The New Zealand Lighthouse Tender Tutanekai begun service in 1896. a
Built in 1896 by D J Dunlop and Co, In the port of Glasgow. a
Her original specifications were:
Weight: Gross tonnage 811. a
Dimensions: Length 205.6 ft. Breadth 30.1 ft. Depth 14.8 ft. a
Propulsion: 2 x T3cy 2scr 12 kn. c
Captain Fairchild was master of the paddle-wheel steamer Sturt on the Waikato River and on the coast during the New Zealand wars. Then he was appointed Captain of the government paddle wheel steamer Luna, he then moved to the Stella. In 1877, Captain Fairchild was appointed master of the Hinemoa, he then was appointed Skipper of Tutanekai in 1896. Two years later Captain Fairchild was fatally injured on board the Tutanekai while supervising the loading of an engine. 14
Captain John Peter Bollons was appointed master of the Tutanekai. 14
In addition to her lighthouse duties she was used for cable laying. The cable machinery was supplied by Johnson and Phillips and was designed and built so it could be lifted out in one piece. It consisted of two 3 ft 2½ in. diameter bow sheaves and the picking up-paying out machine was a double system driven by a twin cylinder steam engine capable of a lift of 20 tons at 1 knot. a
In her capacity of Government yacht she has carried practically every Governor of New Zealand for the last 30 years, and has also been in attendance on the occasions of the visits to New Zealand by the present King and Queen as the Duke and Duchess of York, in 1901, the Prince of Wales in 1920, and the Duke and Duchess of York in 1927. b
In 1900 she took a Government Party on a tour of the Pacific islands. a
Later in her life she served duty as a passenger steamer between the South Island and Stewart Island. a
She was scuttled off the Wellington Heads on February 2nd, 1931. c
Additional Sources:
a. http://www.atlantic-cable.com/CableCos/NewZealand/
b. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.
c. http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=15608