Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

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 / Whanganui Chronicle

Boatbuilder says yes to port move

By John Maslin
Whanganui Chronicle·
13 Nov, 2016 09:00 AM3 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

A move to the port means Q-West will no longer have issues launching vessels like the Te Kotuku it built for Auckland ferry company Fullers. Photo/Supplied.

A move to the port means Q-West will no longer have issues launching vessels like the Te Kotuku it built for Auckland ferry company Fullers. Photo/Supplied.

Local company Q-West Boat Builders has confirmed it will shift to Whanganui's port, a move giving surety to the firm and anchoring a major revitalisation for the waterfront.

For years the boatyard has had problems with maintaining sufficient depths into the Whanganui River from its Gilberd St facility but has now signed a memorandum of understanding with the district council to relocate to the port.

Q-West will lease two properties at the port. One is on the site occupied by the soon-to-be-demolished cement silos in Tod St and the other is 507 Heads Rd, on the corner of Heads Rd and Tod.

Kym Fell, the council's chief executive officer, said the memorandum of understanding was a "significant milestone" in the programme to revitalise Whanganui's port.
The upgrade is part of the regional growth strategy initiated by the Government and now included as part of the Accelerate25 programme.

Mr Fell said Q-West would be looking at its building requirements for the site while the council investigated the designs for the shared heavy launching infrastructure that would be needed by Q-West and other marine businesses. One option is the use of a mobile boat hoist, some of them capable of lifting several hundred tonnes. At the moment Q-West has to use cranes to lift big boats from its slipway into the Whanganui River.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The boat-building company has launched a number of large vessels and the latest of these is sitting on the company's slipway.

It is the second of three passenger ferries the Whanganui company has built for Auckland firm Fullers.

The first was Te Kotuku, which went into service in December 2014.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Fullers then ordered two very similar ferries with the one currently on the slip due to start working this summer and the second expected to be completed in July next year.
Fullers has invested $16 million in those two new ferries.

In an update to the district council, special projects manager Rowan McGregor and marine expert Phil Wardale said a number of other initiatives were under way to keep the port project moving.

Mr McGregor said this meant getting the opinions of the community about their thoughts on the future of the port and had involved a number of reference group meetings held over the past two weeks.

He said there had been a good response to calls for registration of interest from local businesses to relocate to the port area. One of those was with the promoter of an interisland ferry link between Castlecliff and the port of Motueka.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

RSA 'alive and well' despite premises closure

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

‘Everyone went silent’: Whanganui Youth MP speaks in Parliament

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

Major Joanna Margaret Paul exhibition opens

11 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

RSA 'alive and well' despite premises closure

RSA 'alive and well' despite premises closure

11 Jul 06:00 PM

Former members are 'more than welcome' to return, RSA Welfare Trust president says.

‘Everyone went silent’: Whanganui Youth MP speaks in Parliament

‘Everyone went silent’: Whanganui Youth MP speaks in Parliament

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Shelley Loader: How we can all get a share of the apples

Shelley Loader: How we can all get a share of the apples

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Major Joanna Margaret Paul exhibition opens

Major Joanna Margaret Paul exhibition opens

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

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
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP