A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Opinion
Three months ago The Gisborne Herald ran a story about the historic Takitimu launch which graces our port. It was about how more money was needed to secure the boat’s future in Gisborne.
Thousands of hours have been spent by devoted people making this launch beautiful. Many locals and touristshave been taken out in the bay for rides. It is truly a Gisborne icon.
I asked a trustee of the Takitimu how it was going recently. He said Eastland Community Trust had previously given some money for its upkeep but the Takitimu was struggling again to survive. Without help it could be sold. He intended to approach ECT again.
I have a keen interest in the Takitimu because of its history for this port and also in relation to a family member. A book written by C. Ingram, New Zealand Shipwrecks, features the Takitimu saving my wife’s brother John Pitcher (and a crewman, Wilson) when he was skipper of the crayfishing boat Tina Marie. “On February 3, 1980, the 9.75-metre Gisborne vessel suffered a badly damaged stern gland, which allowed water into the hull, when about 12 miles north of Gisborne. Despite pumps brought to the vessel, she sank while in tow of the Gisborne pilot launch Takitimu, a mile off Sponge Bay, west of Tuahine Point.”
Gisborne’s port is a great attraction for tourists and those who go to the fishing club. Gisborne has tourists and cruise ships coming and we all know how tourism is very important for this region.
The purpose of Eastland Community Trust is to support its beneficiaries, the people of the Gisborne district, who trust them to help us in this region that is not rich but is beautiful.
It would be a crying shame to see the Takitimu go. Some of these people who have cared for and loved this beautiful launch are getting on in years.
So ECT, please consider more funding for the Takitimu. And can anybody else help our pride-and-joy launch Takitimu survive here for many more years?
