Former Hatrick and Company boat Otunui moves closer to Whanganui River

Willy Morrell says the Otunui has a "colourful history". Photo / Mike Tweed

A Whanganui paddleboat built in 1907 has moved closer to the river but it is unlikely to return to the water.

The Otunui, previously owned by Bridge to Nowhere Lodge operators Mandy Jackson and Joe Adam, has been bought by Whanganui couple Willy Morrell and Helen Leslie.

Emmetts Civil Construction moved the boat from St John’s Hill to the Bullocks yard on Taupō Quay last month.

Morrell, Bullocks’ director, said he felt it was important the Otunui stayed in the city.

“We [Bullocks] are an old Whanganui firm, started by my grandfather back in 1928, and we’ve always had a bit of engagement around the river,” he said.

“It’s nice to be able to keep it local. She’s probably done enough travelling around the North Island so she can have a rest near the river.”

Speaking to the Chronicle last October, Jackson said the Otunui was not in prime shape but it had “seen far worse”.

The boat, then called Tangahoe after the farm it serviced, sank on the Whanganui River in 1949, before being salvaged and restored by jet boat operator Barree Sproule 20 years later.

In 2003, it caught fire at its Aratiatia mooring on the Waikato River.

After another restoration by Sproule, the Otunui was used on the Waihou and Wairoa rivers, and Jackson and Adam bought her in 2015.

Emmetts Civil Construction moved the boat from St John's Hill to Taupō Quay.

It was originally owned by the Hatrick Company, which operated 12 boats on the Whanganui River between the coast and Taumarunui.

Two restored boats from that fleet, Waimarie and Wairua, still carry passengers on the Whanganui River.

Morrell said the Otunui started as a tunnel drive boat.

“Then it was converted to a jet boat, then it was converted to a paddleboat. It has a really colourful history.”

Getting it back on the river “is not really a goer”.

“We’re thinking it lends itself to an Airbnb or a cafe. We’re open to ideas.

“From my perspective, it’s about finding the spot for it. It needs to be next to the river and it needs to be accessible.

“We’ve already got a couple of boats [on the river] and you wouldn’t want to undermine those existing businesses.”

Morrell said five of the 12 Hatrick boats were in Whanganui.

The remains of another, the Ohura, are buried in the riverbank near the Bullocks yard.

“One thing that struck me was how much interest they generate.

“There is so much history on the Whanganui River and it was a hugely important arterial route back in the day.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.