Pollyanna-excessively or persistently optimistic
One hundred years ago Lars Halvorsen and his family came to Sydney from Arendal in Norway following a stay of two years in South Africa. The centenary of this event has been covered in previous SWS stories, however one particular boat described by Harold Halvorsen as “his favourite” has never been written about here.
So when the joint custodian of POLLYANNA, Ross Norgard (the other being Scott Bailey) contacted me last week telling me about a book centred around his magnificent vessel, it seemed like an appropriate time to let our readers know about this Halvorsen-built 60-foot launch. She was launched in Sydney the week Ross was borne on 6 Sept 1946 and then and shipped to Perth in 1958 when he was a 12 year old where he first admired her on the Swan River.
This POLLYANNA is actually the third Western Australian boat to bear the name. As the spectacular book from the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club explains…
Over nearly a century three luxury motor launches carrying varying names but intrinsically linked to the current POLLYANNA, have graced firstly Sydney Harbour and then Perth’s Swan River and Rottnest Island.
All three have been synonymous with classic marine design, quality craftsmanship and the active social and recreational lifestyles of those privileged enough to afford such maritime perfection.
The POLLYANNA legacy began in Sydney in 1926 when the wealthy Strelitz family of Sydney ordered a large private launch to be built in Germany for use on the Sydney Harbour. At the time of the construction the son of the Strelitz family was involved in the fledgeling moving picture industry and was in Europe promoting the new silent movie “Pollyanna” featuring well know international actress Mary Pickford who was travelling with the son for promotional purposes.
The Strelitz family invited Mary Pickford to christen the new luxury vessel and it was named POLLYANNA in recognition of the actress and the movie she was playing in. Over the decades the successive Pollyannas have carried a signed photo of Mary Pickford with the caption penned by her: “Best wishes to the crew of the POLLYANNA”.
At the time of construction, the Strelitz family had a strong connection to Perth, owning what was then the Strelitz Arcade connecting Hay and Murray Streets in the city centre. his arcade later became Central Arcade. As a result of the global economic crisis in the early 1930s, the family was forced to sell POLLYANNA and it was purchased by well-known Perth businessman and yachtsman, the late Roland Smith, who shipped the vessel from Sydney to Perth and its new home at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club.
Home movies of the boat’s arrival in Western Australia have been preserved and depict the status of the newcomer along with the other classic launches on the Swan that during this era were collectively the pride of the river. POLLYANNA, under the stewardship of “Roly ” Smith became the “original” Pollyanna and was widely regarded as the “Queen of the Swan”.
In 1939 RFBYC organised the first motor launch fleet to travel to Bunbury and return. POLLYANNA took pride of place in this inaugural event which was regarded as significant enough for Movietone News to feature the trip on their national cinema newsreels.
It was early in 1941 during World War 11 when disaster struck POLLYANNA a following a petrol spill as she was being refuelled from drums at what is now RFBYC’s fuelling jety. Fumes from the bilge caused an explosion as the boat was being started and she quickly burned to the water line.
The remainder of the hull was sold by a devastated Roland Smith and converted into a fishing trawler before breaking loose from its mooring and ending her days ater going aground at Geraldton.
On the Swan at the time of the POLLYANNA disaster there was another classic launch named RUBITA. his was purchased by Roland Smith who renamed the boat, to become the second POLLYANNA
The War brought about the instigation of a localised voluntary Naval Patrols, under the control of the Royal Australian Navy, using privately-owned launches and thus the second Pollyanna and Roland Smith, were put to surveillance service in Fremantle Harbour-Rotnest waters looking for enemy naval activity.
The Navy re-named the second POLLYANNA, calling her HALCYON. Because it was then realised there were a number of other Navy vessels named HALCYON, the boat was again re-named as KIMRA and continued to do serviceable patrol work until the end of the war.
When released from service at the end of the war, she reverted to the name POLLYANNA. The second POLLYANNA is now known as GRANTALA and in 2022 was still on the Swan River.
In 1958 a Halvorsen-built 60-foot launch came up for sale in Sydney and was purchased by Roland Smith and shipped to Perth to become the third POLLYANNA, homed at RFBYC.
This launch is one of only three 60 foot boats built by the iconic Halverson boat builders. he irst, built in 1939, became the property of the late radio personality Jack Davey who had it converted to include a fishing cockpit that enabled him to conduct highly publicised fishing competitions with his equally as famous radio rival Bob Dyer. In 2022 this vessel was still going strongly in Brisbane.
The third POLLYANNA, originally named SYLPH, was launched in 1946 and was regarded as the Queen of Sydney Harbour until sold to Roland Smith thus earning similar status on the Swan, a title she has enjoyed for more than six decades.
Roland Smith passed away in 1972, aged 79, but POLLYANNA remains an integral part of Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club as one of the iconic classic launches on the Swan, and at Rottnest Island.
Appropriately, since his passing, his son Tony carried the family tradition as the owner of POLLYANNA for a significant period, thus passing down the status of this wonderful vessel along with the seafaring, community service and hospitality legacy of Roland Smith.
The book is filled with some of the most evocative historical imagery from the era that I have come across. Over its 124 pages, it covers the sequence of owners, a Royal Visit, extraordinary fishing competitions, and a brave and extensive 18 month restoration beginning in 2007.
The book is available from the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club and all proceeds from the sale go to the Junior Sailing program there. It is written by Robbie Burns, designed and photographed by Simon Cowling, with Drone Photography by Julius and Catherine Mattys
