''Toroa'', named for the

northern royal albatross The northern royal albatross or toroa, (''Diomedea sanfordi''), is a large seabird in the albatross family. It was split from the closely related southern royal albatross as recently as 1998, though not all scientists support that conclusion and ...

, is an ''Albatross''-class

passenger ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

that served

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, primarily travelling between the Devonport and Auckland CBD ferry terminals. Together with her sister ship ''Makora'', she ferried about 20,000 passengers a day, until taken out of service in 1980. The ferry was purchased by the New Zealand Maritime Trust. A volunteer group, the Toroa Preservation Society, worked towards a restoration. However, the well-restored vessel sank in 1998 at

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

Wharf in a storm. Recovered, the ferry now sits on land in

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *He ...

, where restoration work is continuing slowly but regularly. Other ''Albatross''-class ferries include *''Albatross'' *''Kestrel'' *''The Peregrine'' *''Ngoiro'' *''Makora''

References

External links

*
2020 Google Street View of Toroa at Henderson
Ferries of New Zealand {{NewZealand-stub