased that day, with no prospect of it being resumed in the immediate future. Faced with a now deserted, half-finished ship, the Union Steam Ship Company moved to find another ship builder with whom a new contract for finishing her could be arranged. Union Company staff standing-by the Wahine at Fairfields were instructed to compile lists of all the work still needing to be done on the ship. Negotiations began with Harland & Wolff Ltd at Belfast, Northern Island, it being proposed to tow the Wahine across the Irish Sea to their shipyard. This was, however, forestalled when a new company called Fairfields (Glasgow) Ltd was formed by the receivers in November 1965. Work on the Wahine recommenced after a fresh contract was signed on 6 January 1966. But a succession of promised delivery dates were not met. She was eventually completed in mid-May 1966, seven months late. On 27 May the Wahine was taken to sea for the very first time, to run her trials in the Firth of Clyde. For this she was under the command of a master and qualified pilot hired by Fairfields (Glasgow) Ltd from the Clyde Port Authority.
During the short voyage from Greenock out to the measured mile off Arran, where the trials were to be conducted, the Wahine was unofficially clocked at a top speed of 22.4 knots. But when she was just to the south of Little Cumbrae Island in the Clyde Estuary, the Wahine's main condenser stopped working, thereby disabling the ship's engines. The condenser's function was to take low-pressure steam which had passed through the turbines, and convert it back into feed-water for the boilers. This was essential for the production of steam, and with no condenser the trials had to be aborted. A tug was summoned from Greenock to tow her back to port, and in the meantime the Wahine came into the Largs Channel, away from the main shipping route. She dropped anchor near Hunterston power station. To compound the day's mishaps, one of the anchor's flukes snagged the undersea telephone cable linking the seaside town of Rothesay. There was no lifting gear on the Wahine's foredeck, and so it was necessary to jury-rig a means for extricating the anchor without severing the telephone cable. This took several hours while waiting for the tug to arrive. A further wait of 16 days elapsed while the condenser was dismantled and repaired. The Wahine put to sea again on 14 June 1966 and all was going well until "emergency stop engines" was ordered from the bridge, as part of the trials. The main electrical switchboard tripped out as soon as current to the propulsion motors was broken. This in turn resulted in loss of steam pressure to the turbines, before the switchboard could be reactivated. The surveyors from the British Department of Trade, who were observing the trials, reduced the maximum current that the main switchboard was permitted to handle, to avoid it tripping again in this way during an emergency stop. As a result, the switchboard could no longer deliver full power to the motors to enable them to reach 22 knots of speed. This in turn meant the Wahine reached only 21.7 knots, below the contract speed of 22 knots. Fairfields (Glasgow) Ltd prepared to do further work on the Wahine but by now, with completion of the new ship nearly eight months behind schedule, the Union Steam Ship Company's management had had enough. Satisfied that the company's technical staff could rectify the electrical problems once the ship had reached New Zealand, they decided to accept the Wahine without further holdup, doing so at 12 noon on 18 June 1966. The company was right to proceed as such, for the Wahine was a brand-new ship and the breakdowns during her trials were not a matter for surprise. Her machinery was all new, high performing and very complex - much more so than ships fitted with diesel engines. All of it had to be made to function in unison, and achieving this could not be expected the first time the ship put to sea. Teething problems were inevitable but if the Wahine remained any longer with her builders in Scotland, there was a strong likelihood she might not get to New Zealand and be ready in time for the 1966 Christmas peak season. Other aspects of the trial had proved very successful; in particular the Wahine was found to be highly manoeuvrable, turning immediately when the helm was put 'hard over' in either direction, then straightening up on her new heading as soon as 'amidships' was ordered. At 11.30 am the following morning, Sunday 19 June 1966, the Wahine left on her delivery voyage to New Zealand, sailing from Greenock on the River Clyde for Panama, across the Atlantic. There were 64 officers and crew aboard but no passengers or cargo. She was under the command of Captain EKG Meatyard, her Chief Engineer was Mr H Wareing, and Mr R McMillan was the Chief Officer (First Mate). But after steaming only 189 miles, problems with overheating in one of the main turbines forced the ship to put about and return to Greenock, where she anchored at 12.45 am on 20 June 1966. Repairs were carried out by Fairfields personnel and the Wahine departed again that afternoon. After 34 days at sea, having called for bunkers (oil fuel and water) at Balboa on the Pacific coast of Panama and then at Papeete on the island of Tahiti, she arrived in Wellington harbour on Sunday 24 July 1966. That afternoon she was opened to the public and thousands came to the Overseas Passenger Terminal, where the Wahine was berthed, to see her. As part of the welcome festivities for the new ship, the Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir Bernard Fergusson, accompanied by Lady Fergusson, were guests of the directors of the Union Steam Ship Company for a luncheon held aboard the Wahine on 17 August 1966. Two days later the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Rt Hon Keith Holyoake, visited the ship for a reception in the Wahine’s smoke room along with several of his cabinet ministers, their wives and the mayors of Wellington and Lower Hutt. Then, on the night of Monday 1 August 1966, with Captain Meatyard as Master, the Wahine made her first sailing from Wellington to Lyttelton. Mr Wareing continued as Chief Engineer while Mr R S Luly was promoted from the Maori to be Chief Officer of the Wahine. Mr McMillan remained aboard as Extra Chief Officer. Stewards from the Hinemoa, which had been withdrawn from the Steamer Express service and put up for sale, had transferred to the Wahine the previous day. The Wahine’s sponsor, Mrs Tui Macfarlane, who had launched the Wahine in Glasgow just over a year before, was aboard for this maiden commercial voyage along with 457 other passengers, 45 cars, 80 trade vehicles and 19 freight trucks. Departure from Wellington was held up for 45 minutes because of a fault with the hydraulic mechanism that raised and lowered the stern door. But next morning, exactly to schedule, the Wahine berthed in a mist-shrouded Lyttelton harbour where cars were driven ashore from her vehicle decks for the very first time. The voyage from Scotland was the only occasion during her short life that the Wahine went deep sea (crossing oceans out of sight of land). At the time of her loss on 10 April 1968 she had been in service for just over 20 months.
During and after 1968 there was much speculation that the Wahine had been poorly built, and that this had contributed to her loss. The fact that she remained afloat, upright and intact after the damage inflicted to her lower hull while aground on Barrett Reef, and that she did so while in extreme wind and sea conditions, proves this notion to be false. Her survival after Barrett Reef is testimony to the strength of her construction and the great skill of the Clydeside men who built her. The Union Steam Ship Company’s management, however, had good reason to be disappointed with the performance of her builders. The Wahine had failed to reach her contract speed of 22 knots and the lateness of her completion meant she had not been ready, as intended, for the 1965 Christmas holiday peak season. Also, numerous leaks and defects were found in the ship’s high pressure steam plant and these had to be rectified by the company’s own engineering staff following the Wahine’s arrival in Wellington. Problems continued for the remainder of 1966 and at one point a special team of engineers was assigned to the ship to help deal with them. All of the faults were traced to inferior workmanship on the part of the Wahine's engine builders. Initially the Union Steam Ship Company sought £602,000.00 compensation from Fairfields (Glasgow) Ltd for breach of contract. In late March 1967, after many months of negotiation, compensation of £50,000.00 was finally agreed and subsequently paid by Fairfields. The Certificate of Survey issued to the Wahine by the Marine Department of New Zealand classed her as a home trade passenger ship, while under Lloyds Register of Shipping she was rated as “Plus 100 A1 Ferry”. Big, fine-looking and beautifully proportioned with her curved bow, raked masts and tall funnel, the Wahine embodied her owner’s hopes for great commercial success through the introduction of drive-on facilities. Before this, passengers travelling with their cars on the Steamer Express had them hoisted aboard one-by-one using the ship’s derricks, a time-consuming and labour-intensive process. Ships such as the 6,911 ton Hinemoa, which the Wahine replaced, had only limited space on their decks for the transport of cars and by the early 1960s could not keep up with demand. The change to drive-on required very substantial capital investment. In addition to the expense of building the new ship, the 12 year old Maori had in 1965 been sent to a Hong Kong shipyard to be rebuilt with a stern door and vehicle deck. New terminals with link spans had also been constructed at both Lyttelton and Wellington. The Wahine had space on her vehicle decks for up to 200 cars, trucks and Seafreighter trailers. Seafreighters were tarpaulin-covered pallets mounted on wheeled trailers and loaded with general cargo. They were towed aboard by special tractors. Her main vehicle deck, accessed through the ship’s stern door, extended the full width of the ship and was 380 feet long, reaching from the Wahine's stern to within 90 feet of the ship's bow. When at her loaded draught of 17 feet five inches, the floor of the Wahine’s main vehicle deck at the ship's stern was approximately five feet above the waterline. Amidships it was approximately 3 feet 6 inches above the waterline. On the deck immediately above the main vehicle deck was a second and smaller parking area known as the upper garage, with space for approximately 50 cars. Vehicles were driven to and from the upper garage using two fixed ramps positioned against the ship's hull on the port and starboard sides of the main vehicle deck. The upper garage was 96 feet long and, like the main vehicle deck, extended across the full width of the ship. Unlike the main vehicle deck, the upper garage had windows along its sides.
In addition to vehicles, the Wahine could accommodate 924 passengers in a total of 381 cabins spread over six decks. Fifty-five of these were single berth cabins, 213 were two berth, 21 were three berth, and 90 were four berth cabins. The ship also had two 12 berth dormitory-type cabins on F Deck. Included in the 213 two berth cabins were two luxury suites on B Deck. Flourescent lighting was fitted throughout the passenger accommodation, the Wahine being the first ship in the Union Steam Ship Company’s fleet to have this feature. She also had passenger lifts, television and a stabilisation system to dampen rolling movement while at sea. All of these similarly were firsts for a Union Company vessel. The Wahine had three public rooms for her passengers. Amidships on B Deck was a lounge bar known as the Smoke Room, with seating for 158 patrons. Adjacent to this at the after end of B Deck was the Cafeteria, with large windows providing views over the Wahine’s stern. This room had seating for 165 diners. Here passengers could obtain counter-style meals and also have breakfast prior to leaving the ship at the end of the overnight voyage. Directly above the Cafeteria, at the after end of A Deck, was the General Lounge. It similarly had large panoramic windows giving extensive views out over the sea. Furnished with television and comfortable seating, it was designed for use by families with children, together with passengers wanting an alternative setting to the Smoke Room in which to relax.
The Wahine was a twin-screw ship powered by steam-driven, turbine-electric machinery. In keeping with other ships having the same type of propulsion system, she was known as T.E.V. Wahine – turbine electric vessel. Her engine spaces occupied five of the ship’s 14 water-tight compartments situated below the main vehicle deck. Nearest to the bow were the ship’s two boiler rooms: the forward boiler room and the aft boiler room. Each had two water-tube marine boilers that burned oil fuel to make high pressure steam at 615 pounds per square inch, heated to 840 degrees Fahrenheit. Three of the four boilers were sufficient to deliver steam required for maximum power, allowing one boiler to be shut down at any time for routine maintenance. Aft of the boiler rooms was the auxiliary turbo-alternator room. Here, steam from the boilers was fed into three turbines each of which was coupled directly to an alternator that produced electricity. Known as turbo-alternators, they had a maximum running speed of 8,518 rpm and an electrical output of 650 kilowatts (kW) each. Two of the three turbo-alternators supplied the electricity for the Wahine’s domestic needs - the lighting and power for her passenger accommodation, crew’s quarters, galley, winches, pumps, ventilation fans, bridge, vehicle decks and so on. The third was used when manoeuvring in harbour to power the bow thrusters, which were larger than those at the Wahine’s stern and required their own dedicated turbo-alternator. In addition to her thrusters, the Wahine was fitted with a bow rudder to assist with steering when the ship was being reversed into her berth at the interisland terminals in Wellington and Lyttelton.
The next compartment aft of the auxiliary turbo-alternator room was the main turbo-alternator room. This was the largest and foremost of the Wahine’s engine spaces for it was where the two big turbines, supplying power to move the ship, were located. Each turbine received steam from the boilers and could produce a maximum 9,000 shaft horse power (shp) at 3,080 revolutions per minute (rpm). Cruising speed for the turbines was 6,000 shp at 2,690 rpm. As with the much smaller units in the auxiliary turbo-alternator room, each turbine was coupled to an alternator and these each generated 6,900 kW of electricity. Access to this room was by ladder from the main vehicle deck directly above. The aft-most of the engine spaces was the compartment known as the propulsion motor room. The electricity produced by the turbo-alternators in the main turbo-alternator room was delivered to the two electric motors in this compartment, each of which drove one of the Wahine’s two propellers. The electric motors each had a maximum rating of 9,000 shp at 220 rpm. The propellers they turned were four-bladed, 12 feet in diameter and weighed about 5 tons. In service the Wahine travelled at an average speed of 17 knots, giving her a large reserve of speed to compensate when needed because of holdups from adverse weather or a late departure from port. Although designed to make a top speed of 22 knots, during her short life the Wahine never exceeded the 21.7 knots she achieved on her trials. The Wahine’s machinery was intended to give her the high manoeuvring ability and high astern power needed when turning and reversing each morning into the inter-island terminals at Wellington and Lyttelton. Her engines were controlled by the ship’s engineers from the engine control platform, which was located in the main turbo-alternator room. It was to here that all orders for engine speeds were communicated from the Wahine’s bridge. Fully enclosed and positioned near the centre of the ship, the bridge was designed to give maximum visibility forward and aft in all weathers. On her boat decks the Wahine was equipped with eight lifeboats each made of fibreglass and capable of between them holding a maximum of 694 people. At 26 feet in length the two forward lifeboats, mounted on their davits just abaft and below the port and starboard wings of the bridge, were smaller than the remaining six. Known as the “accident boats”, their purpose was recover anyone who fell overboard and, in an evacuation of the ship, to tow the other lifeboats and their passengers to safety. For these purposes they both were fitted with a 15 horse power diesel motor. When loaded, the accident boats could each take up to 50 people. The other six lifeboats were 31 feet long and designed to hold up to 99 people each. They were equipped with hand-propelling gear comprising a series of vertical levers connected to a shaft in the bottom of the boat. When moved from side to side by the boat’s occupants, the levers cranked the shaft which in turn drove a propeller at the boat’s stern. In addition to the eight lifeboats, the Wahine was the first ship on the Steamer Express service to be equipped with inflatable life rafts. Thirty-six were carried aboard the ship, stored under large double-backed wooden seats at the forward and after ends of A Deck. Each life raft could accommodate 25 people or a total of 900 between all 36 of them. They were lowered into the water from the ship by means of four small cranes positioned forward on A Deck under the bridge wings and aft on A Deck outboard of the General Lounge. On C Deck right at the stern of the Wahine were four timber flotation rafts, each with a 20 person capacity. These four rafts plus the eight lifeboats and the 36 inflatable life rafts could accommodate a total of 1,674 people. The Wahine’s total passengers and crew by comparison numbered 1,052. A total of 1,224 lifejackets were provided for use in an emergency. One hundred of these were specifically for children, the remainder were for adults weighing 70 pounds or more. Captain Meatyard remained in command of the Wahine for her first three months on the Steamer Express service. His tenure was marred by a series of engine breakdowns and, on the evening of 24 September 1966, a major incident when the Wahine was blown away from the wharf by strong wind gusts while at Lyttelton embarking passengers. Three people fell from a gangway and had to be rescued out of the sea. A month later 63 cabins on C Deck, many of them occupied by sleeping passengers, were flooded when a hot water line broke. Captain Meatyard retired on Sunday 30 October 1966, handing over command of the Wahine next morning to her second and final Master. His name was Captain H G Robertson. Copyright © 2008 Murray Robinson www.thewahine.co.nz
In 1968 the Wahine's partner on the overnight Wellington-Lyttelton Steamer Express was the smaller and older Maori, commanded by Captain R E Pugh-Williams. The Maori is shown in the above painting. During the events of 10 April 1968 she was berthed in Lyttelton, sailing for Wellington that evening. After the Wahine's loss the 1953-built Maori maintained the Steamer Express on her own with a combination of night-time and daylight sailings. But with just one ship the service was never quite the same. When the Rangatira, built to replace the Wahine arrived in March 1972 the Union Steam Ship Company decided to continue one ship operations on the Wellington-Lyttelton run, and the Maori was retired and eventually sold for scrap in early 1974. TEV Rangatira lasted only until September 1976 when mounting financial losses resulted in the ending of the Wellington-Lyttelton Steamer Express Service. Sources:
Te Ataahua Wahine
TEV Wahine - Facts and FiguresBeautiful ship from where have you sailed? bringing cargo, passengers and government mail. Most handsome of liners as you steam into port, what seas have you crossed? what gales have you fought? The Captain commands the engines obey, tied up alongside at the finish of day. Yet the respite is short open seas lie ahead, will they bring solace? or great tempests of dread. For Wahine’s master the storm smoulders still, but now all will be answered for that is God’s Will. All will be answered the critics to silence, grace upon tragedy from a storm of such violence. MGR
Vehicle Deck: The Wahine's vehicle decks comprised the main vehicle deck and the forward garage, both on E Deck, and the upper garage on D Deck. The main vehicle deck and the forward garage totalled 380 feet in length. Telecommunications: The Wahine was fitted with the following telecommunications equipment: Passengers & Crew: The Wahine carried a maximum of 1,050 passengers and crew.
General Fittings: The Wahine was equipped with the following: Copyright © 2008 Murray Robinson www.thewahine.co.nz Sources:
Crew List THE OFFICERS AND CREW OF TEV WAHINE ON 10TH APRIL 1968 Fatalities are in red Jobs performed by each crew member are listed where known
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The Wahine in Wellington harbour for the very first time, early afternoon on Sunday 24 July 1966 at the completion of her delivery voyage from Scotland. She is dressed overall in flags for her arrival and has anchored in the stream while customs and health formalities are carried out. The ship passing the Wahine at right is the Cook Strait rail ferry Aranui, also brand-new having entered service just seven weeks earlier.
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