The ''William C Daldy'' is a historic steam engine

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

operating on the

Waitematā Harbour Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is one of two harbours adjoining the city. The harbour forms the northern and easter ...

, in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand. Named after William Crush Daldy, an Auckland politician, she was built in 1935 and is still kept up as an active vessel by an enthusiast preservation society which charters her out for functions and cruises.

History

The tug was built in 1935 by Lobnitz & Company in Renfrew,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

for the

Auckland Harbour Board The Auckland Harbour Board was a public body that operated the ports of both Auckland and Onehunga from 1871 to 1988 and was dissolved in 1989. Its successor organisation is Ports of Auckland, which assumed the possessions and responsibilities of ...

. She has a

bollard pull Bollard pull is a conventional measure of the pulling (or towing) power of a watercraft. It is defined as the force (in tonnes force, or kilonewtons (kN)) exerted by a vessel under full power, on a shore-mounted bollard through a tow-line, commonl ...

of about 17 tons, and is fired by two coal-burning boilers, making her one of the strongest such tugs still afloat today. One of her finest moments was in 1958, when she preserved one of the pre-assembled main sections of the

Auckland Harbour Bridge The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane motorway bridge over the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It joins St Marys Bay on the Auckland city side with Northcote on the North Shore side. It is part of State Highway 1 and th ...

(then just being constructed over the Waitematā Harbour) from being damaged or lost in a major storm. Strong winds had come up as a construction barge was floating the 1,200 ton structure section into place, and manoeuvring boats were unable to keep it under control. The ''William C Daldy'' took up station and kept up the pull for over 36 uninterrupted hours before the wind subsided, burning 40 tons of coal.Daldy Saves Aucklands’ Harbour Bridge
(from the 'daldy.com' website. Accessed 16 June 2011.) In 1977, the vessel was to be scrapped, but was instead leased in 1978 (and in 1989 purchased for $1) by an enthusiast society which has since kept her in working trim and hires her out for functions and charter cruises. The vessel is currently (2018) docked at the Viaduct in Auckland CBD, New Zealand, though it has had a number of berths around the harbour over time.

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Tug ''William C Daldy'' Society Inc
(official website) Ships of New Zealand Steam tugs 1935 ships Culture in Auckland