Alan Barnes fills in the detail on a remarkable steamboat in New Zealand that his friend and Sentinel waggon owner Malcolm Rogers travelled on whilst ‘down under’ at a family wedding.

IAt the beginning of 2004 I’d been nagging my friend Malcolm Rogers to attend to the repairs on his ailing Super Sentinel and get it back on the road so I could feature it in these pages. To get some relief from this constant harassment Malcolm decided on some appropriate avoiding action and took himself, his wife Helen and their three children off to New Zealand and Australia for a month - a trip based around a family wedding.

This photograph reveals how popular the service was in its heyday. The top deck is literally crammed with passengers! REAL JOURNEYS

When we eventually met in the middle of March, Malcolm’s Sentinel was still off the road but he was in possession of some very interesting pictures of a remarkable steamboat which is still in regular daily passenger service and can be found plying the waters of Lake Wakatipu on New Zealand’s South Island. The TSS Earnslaw, built in 1912 and known affectionately as ‘The Lady of the Lake’, has carried millions of passengers and thousands of tonnes of cargo since her maiden voyage on October 18,1912.
Following the discovery of gold in the Wakatipu District in the 1860s there was a rapid growth in commercial shipping on Lake Wakatipu with several companies operating both sail and steam powered vessels. Although freight cargo provided a profitable business the requirement for passenger carrying did not find favour with the trading companies. To provide improved public services the Government bought out the last remaining company operating on the lake in 1902 with new timetables and reduced passenger fares being introduced. The ownership of the entire fleet subsequently passed to the New Zealand Railways Department. This fleet included the paddle steamers, PS Antrim, PS Mountaineer and the SS Ben Lomond but they all proved to be too slow and too small to provide an effective passenger service for the communities around the lake. In 1907 approval was given for the construction of a new bigger vessel but it was not until 1910 that a contract was finally awarded for the building of the new steamboat to John McGregor & Co. of Dunedin.

TSS Earnslaw carefully unloads a vintage car at the end of one of its regular daily runs. MALCOLM ROGERS

Work began on the keel on July 4, 1911 and the last plate was bolted onto the frame on November 3 that same year. All the plates and parts were numbered because following completion of the hull in the yard at Dunedin, the whole thing would be dismantled and shipped to Kingston on Lake Wakatipu by train. Before the new steamboat was dismantled it was inspected by the Minister of Marine the Hon. J. A. Millar who declared that she would be named the TSS Earnslaw after the 9,250ft high mountain peak which overlooked Lake Wakatipu.

Former crew members enjoy a quiet moment.

Reconstruction at Kingston began on November 28 with the laying of the keel. The building of the hull was completed in February and was launched on February 24, 1912. Fitting out followed and her first trials were held on August 3 when she left the dock at Kingston for the first time. After successful completion of her trials on the lake, huge crowds gathered at Queenstown to witness her maiden voyage on October 18, 1812. The New Zealand Railways Department formally accepted delivery on October 21.
The new steamboat proved to be very popular with the public, mainly because of her speed, the comfortable accommodation including first class saloons and the low cost Government-subsidised fares. The other three boats did not fare so well. The PS Antrim originally built in 1868 had been laid up in 1905 and was only used on rare occasions. In 1919 she was in such a sorry state that the old paddle steamer was dismantled but her boiler and engines were installed on the slipway at Kingston and are still in use today for hauling the TSS Earnslaw out of the water for servicing. The PS Mountaineer was built in 1878 and had been the largest vessel on the lake until TSS Earnslaw entered service. By 1928 it had been decided that further repairs would not be cost effective and she was finally withdrawn from service in 1931 and sold. In 1941 the Government bought her back and her metalwork was removed and melted down to aid the war effort. The SS Ben Lomond had originally been named Jane Williams when launched in 1872 and had provided many years of valuable service. In 1952 any parts of value were salvaged and the hulk was towed out into Kingston Bay and sunk in nearly 600ft of water, a rather ignominious end for such an historic vessel.

This photograph clearly show the integral part TSS Earnslaw had to play in the life and work of the people around Lake Wakatipu. Here wool is laid out by the quayside prior to being baled and loaded on to the ship.

Further information on the steamboat and the Lake Wakatipu area can be found on the Real Journeys website at www.realjourneys.co.nz

End of the On-line article. You can read the full article in the latest issue of Old Glory.
Subscribe here | Buy a single issue at the cover price (P&P included) | Backissues here