Gumtree Lugger
In my mind, Gumtree is the sort of place you might buy a used mattress, not a Pearling Lugger. (Please note, I’ve never bought a used mattress on Gumtree). However this week I’m proved wrong with the following post…
The Pearling Lugger Waitoa A59 is for sale.
Built on Thursday Island by Japanese shipwright and with a Bolly-Gum hull and Yellow Teak/White Beech deck she is ready for fit out. Her deck has been recently(2023) re-caulked and is in great condition with a third replaced in 2022 with new White Beech planking.
She is in key start condition with a 5LW Gardner engine in excellent working condition. Her fuel and cooling systems have been rebuilt with new fuel and cooling tanks plumbing and tidy electrical systems. She starts first time every time and has been recently serviced.
She has clear interior with new hatches seated in her cabin tops and all cabin sides repainted. We are selling her as life has changed direction and we are needing to pass on this beautiful vessel to new owners.
This vessel has historic value and is on the Australian Register for a Historic Vessels. She would make an excellent liveaboard with a solid 12ft beam and 62ft length over all. She has loads of room inside!
The vessel is currently on the slip for her annual bottom clean and we may be able to help move her to a location of your choice in the local area. Inspection on appointment available from the 18/2/24.
$35,000 ono
Some more infomation thanks to the wonderful Australian Register of Historic Vessels!
Waitoa was built in 1904 on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait for use as a pearling lugger. It is 55ft in length, with a hull of spotted gum planking upon spotted gum frames, and has a Queensland ash deck. The construction of Waitoa is attributed to a shipwright of Japanese descent. Its design aligns with other Thursday Island luggers of the period, with an elegant yacht like hull different to the shape of the luggers constructed in Broome Western Australia at the time. This shape was modelled on yacht designs of the 1890s, and the work of prominent designers such as Walter Reeks. The Thursday Island lugger is further characterised by its deep keel, elliptical counter stern, and ketch rig - in the case of Waitoa gaff rig also. Waitoa has both a main and a mizzen mast.
Waitoa was originally owned by the Cleveland Company, then the Bowden Pearling Company, and Waitoa Pearling Company. In 1942 it was immobilized at Thursday Island and lay idle during WWII without any maintenance. It was repaired after WWII and in 1950 took part in the annual lugger race at Thursday Island over a course of 30 miles. From 1958-1967 Waitoa was operational as a pearling lugger once more. In 1975 Waitoa was purchased at Horn Island in the Torres Strait and sailed to Cairns where it was briefly used for trochus shelling. In 2002 it participated in the Logan Classic Yacht Vintage Regatta at Shorncliffe Queensland.
Waitoa is a significant vessel reflecting the early twentieth century pearling industry in the Torres Strait. Local Torres Strait communities and Japanese immigrant communities were both employed in this industry, leading to a considerable amount of cross cultural exchange. Before World War II luggers like Waitoa were typically crewed by Japanese workers, however after the war mixed crews were common and would have included Indigenous Torres Strait Islanders.
Waitoa is similar to Thursday Island Luggers Penguin, Tribal Warrior , and Grafton all constructed between 1899-1907, and representative of an early period of Thursday Island lugger construction. Second to Tribal Warrior, Waitoa lays potential claim as the second oldest pearling lugger still extant. All of these early period luggers were constructed by Japanese shipwrights and were primarily manned by Japanese crew. Waitoa also shares similarities to later period Thursday Islander luggers, such as Antonia and Anniki , both constructed in Queensland during the 1950s.
As of 2022 Waitoa was undergoing restoration at Emigrant Creek, Ballina Northern NSW. The owners intend to convert Waitoa to be a live aboard vessel. Waitoa’s hull is primarily original and in good condition, and sections of its deck have been re-planked. Waitoa’s current engine has been dated to the late 1930s, early 1940s, and it has been suggested that it was installed by defence forces.