Saturday, September 24, 2011

the inter-island ferry Wahine

This picture of the Wahine from 1966 at Lyttelton was one of the illustrations considered for, but not used in the book Strait Crossing: the ferries of Cook Strait through time.  Even those who don't have that book know that this ferry had a short life, and anyone in Wellington on 10 April 1968 will never forget that day when the fierce storm that struck the Capital caused the ship to hit Barrett Reef at the entrance to the harbour and then get pushed up to Steeple Rock where it became the country's worst post-WW2 shipwreck with the loss of 51 lives.  For extensive details, see the book.
As in Hawaiian, the word wahine means woman and the end e is pronounced like an é in French.

cars on the vehicle deck, 1966

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