Obituary: Phil Hutchinson

Port and harbour engineer. Died aged 84.

Phil Hutchinson played a major role in the design and construction of many of Auckland's marine facilities.

As design engineer at the Auckland Harbour Board in the 1960s, he designed the Westhaven Marina.

In 1970, while a partner with consulting engineers Bruce Wallace Partners, he designed Half Moon Bay Marina and its spaced-pile breakwater.

Mr Hutchinson also designed the first extensions to both marinas, increasing Westhaven's capacity from 350 berths to 1200 and Half Moon Bay from 485 berths to 685.

A positive and energetic person, he had a passion for life and a love of the sea and sailing.

He had an intuitive understanding of the Waitemata Harbour's fickle weather patterns and tidal currents and knew the seabed well, using his wide knowledge to effect in an engineering career that spanned 50 years.

Mr Hutchinson always kept a yachtie's eye out for sound and practical solutions to boat-handling. A travel lift on rails and a marine boat trolley that allowed closer spacing of hauled-out boats were among his innovations.

On the home front, he built two P-class yachts for his children in the family living room because his loosely organised shed lacked the space.

Mr Hutchinson was educated at New Plymouth Boys High School, Auckland University and Auckland Technical Institute. He became a Member of the New Zealand Institution of Engineers (MNZIE) and the Institution of Civil Engineers, London (MICE).

He served in the Royal Navy in World War II and joined Coastal Forces as first lieutenant on a 34m motor launch.

His flotilla took part in the successful raid on the French port of St Nazaire to destroy the only dock on the Atlantic coast that could service the German battleship Bismark.

The raiders suffered heavy casualties and only four of the 18 vessels that entered the harbour returned to England. His own ship broke down at the harbour entrance and limped back to base.

Mr Hutchinson had a keen sense of humour. One of his wartime stories involved him and a friend lodged at a house in London during the blitz.

They woke up one morning to find the windows of their bedroom blown out. After a big night on the town, even German bombs could not rouse them.

Another time, he returned from the pub to find his barracks at Portsmouth levelled by bombs. He liked to recall that he had defeated the Germans with a timely drink.

After the war Mr Hutchinson went back to the Auckland Harbour Board.

One of his biggest challenges was salvaging the 64m, 1400-tonne dredger Hapai, which sank in Rangitoto Channel during a gale in 1957.

A righting frame was attached to the dredge's hull to roll it back onto its bottom, with two Navy minesweepers providing the pulling power.

Twelve pontoons were sunk, attached around the dredge and filled with air. This gave enough buoyancy to move the hull into shallow water.

The dredge was pumped out and refloated - and Mr Hutchinson was thrown into the water to celebrate a job well done. After a refit, Hapai went back into service.

In the late 1950s, he was in charge of designing Freyberg Wharf and the upgrade of the Princes Wharf passenger terminal.

Apart from five years as chief company engineer for timber company Henderson and Pollard, he was rarely far from the sea.

Projects outside Auckland included designing the breakwater and layout of the Tutukaka marina, a feasibility study and design for a 500-boat marina in Tauranga, and preliminary work for a marina at Whangamata that should start building next year.

Around the Hauraki Gulf, there were upgrades at Motuihe and Matiatia wharves.

Mr Hutchinson was one of the consultant team responsible for designing and supervising construction of Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World in the abandoned sewerage works at Orakei.

Just before his retirement in 1987, he designed the sophisticated "Dry Boat Store" at Westhaven that stores 212 boats on shelves around a covered dock.

Phil Hutchinson was one of those fortunate people able to turn their passion for the sea and sailing into a long and enjoyable career.

With his clear vision and natural feel for harbour engineering, he became an authority in the marine field.

He is survived by his wife, Sylvia, their son and daughter and four grandchildren.