A report from the Bay of Plenty Times is reprinted below. This was an Auckland icon for many years and is only one of two original steam ferries left, the other being the Toroa. The Kestrel was built of kauri sheathed in totora in 1905 and operated on the Waitemata Harbour for 98 years. The name is also of course that of a bird, but we are not sure if that is what Kestrel was named after.
Kestrel was reported as having received a multi-million-dollar refit before being moved to Tauranga where she was used as a floating restaurant. The write-down to only $1,000 thus seems rather severe. The photo by PhillipC shows Kestrel berthed at Tauranga. For pictures of her in action in Auckland refer to our book New Zealand Maritime Images the Golden Years.
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The old wooden ferry MV Kestrel is understood to have been sold for $1,000 and is returning to its previous home of Auckland after sitting idle on the Tauranga waterfront for nearly two years.
Unable to secure a long-term berth for the iconic 105-year-old vessel in the city's downtown, owner Mark Scapens reluctantly put it up for sale - and it has been snapped up by the newly formed Kestrel Preservation Society in Auckland. "The lease had four years to run and the Kestrel didn't fit into the latest waterfront redevelopment plan," Mr Scapens said.
"I couldn't guarantee tenure to [new] tenants, and it had to move. What could I do? I brought it here wanting to do something different for the waterfront and I haven't been able to sustain it. It's a shame it has to leave Tauranga, but from a boating point of view, I'm happy that the vessel will once again sail on the harbour in which she was first launched."
The Kestrel, the former Fullers ferry which sailed between Devonport and downtown Auckland for more than 90 years, will now entertain passengers on Waitemata Harbour cruises.
The preservation society's steering committee has begun a fundraising campaign to cover the costs of getting the Kestrel back to Auckland - after the vessel left there in 2002.
First, the society will see if it is feasible to recommission the engine in Tauranga, and failing that the Kestrel will be towed to Auckland - hopefully within a month.
Hugh Gladwell, the society's spokesperson, said the Kestrel would be fitted out and operated to maximise its use by the public. "Many Aucklanders will remember sailing aboard the Kestrel and will be thrilled to have her home."
Mr Scapens, who advertised the vessel on Trade Me, said he sold it for a nominal figure but there was some work needed to make it seaworthy.
It was understood the Kestrel was sold for $1,000 and it would cost about $25,000 to tow it back to Auckland.
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