NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Kestrel sinking a 'loss for Auckland'

NZ Herald
8 Mar, 2016 02:53 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Watch: History of the iconic Kestrel ferry
Source: Vimeo / Vanessa Clarke ...
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
0:00
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time -0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
    • captions off, selected

      This is a modal window.

      Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

      Text
      Text Background
      Caption Area Background
      Font Size
      Text Edge Style
      Font Family

      End of dialog window.

      This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

      Alone: Australia Season 3 Trailer

      UP NEXT:

      Autoplay in
      3
      Disable Autoplay
      Cancel Video
      Source: Vimeo / Vanessa Clarke
      NOW PLAYING • Watch: History of the iconic Kestrel ferry
      Source: Vimeo / Vanessa Clarke ...

      It had survived 110 years of choppy waters, but all that could be seen of the Kestrel this morning was its roof floating amid the debris.

      The beloved Auckland ferry sank overnight at its berth in Wynyard Quarter devastating some who held treasured memories of times spend on board.

      Aucklander, Colleen Hemingway, was about 9-years-old when her father James Benfell started working on the vessel as a mate before becoming the ship's captain a few years later.

      "We used to take his lunch down to him sometimes as kids because we loved to go back and forth on it and I loved a rough day. There are just a lot of good memories," she reminisced.

      "When it was rough, gosh the the big waves would crash and we would all just sit there loving it.

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.
      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.
      The historic Auckland ferry, Kestrel, is pushed along by a tug. Photo / Alan Gibson
      The historic Auckland ferry, Kestrel, is pushed along by a tug. Photo / Alan Gibson

      Then we would get off in town to go to work and we would all be standing on the side of it waiting to get off and the boat would be on its side by the time we all lines up to get off and you would think my god it is going to tip over, but it never did."

      The 86-year-old said the news of the Kestrel's sinking had brought her close to tears.

      "I was really quite upset. I have known it for 86 years and I went to work on it, going to movies in the evenings and did so much on that boat."

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      Some of her most cherished memories were of fishing at night off the side of the Kestrel with her siblings and father once it was closed to passengers.

      "Dad used to tie it up at night sometimes on the last run and he would come and get us young ones down, we would climb on board and we would fish off it," she said.

      "We would catch piper -small sliver fish - and then we would go home and mum would fry them up in a little bit of butter and we would sit and eat them at midnight."

      Ms Hemingway said the Kestrel's sinking would be hard for many people because, "it had a lot of memories for a lot of people."

      Discover more

      New Zealand

      Historic Auckland ferry the Kestrel sinks

      08 Mar 12:18 AM
      Opinion

      Share your memories of the Kestrel

      07 Mar 10:14 PM
      New Zealand

      Future of historic harbour ferry uncertain

      16 Oct 02:20 AM

      It is unknown what caused the Auckland icon to sink.

      The Kestrel picks up passengers at Pine Island (now Herald Island) after a day's outing, 1910. Photo / Graham Stewart Collection
      The Kestrel picks up passengers at Pine Island (now Herald Island) after a day's outing, 1910. Photo / Graham Stewart Collection

      General manager of Panuku Development Auckland Marinas Tom Warren said the sinking had come as a surprise to the council and "definitely a loss for Auckland" and for the Preservation Society.

      Mr Warren said it was unclear what caused the Kestrel to sink. "We are still looking into that at the moment. We were told at about 5.50 this morning and we are now just working through how to deal with the challenge that we have here.

      "We have bonded the area so we will contain any hydro-carbons. The Kestrel was supposedly meant to be completely clear of any oil so there should be none of that," he said.

      Watch: History of the iconic Kestrel ferry
      Source: Vimeo / Vanessa Clarke ...
      Video Player is loading.
      Current Time 0:00
      /
      Duration 0:00
      Loaded: 0%
      0:00
      Stream Type LIVE
      Remaining Time -0:00
       
      1x
        • Chapters
        • descriptions off, selected
        • captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
        • captions off, selected

          This is a modal window.

          Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

          Text
          Text Background
          Caption Area Background
          Font Size
          Text Edge Style
          Font Family

          End of dialog window.

          This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

          NOW PLAYING • Watch: History of the iconic Kestrel ferry
          Source: Vimeo / Vanessa Clarke ...

          "The [cordon] will hold the debris that are there and once the Kestrel Preservation Society has contacted their insurance assessors they will start to clean up the debris that is there."

          Mr Warren said the plan now was to contain the debris and then work on dealing with the wreck and how it is removed.

          Advertisement
          Advertise with NZME.

          "We are not sure on that yet, it is up to the Preservation Society's insurance company to advise on that. We will make sure that whatever debris is there will be removed."

          The area where the Kestrel sank was 6 to 7 metres deep and the boat was sitting on the bottom of the marina floor.

          Chairman of the Kestrel Preservation Committee Mike Alston said he was "not really" shocked at the vessel's sinking.

          He was unable to comment further.

          CEO of Auckland Seaplanes Chris Sattler said he was alerted to the incident at about 6am.

          "At that stage there was no debris in the water and there was no danger to navigational safety in the harbour," he said.

          Advertisement
          Advertise with NZME.

          "They have now cordoned off the area where the Kestrel has sunk and they are retaining all the parts you see floating there."

          Mr Sattler said it was a huge loss to the trust who were looking to restore it the vessel.

          The Kestrel floating in Wynyard Wharf after sinking this morning. Photo / Supplied via Tom Warren
          The Kestrel floating in Wynyard Wharf after sinking this morning. Photo / Supplied via Tom Warren

          "It is a bit of a sad story because they were looking to restore the Kestrel but it was just a bit too expensive for the trust so they were waiting for something positive to happen and unfortunately I didn't happen."

          He said his business would continue to operate today.

          Meanwhile an worker at Wynyard Quarter said he was completely shocked and saddened when he saw the boat.

          "We got told at work that it looked like it had sunk so we came to look and there was nothing there, just rope. Now bits and pieces are bobbing on top of the water. There is so much history here."

          Advertisement
          Advertise with NZME.

          The Waitemata harbourmaster is investigating the incident.

          Save

            Share this article

          Latest from New Zealand

          Politics

          'Do better': Willis criticises Reserve Bank over handling of Orr bombshell

          12 Jun 12:45 AM
          Premium
          OpinionUpdated

          Audrey Young: 'Superficial facelift' – the undercover zingers in Jacinda Ardern's memoir

          12 Jun 12:32 AM
          New Zealand

          Truck hits overbridge in Hamilton, causes Fieldays delays

          12 Jun 12:31 AM

          It was just a stopover – 18 months later, they call it home

          sponsored
          Advertisement
          Advertise with NZME.
          Recommended for you
          Soldier won't be dismissed after filming woman without consent during sex
          New Zealand

          Soldier won't be dismissed after filming woman without consent during sex

          12 Jun 12:19 AM
          Sabrina Carpenter's provocative album cover sparks fan backlash
          Entertainment

          Sabrina Carpenter's provocative album cover sparks fan backlash

          12 Jun 12:15 AM
          Controversial ‘run it straight’ NZ final moved to Dubai, contestants' flights paid for
          Sport

          Controversial ‘run it straight’ NZ final moved to Dubai, contestants' flights paid for

          12 Jun 12:03 AM
          'Excellent' ties: Trump hails trade progress with China
          Business

          'Excellent' ties: Trump hails trade progress with China

          12 Jun 12:02 AM
          The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE
          Sponsored Stories

          The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE

          12 Jun 12:00 AM

          Latest from New Zealand

          'Do better': Willis criticises Reserve Bank over handling of Orr bombshell

          'Do better': Willis criticises Reserve Bank over handling of Orr bombshell

          12 Jun 12:45 AM

          The bank's chair has apparently acknowledged it could have done better.

          Premium
          Audrey Young: 'Superficial facelift' – the undercover zingers in Jacinda Ardern's memoir

          Audrey Young: 'Superficial facelift' – the undercover zingers in Jacinda Ardern's memoir

          12 Jun 12:32 AM
          Truck hits overbridge in Hamilton, causes Fieldays delays

          Truck hits overbridge in Hamilton, causes Fieldays delays

          12 Jun 12:31 AM
          Soldier won't be dismissed after filming woman without consent during sex

          Soldier won't be dismissed after filming woman without consent during sex

          12 Jun 12:19 AM
          The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE
          sponsored

          The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE

          NZ Herald
          • About NZ Herald
          • Meet the journalists
          • Newsletters
          • Classifieds
          • Help & support
          • Contact us
          • House rules
          • Privacy Policy
          • Terms of use
          • Competition terms & conditions
          • Our use of AI
          Subscriber Services
          • NZ Herald e-editions
          • Daily puzzles & quizzes
          • Manage your digital subscription
          • Manage your print subscription
          • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
          • Subscribe to Herald Premium
          • Gift a subscription
          • Subscriber FAQs
          • Subscription terms & conditions
          • Promotions and subscriber benefits
          NZME Network
          • The New Zealand Herald
          • The Northland Age
          • The Northern Advocate
          • Waikato Herald
          • Bay of Plenty Times
          • Rotorua Daily Post
          • Hawke's Bay Today
          • Whanganui Chronicle
          • Viva
          • NZ Listener
          • What the Actual
          • Newstalk ZB
          • BusinessDesk
          • OneRoof
          • Driven CarGuide
          • iHeart Radio
          • Restaurant Hub
          NZME
          • About NZME
          • NZME careers
          • Advertise with NZME
          • Digital self-service advertising
          • Book your classified ad
          • Photo sales
          • NZME Events
          • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
          TOP
          search by queryly Advanced Search