Ask to use material, get more information or tell us about an item
Spectrum was a weekly radio documentary series which ran on Radio New Zealand's National station from 1972 to 2016. Alwyn Owen and Jack Perkins produced the series for many years, creating a valuable library of New Zealand oral history.
This episode is described as a farewell in sound and verse to New Zealand's last wooden coaster.
Alwyn Owen tells of the wooden ship "Te Aroha", trading out of Wellington to northern South Island ports for 40 years. He is on board for the last sailing of Te Aroha from Petone wharf to Mapua in the South Island.
An unidentified crew member, who worked on the Wellington wharves for 22 years, is interviewed about the ship.
The skipper "Bob" is interviewed and tells about the ship's history.
"Te Aroha" was built in 1909 at Totara North as an auxiliary sailer or schooner. She is 86 feet long, with a 24 foot beam. He also describes the interior of the ship, its facilities and the crew’s routines.
Bob observes that they knew how to build ships in those days, and that "Te Aroha" can handle rough weather well, though with a bit of roll. He tells of one difficult trip in bad weather when the rudder breaks.
The programme is punctuated with verses written about "Te Aroha".