William C Daldy – historic steam tug

A new, more powerful tugboat

Through the 1920s, larger vessels began calling at Auckland Harbour and the Harbour Master pressed the Auckland Harbour Board for the purchase of a more powerful tugboat to handle these.

The Auckland Harbour Board appointed Mr E H Mitchell, Naval Architect of Newcastle-on-Tyne, to design a new tug. Mitchell had designed the Harbour Board’s existing tugboat, Te Awhina, built in Scotland in 1908, as well as the 1932 tug, Awarua, for the Bluff Harbour Board.

The Harbour Board called for tenders and accepted the offer of Lobnitz and Company of Renfrew, Scotland. Mitchell considered Lobnitz and Company to be one of the very best tug builders and, at £29,266, their offer was the best of the 22 bids received.

Lobnitz and Company built William C Daldy in seven months. After sea trials and bollard pull testing when 17 tons was achieved, the William C Daldy was launched on 1 October 1935.

The Daldy sailed from the Clyde on 7 November 1935 and arrived in Auckland on 30 January 1936.

Captain Daldy

The tug was named after Captain Daldy, the first Chairman of the Auckland Harbour Board, who served in the role from 1871.

William Crush Daldy (1816 – 1903) began his life at sea at age 18 on his father’s colliers in London. He then became Captain of the schooner Shamrock trading from Britain to various ports of the world. He arrived in Auckland in July 1841.

Daldy purchased land in Auckland in 1847 and established the Wholesale Shipping House trading company. In 1858 he was elected to Parliament, representing Auckland. He became a Minister and Provincial Secretary.

When the Auckland Harbour Board was formed, Daldy became its first Chairman. He was a member of Auckland City Council from 1874 to 1876, a Justice of the Peace for 30 years and a Trustee of Auckland Savings Bank for 40 years. He was a founder of New Zealand Insurance, the Bank of New Zealand and South British Insurance Company.

Saved from the scrapyard

The Auckland Harbour Board withdrew William C Daldy from service in March 1977 and put her up for tender. The tug had given 41 years of service and assisted over 30,000 ships.

To save the vessel being broken up for scrap, two Aucklanders, Bruce McWilliams and Neil Hudson, called a public meeting in March 1978 to determine interest in preserving the tugboat. The William C Daldy Preservation Society was formed.

The Harbour Board granted the Society a two-year lease and later agreed to sell the ship to the Society for $1. In 1979, volunteers put in a great deal of work to get the ship to a stage where she could be moved to Calliope Dry dock for cleaning and testing of hull plates.

On Anniversary Day 1980, she was back in the water, taking passengers for trips on the harbour to raise revenue to cover the maintenance and running costs.

Volunteers continue to maintain the tug. They have replaced hull frames and plates near the boiler room and lifted and replaced the teak deck timbers. Every two years the tug is slipped for underwater inspection and maintenance.

The Society raises its funds through public trips and donations and continues to work hard to maintain the historic vessel and keep her in full working condition.

William C Daldy specifications

Length overall - 126 feet (38.4 metres)

Breadth - 32 feet (9.75 metres)

Registered tonnage – 348 tons gross

Draft - 15 feet (4.5 metres)

Engines – Two triple expansion steam engines 980 horsepower each

Boilers – Two coal fired Scotch boilers each with 3 furnaces, 11 feet 6inches (3.5 metres) in length, 13 feet 6 inches (4.1metres) in diameter

Propellers – Two, 11 feet (3.4 metres) in diameter

Speed – 13.4 knots on trials

More information

Further reading

Millatt, Tony. The 1935 steam tug William C Daldy. Auckland: William C Daldy Preservation Society, 2004.

Access

The William C Daldy is available for functions. Contact the William C Daldy Preservation Society.

Entry by John La Roche

Page last updated 13 September 2021