Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum

RENA - Awanuia's Story

2011-12-21T11:31:00.019+13:00

Here at Voyager Maritime Museum we have over 180 volunteers who provide their services and talents during their free time. Volunteers help bring our Museum to life by running guided tours, operating all of our heritage vessels, undertaking maintenance on vessels both on and off the water and assisting in the Museum's library.

Many of these generous people have full time jobs whilst also volunteering at Voyager and many have amazing experiences to share with us. One such story is from Captain John Briand, who at Voyager is a volunteer Master aboard Ted Ashby, the Museum's harbour sailing vessel. We'd like to thank John for sharing his recent experience of working to salvage the reef-striken container ship RENA.

October 5th 2011 will go down as a dark day in New Zealand’s maritime history. History was made at 2.20am, when the Container vessel ‘RENA’ struck the Astrolabe Reef just 12 miles from her destination. If all had gone to plan, by 3.00am, she would have picked up her pilot and headed into Tauranga to exchange containers before continuing her voyage. She struck the reef at 17.5 knots (32.6kph) bringing some 42,000 tonnes of ship and cargo to a complete stop in just over 100 metres. Where she sits now is illustrated below.

As you can see, nearly two thirds of the vessel is hanging over the edge of the mount, subjected to the twice daily rise and fall of the three metre tides, plus gale events giving rise to five metre swells. It is amazing that at the time of writing, the vessel is still holding together.

Despite everything, and the rhetoric that was spouted each day decrying this and that, we should be truly thankful that to date, there has been no loss of life and only one person injured. This was one of the salvors.

These guys were truly the heroes of the operation that saw the removal of some 1200 cubic metres of heavy fuel oil. Their efforts will continue for some time yet, with the transfer of the containers expected to take months. As the photograph taken from the bridge of the bunker tanker ‘AWANUIA’ shows, the starboard (right) side of the RENA is and remains completely submerged.

The last 360 tonnes of fuel oil were contained in a tank below the water. To access this tank, divers have had to construct watertight bulkheads (walls) in passage ways giving access to the tank. This then permitted them to pump the water from the space over the fuel oil tank, and remove a small lid at the top of the tank. Once this was achieved, they were able to lower a pump into the tank. To assist in removing the last of the oil, the salvors resorted to pumping water into the tank, floating the oil to the upper section of the tank. In the photograph above, you can see the floating hose line through which some 1400 cubic metres of oil and seawater has been transferred. Lubricating and diesel oil plus other waste has also passed through this line into the AWANUIA’s slop tank.

In the photograph titled ‘All go on the RENA’, you can see the foredeck of the bunker tanker ‘AWANUIA’, the rig supply vessel ‘GO CANOPUS’, and the salver’s helicopter hovering over the stricken vessel ‘RENA’. If the stern of the ‘RENA’ does come detached, then the ‘GO CANOPUS’ will try to tow the section to shallow water before it sinks.

All go on the RENA

For ‘AWANUIA’, the next stage was for her to proceed to Marsden Point where she discharged all the entrained water and fuel oil to shore tanks. The fuel oil will be reprocessed, and find its way back onboard another ship as bunker fuel.

‘AWANUIA’ then loaded clean fuel oil on the 18th November and resumed her normal duties delivering gas oil and fuel oil to the many passenger and container ships visiting Auckland over the busy summer months. So if you see a smart looking blue vessel gracing our waterfront, give her some thought to her role in preventing this disaster becoming even bigger. She has spent nearly eight weeks hanging off those mooring lines astern of ‘RENA” patiently loading at rates as low as 2.5 tonnes per hour.

This photo shows the single line through which all the oil has been transferred. It is designed as a ‘quick break’ unit, and allows instant disconnection, even if the pump is still running.

You will note that I refer to ‘AWANUIA’ as a bunker tanker, not a bunker barge. There is a difference, and we, the Managers at PB Sea-Tow Ltd, are proud of that difference as she is a fully fledged ship in every way; in her classification, her functionality and her looks.

Written by Captain John P Briand. Deputy DPA for AWANUIA. 07/12/11

Shipbreak - Our newest exhibition

2011-09-05T19:03:00.005+12:00

On Thursday 1 September 2011 Voyager's Exhibition Team unveiled the latest exhibition in our Edmiston Gallery of Maritime Art. Until 31 January 2012 we will have on display 'Shipbreak: A Biology of Steel'.

This photographic exhibition was created by Claudio Cambon, who has been a documentary photographer for more than 20 years, and has photographed all over the world including in Italy and Germany, the American West, Mexico and Bangladesh, where he documented this exhibition. Claudio has exhibited, lectured and been published and collected internationally; this summer his work forms part of the Italy Pavilion at the 2011 Venice Biennale.

'Shipbreak' charts the last days of the American-flag oil tanker SS Minole, as it was beached in the breaking yards of Chittagong, Bangladesh, in January 1998. This signaled the end of long, productive life wandering the oceans for its American sailors. But for the Bangladeshi shipbreakers, who over the course of the next five months dismantled the vessel more or less by hand, it signified instead a new beginning. The remains of this ship provided many materials necessary to their country’s struggle to create a modern existence for itself.

The photographs in this exhibition give a record of the transformation of this process and they ultimately serve as a meditation on how life possesses us more than we do it, and how it mysteriously changes shape from one beautiful form to another.

We hope you enjoy seeing these haunting and stunning images whilst they are on display at Voyager.

Voyager Brand wins International Design Award

2011-04-08T14:24:00.005+12:00

An example of the Voyager brand in use.

Following on from the Voyager Maritime Museum rebrand in 2009, Geoff Suvalko, who was the creative force behind the development of the Museum’s Voyager brand, entered the Maritime Museum’s rebranding project into the Design Week Awards 2011. On March 8th, in London the Museum’s Voyager brand was announced as the winner of the Identity Programmes category for the Design Week Awards 2011. As the winner of the category of Identity Programmes, Voyager beat the likes of Science Museum, Museum of London, Euro 2012 for UEFA, Puma, and Sony Music.

We find ourselves in great company along with other winners which include Victoria & Albert Museum, Sky Couch by Air New Zealand, Apple iPad, Dell, WWF, Royal Mail Group, British Airways, and Nike.

Design Week is the UK's leading Design publication with a readership of over 35,000 design professionals across the world. For over 20 years, Design Week has been reporting on every aspect of the design industry - breaking news, uncovering the big stories and showcasing the best new international work.

European Landfalls Gallery opening soon

2011-04-08T11:42:00.009+12:00

Sneak peek at a part of European Landfalls

We are getting very excited at Voyager Maritime Museum about the re-opening of the European Landfalls Gallery to the public on Tuesday 19th April.

Our Collections and Exhibitions team have been hard at work over the past few months redeveloping this exhibition that tells the story of the great journeys of some of Europe’s most notable explorers. You can discover the stories of Tasman, Cook and De Surville as they sailed around the world to in search of the fabled ‘Great South Land’.

It is thanks to a generous Grant from NZ Lottery Grants board and a bequest from Mike Montague (a long serving Museum volunteer) as well as generous donation from Hanes family that this redevelopment has taken place.

Exhibitions and Collections Manager Karolina Spaseska-Markosva says “This gallery covers the great stories of what motivated European Explorers to travel to far off New Zealand. These European journeys, and consequential settlements, have contributed greatly to the way our country is shaped, so we are thrilled to be able to these important stories.”

Here at Voyager, we are so excited to show you this new space that we thought you might like a sneak peek!

Another little sneak peek!

Don’t forget to come on down from 19 April onwards to re-discover and explore these great tales in the European Landfalls Gallery.

Jane Gifford in Auckland

2011-04-08T11:28:00.008+12:00

Jane Gifford (Left) and Ted Ashby setting sail on the Waitemata Harbour.

Photo by Stuart Birnie.

On 9th March, the restored Scow “Jane Gifford” was escorted into the Maritime Museum’s Marina by the mighty Scow Ted Ashby and Brigantine ‘Breeze’. This was a sight to behold, as it was the first time in 70 years that 2 scows were seen sailing on Waitemata Harbour. Built in 1908, Jane Gifford is the country’s last remaining original rigged sailing scow. Over $700,000 had been spent on her restoration by the launch date on 16th May 2009, on her 101st Anniversary. The Jane Gifford is based in Warkworth and has undergone two rebuilds in her long hard working life. Jane Gifford did a charter sailing for stakeholders on 10 March, and then the public were invited to step aboard and see her restoration close up.

It was very exciting to see Jane Gifford, Ted Ashby and Breeze setting sail in the Harbour on such a beautiful sunny Auckland day.

Blue Water Black Magic wins architecture award

2010-10-20T23:32:00.013+13:00

On Thursday 14 October the team at Voyager were delighted to accept an award at the New Zealand Institute of Architecture's Local Awards. Thanks to the wonderful work of Pete Bossley and his talented team at Pete Bossley Architects, Voyager's exhibition 'Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake' won a local

award in the Public Architecture category.

Alastair Aitken, the Chairman of the museum's Trust Board (seen on the right with Pete Bossley), accepted the award on the night, and we think it's testament to the great work of Pete and his team.

Blue Water Black Magic is equivalent to almost one third of the entire museum so clearly we had to get it right, and we think that this award shows that Bossley's stunning design was right on the money.

The award night itself was great fun, being held in the stunning venue St-Matthews-in-the-City. We've uploaded a selection of pics from the night on our Facebook page as well as our Flickr channel.

We were honoured to join four other Auckland award winners in the Public Architecture category:

Auckland Girls Grammar School - Art and Mathematics Classroom Block
Birkenhead Library and Civic Centre
Diocesan Aquatic Centre
Newmarket Railway Station Redevelopment

The next stage involves all the local winners being considered by a judging panel for the national short list, which means they go into the running to win the overall New Zealand Architecture Award for their respective category . So we're keeping our fingers crossed!

Children of Tangaroa is open and we love it!

2010-10-11T22:04:00.014+13:00

Voyager's newest exhibition, Children of Tangaroa - Marine Mammals of Aotearoa, has been open for three weeks and it's gone through some serious testing with thousands of visitors seeing it during the recent school holidays.

We're delighted that our visitors love the exhibition as much as we do, and so we'd like to take a moment to thank some people who made it possible.

The feedback from our visitors has been really positive; they've told us that they love the atmospheric, underwater feel of the

exhibition, the big and beautiful projections of whales and dolphins and the awesome sounding Maori myths and legends.

Our sincerest thanks go to the exhibition designers Jessica Barter and Maggie Carol from Bureaux. They worked tirelessly to help us achieve our vision of an engaging and innovative exhibition. Also we would like to thank Mike Dean from Dark Room Motion Graphics Studio, Mike Hodgson from The Dub Module and Warwick Bell from Fabric Structure Systems and their teams who brought this wonderful exhibition to life.

We would like to express our great appreciation to Nic Fay from Traction Films for his tireless work. Nik is responsible for installing the audio visual systems and computer programming that has produced the amazing atmosphere and ambience inside the exhibition. Also many thanks to Tainui Tukiwaho, who generously donated his time to expertly narrate the Maori myths and legends heard inside the exhibition.

Also thanks to all the other supporters including:

Liz Gordon, our long standing volunteer, who gave her time to design the exhibition object labels.
Kovi Mongelli from Souled Out Records who recorded Tainui's narration in his own studio.
Julie Holmes for providing the use of her wonderful Maui's dolphin animation.
Suzanne McFadden for her research and writing of the exhibition text and editing of Maori stories.
Dr. Liz Slooten -Department of Zoology, University of Otago for supplying images and video of Hector's dolphins. Liz is one of the founders of the New Zealand Whale and Dolphin Trust.
Barbara Todd for use of her wonderful images and educational resource pack.
Robert Torelli from Marine Boy Productions who provided the gorgeous underwater whale footage.

Our sincerest thanks go out to all these passionate, generous and talented people who helped make the exhibition happen. There were many other contributors who helped, they are all credited inside the exhibition. If you haven't seen it yet check out the images on the Voyager Facebook page or Flickr stream, or even better come and visit the museum and see it in real life!

NZ Merchant Navy Day, Friday 3 September

2010-08-26T12:41:00.006+12:00

Friday 3 September will be the first official New Zealand Merchant Navy Day. The purpose of Merchant Navy Day is to recognise the merchant seamen who risked their lives during the war transporting troops, military equipment and cargo around the world and to remember those who lost their lives during this conflict.

To mark this very special day, we will be having a full day of activity here at Voyager.

The day will begin with a Remembrance Service at 8.30am in the Edmiston Gallery of Maritime Art here at Voyager. The service will be very kindly officiated by Reverend Bill Law, Chaplain Auckland Merchant Navy Association and will include the presentation and blessing of a wreath to be hung in Oceans Apart. On arrival you will also be greeted by Voyager’s very own resident Piper Mr. John Downie. The public are invited to attend this service, as a mark of respect for the huge sacrifices made by our merchant seamen during World War 2.

Throughout the rest of the day we will have supporting activity including Merchant Navy specific tours (at 10.30 am and 1.00 pm) and specialist gallery hosts who can regale you with their Merchant Navy knowledge.

We do hope that you can join us here at Voyager to recognise this significant element of our nation’s proud maritime heritage.

Introducing the Voyager Kids Council

2010-07-28T12:36:00.018+12:00

The Voyager Kids Council.
Grace (left), Matt (centre) and Finn (right)

The team at Voyager have always thought it’s super important that young Kiwis can learn about the explorative spirit of our seafaring nation. We want to inspire them to chase their dreams and become the next Sir Peter Blake or Leslie Egnott, world-beaters from a small country at the bottom of the world.

But to be successful in this goal we need to understand what it is that young Kiwis want from a museum experience and so began our search for the three members of our Voyager Kids Council, a dedicated team whose role is to help us make Voyager a place which is relevant for kids.

We were absolutely overwhelmed with the response from kids eager to make their mark on the Voyager experience, wanting to bring along their enthusiasm and imagination to guide our exhibitions and public programmes. It was a hard decision to make, but we had to whittle down all of these great applications to our final three.

We are very pleased to introduce our three kids councillors.

Matt: Aged 11 Matt is the oldest member of the Council. He’s pretty much got sailing in his blood. His Dad, Shaun sailed all over the world competitively including crewing on Fisher and Paykel with Grant Dalton in 1989-90. Matt is currently enjoying sailing his own Optimist at the Glendowie Boating Club.

It looks like Matt will have a considerable contribution to make to the Council. He says “ I am passionate about boats, sailing and the sea. Voyager is my favourite museum. This museum is fun for me, because I can learn all about our maritime history. I can interact and try things out like the virtual steering of a big yacht and see actual full size dinghies and boats that are not popular classes anymore. In my spare time I research, draw, design and build model boats. My dream is to become a yacht designer and sail around the world. I think I would be able to come up with good ideas and inventions for Voyager”.

Grace: Aged 9 Grace was determined to secure a place on the Council. She goes to Bayswater Primary and says her idol is Sir Peter Blake, who, of course, went to the same school. Grace was one of the lucky Bayswater pupils to be a guest at the opening of Blue Water Black Magic- A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake in December. Grace thinks the interactive aspect of Blue Water Black Magic is a huge attraction for kids. “It’s really challenging, like on the match racing activity, you’re playing but you’re also learning new skills”. Grace would like to see more interactive exhibits at Voyager.

Finn: Aged 7 Finn is the youngest member of the Council. The sea and sailing is indeed in his blood. He is the great, great nephew of the legendary yachtsman, sailing entrepreneur and patron, Sir Tom Clark. His mum, Mel recalls many idyllic times on Sir Tom’s famous vessel, Buccaneer. She has personally enjoyed many years of match racing and Finn’s Dad, Andy is a sail maker. Finn says “I have a good mind and I think some of my ideas will make Voyager a place all kids will love”.

We got all of our Councillors together at Voyager on the last day of the recent school holidays. We had lunch with them, talked about what they liked about Voyager, listened to their ideas and then explored the galleries. What an absolutely fantastic and passionate bunch of kids they are, we are looking forward to working with them more and more over the coming months. We just know that they are going to help us provide for kids even better than we currently do, making Voyager a place where they can have fun, be inspired and learn about New Zealand’s intrinsic bond with the ocean and our forebears dreams, ambitions and human endeavour. So watch this space for more Kids Council updates!

Giapo goodness comes to Voyager

2010-07-12T12:32:00.013+12:00

Some exciting news for the school holidays, Voyager is about to get our very own Gelato flavour to celebrate the museum being FREE for Aucklanders! Voyager is proudly supported by the ratepayers of Auckland, and our free admission initiative continues our invitation to Aucklanders to discover how our maritime heritage has contributed to the development of Aotearoa.

Thanks to our good friend Gianpaolo Grazioli and the team Giapo Gelato we will be launching the Voyager - Black Magic gelato at the museum on Friday 16 July at 12.30pm. We'll be giving away free samples of Voyager - Black Magic to the first 100 lucky visitors, so make sure you head on down to Voyager and try some.

The gelato is named Black Magic after NZL 32 the mighty yacht on which Team New Zealand led by Sir Peter Blake won the America's Cup in San Diego in 1995. NZL 32 is now the centrepiece of Voyager's magnificent exhibition Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake which is well worth a visit these school holidays.

This very special gelato has been lovingly crafted by Gianpaolo and his team using nothing but the very best organic ingredients and is a delicious blend of chocolate and licorice that expresses the explorative spirit of our seafaring nation.

For those of you who cannot make the launch event you can get Voyager - Black Magic from Giapo Gelato which is located on Queen Street next to the Civic Theatre. I recommend the take home pack for a yummy treat for the whole family. Giapo pride themselves on making genuine Italian gelato using nothing but the very finest in organic ingredients......and best of all it's absolutely delicious!

We look forward to seeing you on Friday :-)

It's good to be a JAFA!

2010-06-30T17:09:00.026+12:00

The team at Voyager are excited to let you know that from Monday 5 July admission to Voyager will be free on an ongoing basis for Aucklanders (proof of address is required to benefit from this offer). But never fear you will always be much more than a JAFA (Just Another Free Aucklander) to us.

Voyager is proudly supported by the ratepayers of Auckland, and we see free admission as a great way to encourage you to discover and engage with our fascinating maritime history.

For us it's all about delivering value back to our community and ensuring that we remain both accessible and relevant. We think (and we know you'll agree) that Voyager is a vitally important part of Auckland's cultural fabric and as we move ever closer to the new 'Supercity' we thought there was no better time than now to give something back to the united peoples of our great city.

Over the past twelve months we've run free entry on a periodic basis for Aucklanders to see how it was received, suffice to say we've been overwhelmed by the huge increases in visitation and the top notch feedback (check out our latest review on tripadvisor.com)

It's also been great to see the demographic mix of our visitors change so dramatically, not only are we attracting new people to Voyager but they are passionately embracing the explorative spirit of our seafaring nation.

We look forward to seeing you at Voyager in the very near future, there has never been a better time to be a JAFA. See our website for all the details.

The Voyager Team :-)

Wrecked on Rangitoto

2010-04-20T13:31:00.011+12:00

Rangitoto Island’s Wreck Bay was the destination for the final activity of Voyager’s April school holiday programme. Approximately 100 children, teenagers, supervisors and museum staff boarded a 360 Discovery ferry on Friday to take the short trip to Islington Bay, located between Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands.

Landing at Islington Bay Wharf, we set off briefly on the easy-going unsealed road that runs through the middle of the island, before turning off onto the Wreck Bay ‘track’ that passes over kilometre upon kilometre of rugged lava terrain. It’s a unique experience that requires sturdy shoes. At least two of the teenagers chose to ignore that memo and toughed it out in their jandals – a mistake they’ll be unlikely to repeat any time soon.

Popping out of one of the small forests that break up the lava fields, our arrival at Wreck Bay was almost by surprise. The shoreline is, of course, bereft of any sign of life, and there’s almost a sense of abandonment when you catch a glimpse of one of the wrecks that litter the coast. Scrambling over a hill to the neighbouring Boulder Bay found a more open beach with approachable shoreline, along with several more wrecks.

Pausing for lunch and the mandatory stone throwing, we embarked on the return walk more mentally prepared for the trek ahead of us. There were some slightly sore ankles from the uneven terrain, and just one minor ankle sprain, but also plenty of smiles for having completed the experience without being late for the ferry. You’d suspect many of the younger kids will have had a good night’s sleep, while one or two of the party even managed a wee kip on the brief ferry ride back to Auckland.

Creating world-beaters with the Voyager Kids Council

2010-04-07T11:13:00.003+12:00

At Voyager, we think it's important that young New Zealanders learn about the explorative spirit of a seafaring nation, so they can chase their dreams and become the next generation of Kiwi adventurers. The perfect way to do that is to inspire them with the stories of those who have gone before them – let them see it's possible to become a world-beater from a small country at the bottom of the world.

But kids don’t necessarily want to learn about the stories of discovery, dreams and adventure in the same way that adults do. That’s why we’re on the lookout for up to three enthusiastic 5-11year olds to help us make the museum sweet for kids. We’re calling it the Voyager Kids Council, and applications are open now.

We want kids who possess a great imagination, have a sense of adventure, and know how to have fun. Most importantly, we want them to be able to tell us how we can make our galleries a place where kids can have fun, be inspired, and learn a thing or two.

Once we’ve got our team together, we’ll bring them into the museum and show them what we’ve got to offer for kids, then get them to tell us how we could do it better from their perspective. It won’t be too onerous from a time perspective, but we’re hoping to get loads of ideas for how we could shake things up a little.

And to say thanks to the kids who are selected to be a part of the Voyager Kids Council, we give them a bunch of free stuff including some Voyager gear, a lunch or two, and a Voyager Crew membership for their family.

For more information, and an application form, check out the Voyager Kids Council webpage.

America's Cup comes to Voyager

2010-03-22T15:34:00.002+13:00

Just over a week ago, a regular Saturday at Voyager livened up a little as BMW ORACLE Racing invited the museum to host the America’s Cup on its brief visit to New Zealand for the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland regatta. We were surprised but extremely honoured by the offer, although had little time to reflect on it as the cup was due to arrive in less than 72 hours. The wheels were immediately set in motion to prepare for its arrival and a number of associated events that would also be held on site.

Many meetings, emails and phone calls later, the America’s Cup was delivered its Blue Water Black Magic display pedestal for three days of public viewing under the close eyes of two security guards. There are several basic protocols that go with displaying it – the trophy should not be touched by bare hands, and the handle should always be on the left so that the original match result from 1851 is visible from the front.

Voyager celebrated the occasion by extending our March admission offer for Aucklanders to all museum visitors, to encourage as many people as possible to come down and check out the ever-so shiny cup in person. Most media organisations covering the cup’s visit included this in their story, which helped to generate buzz and drive visitation. Marketing & Events Manager Phil McGowan even scored a spot on the ONE News story, much to his delight.

As hard as it is to believe, the travelling case is almost as remarkable as the cup itself. Gifted by Louis Vuitton to the America’s Cup for its 150th anniversary (1851-2001), the case is impossibly stylish given its primary purpose to protect the cup on its travels. It’s also a sure-fire way to ensure the Louis Vuitton name renames synonymous with an event they have invested so heavily in.

The three –day display of the cup was without doubt a highlight for the museum, and we’re thankful to both BMW ORACLE Racing and Louis Vuitton for the opportunity.

More photos on our Facebook page.

Indian Ocean conquerors' boat at Voyager for Boat Show

2010-03-08T13:47:00.009+13:00

The 8.8m Rowing For Prostate boat that placed second in the first ever Indian Ocean Rowing Race in 2009 will be on display outside Voyager throughout the Auckland International Boat Show, 11-14 March.

Billy Gammon, Matthew Hampel, Pete Staples and Tom Wigram rowed their boat from Geraldton in Western Australia to Mauritius in 81 days between April and July last year, a distance of 5,472 kms. Their challenge attracted significant media attention when, 10 days out from the finish, communication with the crew was lost (NZ Herald story)– as it turned out, due to the eventual failure of the satellite communications equipment. Thankfully they overcame this (and many more mishaps) to finish second overall – a fine effort from four lads without any prior rowing experience.

Some of the other more memorable incidents included the flooding and subsequent loss of their forward cabin on day two, the failure of their seat rails on day four (effectively removing the power of their legs), loss of power on day 11 due to lack of solar power energy (the first of many), a capsize eight days out from the finish, and an unbearably close miss with an 800ft tanker just four days out.

The team also overcame a period of 2-3 weeks when the reality of their situation became all too apparent. Conversations, banter and camaraderie between the two shifts dried up - the fun was replaced with paranoia, the jokes with accusations. Thankfully, the team battled through to record 974 nonstop two hour rowing stints (shifts of two rowers) on their way to becoming the first Southern Hemisphere team to achieve the feat. An epic adventure that epitomises New Zealand’s explorative spirit.

You can read more at www.rowingforprostate.com

Grand old speedboat returns to Hobson Wharf

2010-02-23T13:05:00.006+13:00

One of New Zealand’s most elegant early speed boats, Piri Pono, is back on display at Voyager following a period of time in storage. Taking her place at the northern end of Hobson Wharf between Blue Water Black Magic and Rapaki, Piri Pono is a twin-cockpit, 12-seat runabout commissioned by the founder of the Farmers Trading Company, Robert Laidlaw, for holiday use on Lake Taupo.

The 8.59m (28ft2in) Collings & Bell-built boat was launched in 1929, providing the Laidlaws with a fast and spacious vessel for exploring the many bays of Lake Taupo. Called up for service in WWII, Piri Pono was the Air Commodore’s barge at Hobsonville Air Base in Auckland’s upper Waitemata Harbour. A canopy was fitted to protect the occupants from the spray, while the varnished mahogany was covered with Air Force paint and roundels.

Repurchased by the Laidlaws following the war, Piri Pono went on to become a pioneering water-skiing boat, before changing hands several times and undergoing multiple restorations. Piri Pono was eventually gifted to the museum by Alan & Jenny Gibbs and Robin Congreve in the early 1990s.

As an aside, Piri Pono was given its name by Laidlaw, who himself was referred to by one of his close friends as his Piri Pono, or faithful friend. Laidlaw was seeking the same in a boat, so gave his new boat the same name. The literal translation for ‘piri’ as a verb is ‘cling to’ while ‘pono’ as a noun means ‘truth’. Not exactly the same, but both are great names for this sleek 81-year old.

Length: 8.59m

Beam: 2.13m

Engines: Twin 106hp Graymarine, six-cylinder, side valve, petrol

Speed: 30 knots

Piri Pono in her earlier days

Piri Pono on display at Voyager

Steam crane Rapaki open for inspection

2010-02-19T10:48:00.009+13:00

Voyager’s steam crane, Rapaki, is open to visitors again following a period of refurbishment by our steam engineer, John Downie. Sitting proudly at the northern end of Hobson Wharf at the entrance to the museum marina, Rapaki represents a bygone era of shipbuilding and engineering dating from Victorian times – the ‘age of steam’.

Launched in 1926 in Scotland, Rapaki was purchased by the Lyttleton Harbour Board to meet the port’s demands for a heaving lift crane. The 80-ton (lifting capacity) self-propelled floating crane cost £4,200, and her delivery voyage took 109 days via the Panama Canal. Numerous storms and shortages of food and coal were all overcome in arriving in Lyttleton on July 27 1926. Rapaki’s career spanned 62 years, and included stints with the British Ministry of War in the Red Sea in 1941, and the three years following with the US Navy in New Caledonia to clear a backlog of having loads from Livery ships, and refloating damaged vessels from the Pacific war. Rapaki was finally retired by the Lyttleton Harbour Board in 1988.

Rapaki was purchased by Voyager from the Lyttleton Harbour Board in 1993. She was towed to Auckland in July 1993 by the Royal New Zealand Navy tug Arataki to take up residence at Voyager.

Length: 51.82m

Beam: 15.91m

Depth: 3.69m

Draught: 1.96m unladen

Gross tonnage: 745 ton

Displacement: 1415 ton

Builder: Fleming & Fergusson Ltd, Paisley, 1926

Crane Builder: Sir William Arrol & Co Ltd, Parkhead, Scotland

Engines: Two 400 HP Fleming & Ferguson vertical, two-cylinder, direct-acting steam compound

Boiler: Anderson Engineers Ltd Scotch-type wet-back, multi-tubular, 130 psi, installed 1979

Bunker capacity: 145 tons coal

Coal consumption: 2-3 tons per 8 hour shift

Lifting capacity: 80 ton @ 50 ft radius

All motions of the crane are steam powered and mechanically controlled. One engineer controls the hoisting and slewing from the house at the base of the jib and a second engineer controls the clutches inside the machinery room.

Boiler

Telegraph

Starboard main engine

Sleeping quarters

Telegraph

Machinery room

Crane turntable

Crane hook

Jib house

Rapaki crane jib

Meet Voyager's newest recruit

2010-01-22T15:11:00.005+13:00

New Voyager staff member, Kate Ambury, says she was attracted to Voyager because of the essential role that New Zealand’s maritime heritage has played in our nation’s history. In the final stages of her Masters of Library and Information Science, Kate has been tasked with taking Voyager’s priceless Bill Laxon Collection – consisting of approximately 250,000 photos dating back to 1860, and making it a key library and museum resource.

This largely untapped resource illustrates New Zealand’s remarkable maritime history with unrivalled volume and detail. The collection includes many thousands of Bill Laxon’s own photographs, as well as many, many more collected by Bill during a lifetime of maritime interest and research.

Kate’s role is to sort through this impossibly large collection, cataloguing it to enable Voyager to better assist with research enquiries, identifying and recording streams which document specific aspects of our maritime history, and also considering ways to integrate the material into existing and future museum exhibitions.

As Kate sees it, she’s interpreting history, and she’s particularly excited about the contribution her work will make to our records of the not-so-distant history. “The most easily forgotten part of history is the recent past. Sometimes it’s not seen as being as valuable right now, but in 50 years times we’ll wish we had access to the information.”

Kate cites the examples of small working wharfs that were once located the length of New Zealand. “If it weren’t for the photos like those in the Bill Laxon Collection, they’d largely be forgotten.”

Great stuff, Kate. We’re all looking forward to seeing and sharing the gems you’ll no doubt be unearthing along the way.

Bill Laxon, for whom Voyager’s maritime library is also named after, was a founding member of the Auckland Maritime Society that developed the proposal for the current museum, and he was responsible for the establishment of the Auckland Maritime Society's library within the Bill Laxon Maritime Library collection.

Take the wheel in our new interactive

2010-01-15T10:26:00.014+13:00

Kiwis and the Coast has a great new interactive that puts you in control of a boat on the Waitemata Harbour. Set up in a wheelhouse set amongst our Fishing display, the interactive utilises a genuine wheel and throttle control to control the boat's speed and direction.

Each player starts their voyage in one of a variety of locations throughout the Waitemata Harbour, or even the Hauraki Gulf, and using the onboard map (or perhaps their own knowledge of the area) they are tasked with guiding their boat back to Voyager's marina.

Along the way, players can check out the very detailed sights of the Waitemata Harbour, including the Port of Auckland, Auckland Harbour Bridge, and the North Shore. There's also the occasional cargo ship, naval craft, marker buoy or pleasure yacht to avoid, reflecting the very busy nature of Auckland city's harbour. Successful completion of the interactive occurs when the player gently docks their boat outside of Voyager, infront of The Waterfront Cafe.

Photos from BWBM opening 12.12.2009

2009-12-16T13:44:00.009+13:00

Prime Minister John Key meets the Blake family at the opening to Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake.

Auckland City Mayor John Banks speaking at the opening of Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake.

Prime Minister John Key speaking at the opening of Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake.

Pippa Lady Blake speaking at the opening of Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake.

James Blake reveals the exhibition plaque for Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake, watched on by Sarah-Jane Blake and Pippa Lady Blake.

Prime Minister John Key tries out the 'Meet the Crew' interactive.

Voyager Chairman Alastair Aitken (right) talks Te Papa Chairman John Judge, Prime Minister John Key and Pippa Lady Blake through the NZ Post Limited Edition Sir Peter Blake stamps.

Some of the first members of the public exploring Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake.

Up close with KZ1

2009-11-20T08:47:00.015+13:00

KZ1 is Auckland City's official Christmas tree for 2009. A couple of us at Voyager took the opportunity this morning to head up onto the deck via a cherry picker while the Christmas lights installation team were doing their thing.

Without naming names, one of us is a little uncomfortable with heights, so the nine metre ride to KZ1's deck, although brief, was a less than ideal way to start a Friday morning. We'd also been warned that the deck could be a little slippery at the best of times, and with a touch of overnight rain, we should watch our steps. Awesome.

The step from the cherry picker to the deck was actually very comforting though, as the hulk of KZ1 barely registered our arrival. To our surprise the deck was incredibly grippy, which probably makes perfect sense as the last thing you'd want during a hotly contested match race is for crew to have to be concerned about their footing.

As a relative maritime novice, but avid sports fan, it was an immensely cool feeling to stand up the deck, and briefly take the helm.

We've been revising the object panel that sits below KZ1 so I'd recently been schooled up on all the details of the campaign and now better understand KZ1's place in our history.

Having checked out NZL32 Black Magic (our 1995 America's Cup-winning yacht) in our new exhibition, Blue Water Black Magic - A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake, it's amazing to think that these two yachts raced for the same trophy just 7 years apart. KZ1's deck really is quite massive.

The most surprising aspect though, was that most of the hardware was downstairs. Can't have been much fun. Mind you, the margins of victory by the Stars and Stripes catamaran over KZ1 meant up on deck probably wasn't much fun either.

One last insight into the 'Big Boat' - a bunch of people have written their names onto the inside of KZ1's hull. Some people have included labels with their name (e.g. painter) while others are recognisable as being intimately involved with KZ1's construction (Steve Marten).

Two lads, happy with their morning's work.

Edmiston Gallery reopening

2009-11-17T13:20:00.004+13:00

The Edmiston Gallery of Maritime Art reopens on Friday following a period of renovation that coincided with the Blue Water Black Magic development. We want to reposition the Edmiston Gallery as an integral part of the museum experience, ultimately expanding people’s idea of maritime art and its possibilities. The gallery will reflect that broader spirit of adventure – we can sail to the limits of our imagination and present a variety of works in different ways, keeping up the dialogue between the historic and the contemporary.

The initial hang includes works from the museum’s own collection and the Edmiston Trust collection as well as loans from both Auckland Museum and Auckland Art Gallery. Some of the more contemporary works include a photographic series by Kendal Heyes and a unique clay model ship by Barry Brickell.

The redevelopment has been made possible through the valued support of key partners including The Edmiston Trust, The Chartwell Trust, The Sir John Logan Campbell Residuary Estate, The Rosser Foundation, Aalto Colour and John Leech Framing Workshop.

There’s a cocktail function on Thursday evening where key stakeholders will have a chance to preview the new space, prior to its public opening on Friday. Entry to the Edmiston Gallery is included with Voyager admission. Here’s a couple of pics...

Putting Blue Water Black Magic to the test

2009-11-10T14:29:00.011+13:00

We’ve made it through a couple of very successful preview events for our new exhibition, Blue Water Black Magic – A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake. These were designed to test the space to see how it works with large groups in there (replicating the massive crowds we’ll have come opening day!), as well as giving some of our key museum stakeholders a chance to explore the exhibition before it opens to the public.

First up were the Voyager volunteers – along with their families and friends. Our volunteers are an incredibly valuable resource for Voyager, so it was only fitting that they be among the very first to see the exhibition. Not only can they help us build anticipation among our visitors, but they’re also among our biggest advocates out in the community so it’s a win-win. They were really excited about the exhibition and the value it will add to the Voyager experience, so we’re confident they’ll have no trouble at all in talking up Blue Water Black Magic.

The next test of the space was a biggie – we ran an event in partnership with our catering and events partner, SKYCITY Catering & Events, inviting several hundred key events organisers and key influencers within the tourism industry. The rationale was that events organisers could see how spectacular the space was and start making bookings, while the tourism folks could start singing our praises to the industry and community. The feedback was as we hoped, and a number of events and publicity leads have already arisen. This group was also among the first to experience the museum under our new Voyager brand, and if their reaction was anything to go by, we’re definitely onto something good.

It’s just over four weeks until we open to the public at 1pm on Saturday 12 December. We thought it was about the right time to give the wider Voyager community a chance to have a sneak preview of the space, so here’s a selection of photos to whet your appetite...

Announcing Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum

2009-11-03T16:26:00.004+13:00

Monday was a very significant occasion for the museum - the announcement of our new name, Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum.

The name ‘Voyager’ was chosen because so much of New Zealand's evolution as a nation is founded on pioneering voyages of discovery - the explorative spirit of a seafaring nation.

In addition to a new name, Voyager also has a bold and creative new family of interchangeable marks - each telling its own story of maritime adventure and discovery. Our core mark is in the header of this blog, and you can see the variations here.

Other visible changes include a refresh of our website, a ‘black out’ of the museum’s significant building assets, the replacement of all external signage, a new arrival experience for visitors, and an entirely new range of modern and stylish Voyager merchandise for the museum shop.

Free entry for Auckland region residents

To celebrate our new name, Auckland Region residents can visit Voyager's galleries for free between 7-22 November. All you need is proof of address and we'll waive the admission charge. Please note, this offer does not include heritage vessel sailings or education groups.

Edmiston Gallery of Maritime Art reopening

The Edmiston Gallery of Maritime Art is set to reopen following a period of redevelopment in conjunction with the Blue Water Black Magic exhibition. The gallery will be open to the public from Friday 20 November.

The Edmiston Gallery is being repositioned as an integral part of the Voyager experience, ultimately expanding people’s idea of maritime art and its possibilities. The redeveloped gallery will reflect that broader spirit of adventure – we can sail to the limits of our imagination and present a variety of works in different ways, keeping up the dialogue between the historic and the contemporary.

The initial hang includes works from the museum’s own collection and the Edmiston Trust collection as well as loans from both Auckland Museum and Auckland Art Gallery.

Action stations

2009-10-19T14:45:00.008+13:00

It’s all go on the museum development front at the moment, as four major projects are simultaneously working towards making the museum look super. The big one, Blue Water Black Magic – A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake, continues on its merry way with the fit out progressing at an impressive rate. With construction having been completed several weeks ago, the exhibitions team are going through the massive process of installing all the priceless artefacts and groovy interactive stations. There’s also the not-so-insignificant job of proofreading all the panels that will accompany objects, and help tell the stories of New Zealand’s yachting prowess. The majority of the fit-out will actually be complete shortly to allow us several weeks to test the space, including a series of soft-openings with some lucky people.

Yellow ‘RESTRICTED AREA’ tape guards the concourse entry to the top secret Blue Water Black Magic exhibition. We also lock the doors, just in case someone manages to get past the tape.

The Edmiston Gallery of Maritime Art is also nearing its public re-opening on 20 November. Given its proximity to Blue Water Black Magic, the Edmiston Gallery was temporarily closed to redevelop the space. Much of the gallery is complete, although as you can see from the photo, there’s still the odd piece that needs installing.

A wooden figurehead waiting, waiting, waiting for installation.

A major refit of our front-of-house and shop has also commenced, to transform it into a modern and welcoming space. As the photo shows, the old area has been stripped right back and we’re essentially starting afresh. We’ve reclaimed some of space from the western side to increase its size, which will give us more room to display a cool new range of museum merchandise and gifts that we’re having prepared. The museum’s entrance has temporarily shifted around the eastern side to the start of Princes Wharf, with the new area ready for the start of November.

Resembling little more than a work site at present, come Monday 2 November this space will be unrecognisable as its predecessor.

One project that’s almost complete is a repaint of our entire building footprint. Many people don’t realise just how big the museum is, due in part to the disjointed appearance of our buildings. So we’ve taken some action, and painted almost everything black. Bold, awe inspiring, New Zealand black. It even includes repainting the massive cradle that supports KZ1 at the front entrance of the museum. The painting is also part of a much larger and far more exciting project that we’ll be able to announce in a couple of weeks...